[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 20, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16157-16158]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6580]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
20 CFR Part 655
RIN 1205-AB58
Changes to the Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Non-
Agricultural Employment of H-2B Aliens in the United States; Transition
Period
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Guidance.
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SUMMARY: On February 21, 2012, the Department of Labor (the Department
or DOL) published a Final Rule amending H-2B regulations governing the
certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in
temporary or seasonal non-agricultural employment. The Department's H-
2B Final Rule also created new regulations to provide for enhanced
enforcement under the H-2B program requirements when employers fail to
meet their obligations under the H-2B program. The Department also made
changes to the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, ETA
Form 9142.
The H-2B Final Rule becomes effective on April 23, 2012. All
applications filed on or after that date will need to comply with all
applicable program requirements. The purpose of this guidance is to
provide transition procedures to ensure that employers filing H-2B
applications on or after April 23, 2012, have sufficient information to
file appropriately.
DATES: This guidance is effective March 20, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Carlson, Ph.D.,
Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and
Training Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room C-4312,
Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: (202) 693-3010 (this is not a toll-
free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 21, 2012, the Department
published a Final Rule amending the H-2B regulations at 20 CFR part
655, Subpart A. 76 FR 10038, Feb. 21, 2012. The rule becomes effective
April 23, 2012 and applies to all applications filed on or after that
date. Among other things, the H-2B Final Rule provides for a return to
the compliance-based certification model, by which employers file
before conducting recruitment. The
[[Page 16158]]
H-2B Final Rule also includes a new registration process, to precede
the filing of applications.
Applications filed under Labor Certification Process and
Enforcement for Temporary Employment in Occupations Other Than
Agriculture or Registered Nursing in the United States (H-2B Workers),
and Other Technical Changes, 73 FR 78020, Dec. 19, 2008 (the current
regulation), must be sent to the Office of Foreign Labor
Certification's (OFLC's) Chicago National Processing Center (CNPC) and
postmarked no later than midnight April 22, 2012, the last day before
the effective date of the H-2B Final Rule. An application filed up to
the effective date of the H-2B Final Rule must still comply in full
with the requirements of the current regulations. Applications
postmarked on or after April 23, 2012 will be adjudicated in accordance
with the requirements described in the H-2B Final Rule.
Any application filed under the current regulation that is
postmarked on or after April 23, 2012 or later will be rejected, and
the employer (and its agent or attorney) will be informed of the need
to file a new application in accordance with the provisions of the new
H-2B Final Rule.
To ensure a smooth transition from the current regulation and allow
the OFLC to make the necessary changes to its program operations to
accommodate the new planned registration process, the Department noted
in the H-2B Final Rule, at 20 CFR 655.11(j), that it would announce in
the Federal Register a separate transition period for the registration
process. Employers who file H-2B applications with a start date of need
before October 1, 2013 will not be required to obtain the pre-approved
H-2B registration under 20 CFR 655.15, and the Department will continue
to adjudicate temporary need during the processing of applications by
reviewing the employer's statement of temporary need in Section B of
the ETA Form 9142. Employers filing H-2B applications on or after April
23, 2012 with a start date of need on or after October 1, 2013, must
comply with all the requirements contained in the registration process
unless the OFLC publishes additional guidance in the Federal Register.
Employers with questions are encouraged to submit such questions to
H-2B.Regulation@dol.gov. The Department will provide responses in the
form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on its Web site.
Signed in Washington, this 14th day of March, 2012.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-6580 Filed 3-19-12; 8:45 am]
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