80 FR 47004 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Information Collections Pertaining to Special Employment Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Wage and Hour Division

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 151 (August 6, 2015)

The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed revision to the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Information Collections Pertaining to Special Employment Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Notice.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 151 (Thursday, August 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47004-47006]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19272]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Wage and Hour Division


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Information Collections Pertaining to Special Employment Under the Fair 
Labor Standards Act

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments 
concerning a proposed revision to the information collection request 
(ICR) titled, ``Information Collections Pertaining to Special 
Employment Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.'' This comment request 
is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden in accordance with the

[[Page 47005]]

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
    This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in 
the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is 
minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the 
impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly 
assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by 
contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this Notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section below on or before October 5, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Control Number 1235-
0001, by either one of the following methods: Email: 
[email protected]; Mail, Hand Delivery, Courier: Division of 
Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Instructions: Please submit one copy of your 
comments by only one method. All submissions received must include the 
agency name and Control Number identified above for this information 
collection. Because we continue to experience delays in receiving mail 
in the Washington, DC area, commenters are strongly encouraged to 
transmit their comments electronically via email or to submit them by 
mail early. Comments, including any personal information provided, 
become a matter of public record. They will also be summarized and/or 
included in the request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval of the information collection request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Monty Navarro, Acting Director, 
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour 
Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-0406 (this is 
not a toll-free number). Materials associated with this information 
collection may be reviewed at: http://www.dol.gov/whd/specialemployment/14cpra.htm. Copies of this notice may be obtained in 
alternative formats (Large Print, Braille, Audio Tape, or Disc), upon 
request, by calling (202) 693-0023 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TTD 
callers may dial toll-free (877) 889-5627 to obtain information or 
request materials in alternative formats.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Background: The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department 
of Labor administers the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 
201, et seq., which sets the Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, 
recordkeeping, and youth employment standards of most general 
application. See 29 U.S.C. 206, 207, 211, 212. FLSA section 14(c) 
provides that the Secretary of Labor, ``to the extent necessary to 
prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment, shall by 
regulation or order provide for the employment, under special 
certificates, of individuals'' whose productivity for the work 
performed is limited by disability at subminimum wages commensurate 
with the individual's productivity. 29 U.S.C. 214(c). In accordance 
with section 14(c), the WHD regulates the employment of individuals 
with disabilities under special certificates and governs the 
application and approval process for obtaining the certificates. See 29 
CFR part 525. DOL proposes to revise Form WH-226, the Application for 
Authority to Employ Workers with Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages, 
and WH-226A, the Supplemental Data Sheet for Application for Authority 
to Employ Workers with Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages. The 
proposed new information collections on these forms will assist DOL in 
fulfilling its statutory directive to administer and enforce the 
section 14(c) program, including the new conditions introduced to 
section 14(c) certificate holders pursuant to the Workforce Innovation 
and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which was signed into law on July 22, 2014. 
Forms WH-226 and WH-226A are the only information collections under 
Control Number 1235-0001 that DOL proposes to revise at this time.
    In addition, section 11(d) of the FLSA authorizes the Secretary of 
Labor to regulate, restrict, or prohibit industrial homework as 
necessary to prevent circumvention or evasion of the minimum wage 
requirements of the Act. 29 U.S.C. 211(d). Pursuant to section 11(d), 
the WHD issues special certificates governing the employment of 
individual homeworkers and employers of homeworkers. DOL restricts 
homework in seven industries (i.e., knitted outwear, women's apparel, 
jewelry manufacturing, gloves and mittens, button and buckle 
manufacturing, handkerchief manufacturing, and embroideries) to those 
employers who obtain certificates. See 29 CFR 530.1, 530.2. The DOL may 
issue individual certificates in those industries for an individual 
homeworker (1) who is unable to adjust to factory work because of a 
disability or who must remain at home to care for a person with a 
disability in the home, and (2) who has been engaged in industrial 
homework in the particular industry prior to certain specified dates as 
set forth in the regulations or is engaged in industrial homework under 
the supervision of a State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. See 29 CFR 
530.3, 530.4. The DOL also allows employers to obtain general 
(employer) certificates to employ homeworkers in all restricted 
industries, except women's apparel and hazardous jewelry manufacturing 
operations. See 29 CFR 530.101. Form WH-2, the Application for Special 
Industrial Homeworker's Certificate, and Form WH-46, the Application 
for Certificate to Employ Homeworkers, are used in the application 
process for obtaining these certificates, and Form WH-75, Homeworker 
Handbook, is used to assist with recordkeeping. No revisions to these 
forms are proposed at this time.
    The FLSA also requires that the Secretary of Labor, to the extent 
necessary to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities, provide 
certificates authorizing the employment of full-time students at: (1) 
Not less than 85 percent of the applicable minimum wage or less than 
$1.60, whichever is higher, in retail or service establishments or in 
institutions of higher education (29 U.S.C. 214(b)(1), (3); 29 CFR part 
519); and (2) not less than 85 percent of the applicable minimum wage 
or less than $1.30, whichever is higher, in agriculture (29 U.S.C. 
214(b)(2), 29 CFR part 519). The FLSA and the regulations set forth the 
application requirements as well as the terms and conditions for the 
employment of full-time students at subminimum wages under certificates 
and temporary authorization to employ such students at subminimum 
wages. The forms used to apply for these certificates are WH-200 
(retail, service, or agricultural employers seeking to employ full-time 
students for 10 percent or more of total monthly hours of employment), 
WH-201 (institution of higher learning seeking to employ its students), 
and WH-202 (retail, service, or agricultural employers seeking to 
employ six or fewer full-time students). No revisions to these forms 
are proposed at this time.
    FLSA section 14(a) requires that the Secretary of Labor, to the 
extent necessary to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities, 
provide by regulations or order for the employment of learners, 
apprentices, and messengers who, under special certificates may be

[[Page 47006]]

paid less than the statutory minimum wage. See 29 U.S.C. 214(a). This 
section also authorizes the Secretary to set limitations on such 
employment as to time, number, proportion, and length of service. The 
regulations at 29 CFR part 520 contain the provisions that implement 
the section 14(a) requirements. Form WH-205 is the application an 
employer uses to obtain a certificate to employ student-learners at 
wages lower than the federal minimum wage. Form WH-209 is the 
application an employer uses to request a certificate authorizing the 
employer to employ learners and/or messengers at subminimum wage rates. 
Regulations issued by the DOL's Office of Apprenticeship no longer 
permit the payment of subminimum wages to apprentices in an approved 
program; therefore, DOL has not issued apprentice certificates since 
1987. See 29 CFR 29.5(b)(5). However, the WHD must maintain the 
information collection for apprentice certificates in order for the 
agency to fulfill its statutory obligation under FLSA to maintain this 
program. No revisions to these forms are proposed at this time.
    II. Review Focus: The Department of Labor is particularly 
interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.
    III. Current Actions: The Department of Labor seeks an approval for 
the revision of this information collection in order to ensure 
effective administration of various special employment programs.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Agency: Wage and Hour Division.
    Title: Information Collections Pertaining to Special Employment 
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
    OMB Number: 1235-0001.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions, Farms, State, Local, or Tribal Government.
    Agency Numbers: Forms WH-2, WH-46, WH-75, WH-200, WH-201, WH-202, 
WH-205, WH-209, WH-226, WH-226A.
    Total Respondents: 4,355.
    Total Annual Responses: 10,300.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 15,178.
    Estimated Time per Response: Ranges from 10 minutes to 120 minutes 
depending on the form.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operation/maintenance): $3,498.

    Dated: July 31, 2015.
Mary Ziegler,
Assistant Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-19272 Filed 8-5-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-P