30-day FRN (1293-0005) published

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 10, 2021 / Notices
the updated Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers for Food (CPI–U
for Food), not seasonally adjusted. See
id. The maximum amount employers
may charge workers for providing meals
is adjusted annually by the 12-month
percentage change in the CPI–U for
Food for the prior year (i.e., between
December of the year just concluded
and December of the prior year). See id.
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification
(OFLC) Certifying Officer may also
permit an employer to charge workers a
higher amount for providing them with
three meals a day if the higher amount
is justified and sufficiently documented
by the employer, as set forth in
§ 655.173(b).
The percentage change in the CPI–U
for Food between December 2019 and
December 2020 was 3.9 percent.2 Thus,
the annual update to the H–2A
allowable meal charge is calculated by
multiplying the current allowable meal
charge ($12.68) by the 12-month
percentage change in the CPI–U for
Food between December 2019 and
December 2020 ($12.68 × 1.039 =
$13.17). Accordingly, the updated
maximum allowable charge under
§§ 655.122(g) and 655.173 is $13.17 per
day, and an employer is not permitted
to charge a worker more than $13.17 per
day unless the OFLC Certifying Officer
approves a higher charge, as authorized
under § 655.173(b).3
Reimbursement for Travel-Related
Subsistence
H–2B and H–2A employers must pay
reasonable travel and subsistence costs,
including the costs of meals and
lodging, incurred by workers during
travel to the worksite from the place
from which the worker has come to
work for the employer and from the
place of employment to the place from
which the worker departed to work for
the employer, as well as any such costs
incurred by the worker incident to
obtaining a visa authorizing entry to the
United States for the purpose of H–2A
or H–2B employment. See
§§ 655.122(h)(1) and (2) and
655.20(j)(1)(i) and (ii).
Specifically, an H–2A employer is
responsible for providing, paying in
advance, or reimbursing a worker for the
reasonable costs of daily travel-related
subsistence between the employer’s
worksite and the place from which the
worker has come to work for the
employer, if the worker completes 50
2 Consumer Price Index—December 2020,
published January 13, 2020 at https://www.bls.gov/
news.release/archives/cpi_01132021.pdf.
3 In 2020, the maximum allowable charge under
20 CFR 655.122(g) and 655.173 was $12.68 per day.
See 85 FR 16133 (Mar. 20, 2020).

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percent of the work contract period. The
employer must provide (or pay at the
time of departure) the worker’s return
costs upon the worker completing the
contract or being dismissed without
cause. See § 655.122(h)(1) and (2).
Similarly, an H–2B employer is
responsible for providing, paying in
advance, or reimbursing a worker for the
reasonable costs of transportation and
daily subsistence between the
employer’s worksite and the place from
which the worker has come to work for
the employer—if the worker completes
50 percent of the job order period—and
upon the worker completing the job
order period or being dismissed early
(for any reason), return costs as well.
See § 655.20(j)(1)(i) and (ii).
The minimum amount of daily travel
subsistence expense for meals for which
a worker is entitled to reimbursement
must be at least as much as the
employer would charge for providing
the worker with three meals per day
during employment (if applicable).
Under no circumstances may the
employer reimburse workers less than
the amount permitted under
§ 655.173(a) (i.e., the current year’s daily
meal charge amount of $13.17). The
maximum amount an employer is
required to reimburse workers for daily
travel-related subsistence, as evidenced
with receipts, is equal to the standard
Continental United States (CONUS) per
diem rate, as established by the General
Services Administration (GSA) at 41
CFR part 301, formerly published in
Appendix A and now found at https://
www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/perdiem-rates. See Maximum Per Diem
Reimbursement Rates for the
Continental United States, 85 FR 50025
(Aug. 17, 2020) (2020 Update). The
standard CONUS meals and incidental
expenses rate is $55.00 per day for
2021.4 Workers who qualify for travel
reimbursement are entitled to
reimbursement for meals up to the
standard CONUS meals and incidental
expenses rate when they provide
receipts. In determining the appropriate
amount of reimbursement for meals for
less than a full day, the employer may
limit the meal expense reimbursement,
with receipts, to 75 percent of the
maximum reimbursement for meals, or
$41.25, based on the GSA per diem
schedule. See 2020 Update, 85 FR at
50025. If a worker does not provide
receipts, the employer is not obligated
4 Maximum Per Diem Reimbursement Rates for
the Continental United States (CONUS), 85 FR
50025 (Aug. 17, 2020); see also https://
www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates/miebreakdown.

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to reimburse above the minimum stated
at § 655.173, as specified above.
If transportation and lodging are not
provided by the employer, the amount
an employer must pay for transportation
and, where required, lodging must be no
less than (and is not required to be more
than) the most economical and
reasonable costs. The employer is
responsible for those costs necessary for
the worker to travel to the worksite if
the worker completes 50 percent of the
work contract period but is not
responsible for unauthorized detours.
The employer also is responsible for the
costs of return transportation and
subsistence, including lodging costs
where necessary, as described above.
These requirements apply equally to
instances where the worker is traveling
within the U.S. to the employer’s
worksite. See §§ 655.122(h)(1) and (2)
and 655.20(j)(1)(i) and (ii).
For further information on when the
employer is responsible for lodging
costs, please see the Department’s H–2A
Frequently Asked Questions on Travel
and Daily Subsistence, on OFLC’s
website at https://www.dol.gov/
agencies/eta/foreign-labor.
Suzan G. LeVine,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021–04939 Filed 3–9–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Federal
Contractor Veterans’ Employment
Report (VETS–4212)
Notice of availability; request
for comments.

ACTION:

The Department of Labor
(DOL) is submitting this Veterans’
Employment and Training Service
(VETS)-sponsored information
collection request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and approval in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA). Public comments on the ICR are
invited.
DATES: The OMB will consider all
written comments that agency receives
on or before April 9, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
SUMMARY:

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13758

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 10, 2021 / Notices

information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (2) if the
information will be processed and used
in a timely manner; (3) the accuracy of
the agency’s estimates of the burden and
cost of the collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (4)
ways to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information collection; and
(5) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anthony May by telephone at 202–693–
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or
by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment
Assistance Act of 1974 (‘‘VEVRAA’’), 38
U.S.C. 4212(d), requires Federal
contractors and subcontractors subject
to the Act’s affirmative action
provisions in 38 U.S.C. 4212(a) to track
and report annually to the Secretary of
Labor the number of employees in their
workforces, by job category and hiring
location, who belong to the specified
categories of protected veterans. VETS
maintains regulations to implement the
reporting requirements under VEVRAA,
and uses the VETS–4212 form for
providing the required information on
the employment of covered veterans.
The regulations in 41 CFR part 61– 300
require contractors and subcontractors
with a covered Federal contract entered
into or modified in the amount of
$150,000 or more to use the Federal
Contractor Veterans’ Employment
Report VETS–4212 form for reporting
information on their employment of
covered veterans under VEVRAA.
For additional substantive
information about this ICR, see the
related notice published in the Federal
Register on November 20, 2020 (85 FR
74390).
This information collection is subject
to the PRA. A Federal agency generally
cannot conduct or sponsor a collection
of information, and the public is
generally not required to respond to an
information collection, unless the OMB
approves it and displays a currently
valid OMB Control Number. In addition,
notwithstanding any other provisions of
law, no person shall generally be subject

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to penalty for failing to comply with a
collection of information that does not
display a valid OMB Control Number.
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this
information collection for three (3)
years. OMB authorization for an ICR
cannot be for more than three (3) years
without renewal. The DOL notes that
information collection requirements
submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs
receive a month-to-month extension
while they undergo review.
Agency: DOL–VETS.
Title of Collection: Federal Contractor
Veterans’ Employment Report (VETS–
4212).
OMB Control Number: 1293–0005.
Affected Public: Private Sector:
Businesses or other for-profits; not-forprofit institutions.
Total Estimated Number of
Respondents: 21,000.
Total Estimated Number of
Responses: 378,000.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:
128,520 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs
Burden: $1,340.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))
Dated: March 3, 2021.
Anthony May,
Management and Program Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2021–04941 Filed 3–9–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–79–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
[Docket No. OSHA–2021–0001]

National Advisory Committee on
Occupational Safety and Health
(NACOSH); Request for Nominations
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for nominations.
AGENCY:

OSHA invites interested
persons to submit nominations for
membership on the National Advisory
Committee on Occupational Safety and
Health (NACOSH).
DATES: Nominations for NACOSH
membership must be submitted
(postmarked, sent, transmitted or
received) by May 10, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit
nominations and supporting materials
by one of the following methods:
Electronically: You may submit
nominations, including attachments,
electronically at http://
www.regulations.gov, which is the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the
SUMMARY:

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online instructions for making
submissions.
OSHA will place comments and
requests for a hearing, including
personal information, in the public
docket, which will be available online.
Therefore OSHA cautions interested
parties about submitting personal
information such as Social Security
numbers and birthdates.
Docket: To read or download
comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://
www.regulations.gov. Documents in the
docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index; however,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to
read or download through this website.
All submissions, including copyrighted
material, are available for inspection
through the OSHA Docket Office.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for
assistance in locating docket
submissions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Press inquiries: Frank Meilinger,
Office of Communications,
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor; telephone: (202) 693–1999;
email: [email protected].
General information and technical
inquiries: Amy Wangdahl, Office of
Maritime and Agriculture, Directorate of
Safety and Guidance, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, telephone: (202)
693–2066; email: wangdahl.amy@
dol.gov.
The
Secretary of Labor (Secretary) invites
interested individuals to submit
nominations for membership on
NACOSH.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
The Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651,
656) established NACOSH to advise,
consult with, and make
recommendations to the Secretary and
the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (HHS Secretary) on matters
relating to the administration of the
OSH Act. NACOSH is a continuing
advisory committee of indefinite
duration.
NACOSH operates in accordance with
the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA) (5 U.S.C. App. 2), implementing
regulations (41 CFR part 102–3), the
OSH Act, and OSHA’s regulations on
NACOSH (29 CFR part 1912a).
The Committee shall meet at least two
times a year (29 U.S.C. 656(a)(2)).
Committee members serve without
compensation, but OSHA provides

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