[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 3]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR654.402]

[Page 450-451]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
 CHAPTER V--EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
PART 654--SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE SYSTEM--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart E--Housing for Agricultural Workers
 
Sec. 654.402  Variances.

    (a) An employer may apply for a permanent, structural variance from 
a specific standard(s) in this subpart by filing a written application 
for such a variance with the local Job Service office serving the area 
in which the housing is located. This application must be filed by June 
2, 1980 and must:
    (1) Clearly specify the standard(s) from which the variance is 
desired;
    (2) Provide adequate justification that the variance is necessary to 
obtain a beneficial use of an existing facility, and to prevent a 
practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship; and
    (3) Clearly set forth the specific alternative measures which the 
employer has taken to protect the health and safety of workers and 
adequately show that such alternative measures have achieved the same 
result as the standard(s) from which the employer desires the variance.
    (b) Upon receipt of a written request for a variance under paragraph 
(a) of

[[Page 451]]

this section, the local Job Service office shall send the request to the 
State office which, in turn, shall forward it to the Regional 
Administrator, Employment and Training Administration (RA). The RA shall 
review the matter and, after consultation with OSHA, shall either grant 
or deny the request for a variance.
    (c) The variance granted by the RA shall be in writing, shall state 
the particular standard(s) involved, and shall state as conditions of 
the variance the specific alternative measures which have been taken to 
protect the health and safety of the workers. The RA shall send the 
approved variance to the employer and shall send copies to the Regional 
Administrator of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the 
Regional Administrator of the Employment Standards Administration, and 
the appropriate State agency and the local Job Service office. The 
employer shall submit and the local Job Service office shall attach 
copies of the approved variance to each of the employer's job orders 
which is placed into intrastate or interstate clearance.
    (d) If the RA denies the request for a variance, the RA shall 
provide written notice stating the reasons for the denial to the 
employer, the appropriate State agency and the local Job Service office. 
The notice shall also offer the employer an opportunity to request a 
hearing before a DOL Hearing Officer, provided the employer requests 
such a hearing from the RA within 30 calendar days of the date of the 
notice. The request for a hearing shall be handled in accordance with 
the employment service complaint procedures set forth at Secs. 658.421 
(i) and (j), 658.422 and 658.423 of this chapter.
    (e) The procedures of paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section 
shall only apply to an employer who has chosen, as evidenced by its 
written request for a variance, to comply with the ETA housing standards 
at Secs. 654.404--654.417 of this subpart.