[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 14559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05409]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

29 CFR Part 18

RIN 1290-AA36


Rules of Practice and Procedure for Administrative Hearings 
Before the Office of Administrative Law Judges

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor is reopening for 15 days the comment 
period on the January 11, 2021, notice of proposed rulemaking that 
would have provided for electronic filing (e-filing) and electronic 
service (e-service) of papers, required e-filing for persons 
represented by attorneys or non-attorney representatives unless good 
cause is shown justifying a different form of filing, and required 
advance notice to the parties of the manner of a hearing or prehearing 
conference.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on January 
11, 2021, at 86 FR 1862, is reopened for 15 days and closes on April 1, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: You may read background documents, submit comments, and read 
comments received through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. To locate the rule, identified by Regulatory 
Identification Number (RIN) 1290-AA36, search for docket number DOL-
2020-0015 or key words such as ``Office of Administrative Law Judges'' 
or ``Rules of Practice and Procedure for Administrative Hearings Before 
the Office of Administrative Law Judges.''
    Instructions for submitting comments are found on the 
www.regulations.gov website. Please be advised that comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Therefore, the Department recommends 
that commenters safeguard their personal information by not including 
social security numbers, personal addresses, telephone numbers, and 
email addresses in comments. It is the responsibility of the commenters 
to safeguard their information. If you need assistance to review the 
comments or the rule, the Department will consider providing the 
comments and the rule in other formats upon request. For assistance to 
review the comments or obtain the rule in an alternate format, contact 
Mr. Todd Smyth, General Counsel, at (513) 684-3252.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Smyth, General Counsel, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges, 800 K Street 
NW, Washington, DC 20001-8002; telephone (513) 684-3252. Individuals 
with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone number 
above by TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service 
at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the concurrent direct final rule (DFR) 
published at 86 FR 1800 on January 11, 2021, the Department stated that 
if a significant adverse comment was submitted by February 10, 2021, 
the Department would publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal 
Register informing the public that the DFR will not take effect. The 
Department also issued an identical Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) on the same day (86 FR 1862). The Department received 
significant adverse comment prior to the close of the comment period 
and therefore withdrew the DFR, effective February 25, 2021. The 
Department also received a request to extend the comment period and is 
therefore reopening the comment period for 15 days. In issuing a final 
action, the Department will consider comments received on the DFR and 
NPRM during the initial comment period as well as comments received 
during this subsequent comment period. The Department will also provide 
at least 30 days' notice between promulgating a final rule that 
requires e-filing and the date on which e-filing will become mandatory 
under such a rule. Furthermore, the Department notes that several 
comments raised concerns with the Department's electronic filing system 
and not the requirements of the proposed or direct final rules. To 
better understand and address these concerns, the Department has 
scheduled listening sessions for users to provide feedback on the 
system. Information about those sessions is posted at https://efile.dol.gov.

Milton A. Stewart,
Acting Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-05409 Filed 3-16-21; 8:45 am]
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