[Federal Register: December 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 235)]
[Notices]
[Page 73035-73037]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08de05-112]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Permanent Labor Certification Program: Training and Employment
Guidance Letter 8-05 in Response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Department of
Labor.
ACTION: Notice of Training and Employment Guidance Letter.
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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration has issued the
Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 8-05, dated November 16,
2005, to provide guidance to the National Processing Centers and
Backlog Elimination Centers (collectively, Centers). TEGL 8-05 advises
the Centers of accommodations to be made for employers impacted by
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma regarding the filing and processing
of permanent labor certifications. The Division of Foreign Labor
Certification (DFLC) issued initial guidance regarding the impact of
Hurricane Katrina on permanent labor certification processing on
October 13, 2005, which was posted on the DFLC Web site at http://atlas.doleta.gov/foreign/.
TEGL 8-05 replaces and supersedes all prior
DFLC hurricane guidance. TEGL 8-05 is reprinted in the Federal Register
in order to inform the public, and will be posted on the DFLC Web site.
DATES: TEGL 8-05 is effective November 16, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Wittman Cox, Senior Policy
Advisor, Telephone: (202) 693-3010.
Dated: December 2, 2005.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
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Employment and Training Administration Advisory Classification; Permanent Labor Certif.
System
U.S. Department of Labor Correspondence Symbol; DFLC
Washington, DC 20210 Issue Date; November 16, 2005.
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Advisory: Foreign Labor Certification Training and Employment
Guidance Letter No. 8-05.
To: FLC-National Processing Center Directors. FLC-Backlog
Elimination Center Directors.
From: Emily Stover DeRocco, Assistant Secretary.
Subject: Response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma--Deadlines
and Correspondence for the Permanent Labor Certification Program.
1. Purpose. This memorandum outlines interim procedures for the
management of mail related to applications in the permanent labor
certification program and reflects the decision by the Division of
Foreign Labor Certification (DFLC or Division) to postpone certain
regulatory and procedural deadlines pertaining to applications affected
by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. DFLC issued guidance for
Hurricane Katrina on
[[Page 73036]]
October 13, 2005. Stakeholders raised certain questions in response to
that guidance. Therefore, this guidance replaces and supersedes all
prior DFLC hurricane guidance. This guidance will be posted on DFLC's
Web site and published in the Federal Register.
2. References. DFLC Field Memorandum, ``Response to Hurricane
Katrina'' (October 13, 2005).''
3. Background. In late August 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered the
Gulf Coast of the United States, devastating large areas of Louisiana,
Alabama, and Mississippi. In late September 2005, Hurricane Rita hit
the Gulf Coast of the United States, including parts of Louisiana and
Texas. In late October 2005, Hurricane Wilma devastated parts of
Florida. DFLC will work closely with our stakeholders to minimize
disruption to the labor certification process as the country works
through these disasters. This guidance outlines the Division's
emergency policy related to deadlines and correspondence for permanent
program applications related to Katrina, Rita, and Wilma impacted
areas.
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RESCISSIONS DFLC Field Memorandum, Expiration Date
``Response to Hurricane Katrina'' March 2006
(October 13, 2005).
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4. Discussion.
A. Mail delivery. Currently, the Post Office and other mail
delivery services are not delivering mail to certain areas impacted by
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In addition, many businesses,
including law firms, have been destroyed by these hurricanes and
subsequent flooding. Therefore, until further notice, National
Processing Centers, Backlog Elimination Centers, and their satellite
offices (collectively, the Centers) should not send correspondence to
zip codes in the affected regions where there is either no mail service
or partial mail service, as shown on the United States Postal Service
Web site at http://www.usps.com/ communications/news/serviceupdates.
htm?from=bannercommunications& page=katrina.
Normally, copies of correspondence from DFLC regarding permanent
labor certification applications are sent to both the employer and the
legal representative named on the application. DFLC will continue
processing every case to the extent feasible. However, to avoid
potential misunderstandings regarding the status of a case, DFLC will
hold all correspondence and case communications where one of the
recipients of the correspondence is in an area with no or partial mail
delivery, until a new address is provided by the employer or attorney
in accordance with the instructions below.
B. Advising DFLC of new mailing addresses and contact information.
Because some employers and/or their attorneys may be relocating from
disaster-impacted areas on a temporary or permanent basis, we have
established e-mail addresses to receive new contact information. We
will verify this new information as needed. Employers or their
attorneys are asked to contact the Center with jurisdiction over each
particular permanent labor certification case as follows:
Katrina.dflc@phi.dflc.us for the Backlog Elimination Center in
Philadelphia; Katrina.dflc@dal.dflc.us for the Backlog Elimination
Center in Dallas; Katrina.dflcatlanta@dol.gov for the National
National Processing Center in Chicago.
The subject line of each e-mail should designate which hurricane(s)
affected the application. E-mailed notices must include: the new
mailing address to which correspondence should be forwarded, any new
telephone and facsimile information, and sufficient information to
identify each affected application(s), including the case number(s).
(Please note: global requests for a mailing address change will not be
honored.) In the case of temporary or interim relocations, please note
the time period when the new address/phone numbers will be in effect.
Any subsequent changes to the employer or attorney's mailing address
must also be e-mailed to the addresses above.
C. Case file. Due to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, DFLC will
accept new addresses for purposes of mailing only. Addresses will not
be added or amended on pending applications, as a new address can
sometimes change key elements of an application `` for example, a new
work location can change the applicable prevailing wage rate and area
of intended employment. Instead, for purposes of mailing to a new
address, the Centers will create a brief cover letter to add to the
prepared correspondence. This cover letter will document the date the
new address request was received and the new address itself. Center
staff will then annotate the electronic case file to record the new
address and the type of correspondence sent to the new address on a
given date.
D. Due dates. To address Hurricanes Rita and Wilma, and in response
to stakeholder questions about the earlier guidance on Hurricane
Katrina, DFLC provides the information below to clarify the
applicability of due date deadline extensions.
For those permanent labor certification applications where either
the employer or its attorney or agent is located in a Katrina, Rita, or
Wilma disaster area (the counties and parishes that have been or are
later designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as disaster
areas eligible for Individual or Public Assistance because of the
devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina), DFLC is postponing certain
regulatory and procedural deadlines. Specifically, DFLC is extending
deadlines for employer responses to Backlog Elimination Center (BEC)-
issued 45-day letters (also known as continuation letters), BEC-issued
Notices of Findings, National Processing Center (NPC)-issued audit
requests, NPC requests for additional information, and employer
appeals. In other words, any of these specifically listed application
materials with a due date during the period described below will be
considered timely if received by the appropriate Center by the date
specified for each hurricane:
For Hurricane Katrina: If the specific deadlines listed above fall
during the period from August 29, 2005, until December 1, 2005, the
employer's submission will be considered timely if received by the
appropriate NPC by December 1, 2005.
For Hurricane Rita: If the specific deadlines listed above fall
during the period from September 23, 2005, until January 1, 2006, the
employer's submission will be considered timely if received by the
appropriate NPC by January 1, 2006.
For Hurricane Wilma: If the specific deadlines listed above fall
during the period from October 24, 2005, until February 1, 2006, the
employer's submission will be considered timely if received by the
appropriate NPC by February 1, 2006.
These extensions apply even if the employer, attorney, or agent has
[[Page 73037]]
relocated and resumed operations outside the disaster area.
The list of counties and parishes designated by FEMA as disaster
areas eligible for Individual or Public Assistance as a result of
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma has been published and amended in
the Federal Register, and is available at http://www.fema.gov/ news/
disasters.fema. For the hardest hit areas, DFLC will closely monitor
progress and may extend these deadlines even further. DFLC will work
with stakeholders covered by an extension provided above who may
receive written communications applying an earlier or incorrect
deadline. We will consider other deadline issues on a case-by-case
basis.
E. Filing Date Extensions for PERM applications impacted by
Hurricane Wilma, Rita, or Katrina. Under current PERM regulations,
employers must begin their recruitment efforts no more than 180 days
prior to filing a permanent labor certification application, and must
complete most recruitment measures at least 30 days prior to filing.
Due to recent hurricanes, employers or their attorneys within a FEMA-
designated disaster area may be unable to comply with the requirement
of completing their recruitment efforts within the regulatory 180-day
time frame. Therefore, DFLC is extending recruitment validity periods
to allow employers or their attorneys located within a FEMA-designated
disaster area (as defined above) to file their permanent labor
certification application by seventy-five (75) days after the date of
the last of the three hurricanes, so long as recruitment was begun
within 180 days prior to the specific hurricane. The last of the three
hurricanes, Wilma, hit on October 24, 2005, and 75 days after that date
is January 7, 2006. The specific dates applicable to each hurricane are
as follows:
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Recruitment must
have begun by (180 Filing must occur
Hurricane date days prior to by:
hurricane):
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Katrina--Aug. 29, 2005.......... March 2, 2005..... January 7, 2006.
Rita--Sept. 23, 2005............ March 27, 2005.... January 7, 2006.
Wilma--Oct. 24, 2005............ April 27, 2005.... January 7, 2006.
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Those hurricane-affected employers who may have already been denied
due to the ``staleness'' of the recruitment on an application may file
a request for reconsideration with the appropriate Certifying Officer.
Those employers wishing to submit an application under this
guidance, where the recruitment period lasted longer than 180 days,
must submit their application by mail to the appropriate National
Processing Center. The employer must include a cover letter (signed by
the employer or the employer's representative) explaining the
particular circumstances that caused the employer to fall within the
boundaries of this guidance. Please note: Under the regulations,
recruitment steps must be completed at least 30 days before filing the
application. This requirement will still be enforced.
The Division will continue to revisit issues surrounding Hurricanes
Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in the coming months, as needed.
5. Action Required. FLC Center directors are requested to inform
certifying officers and staff of the information in this guidance
letter and ensure they take appropriate action.
6. Inquiries. Please direct questions to the appropriate National
Office staff.
[FR Doc. 05-23784 Filed 12-7-05; 8:45 am]
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