12882 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2012 / Notices 

@nccdcrc.org at least seven (7) days in 

advance of the meeting. Registrations 

will be accepted on a space-available 

basis. Testimony will not be allowed 

without prior registration. Please bring 

photo identification and allow extra 

time prior to the meeting for your 

arrival. 

Anyone requiring special 

accommodations should notify Mr. 

Bronson at least seven (7) days in 

advance of the meeting. 

Written Comments: The Department 

strongly encourages interested parties 

and organizations to submit written 

comments and testimony for review by 

the task force by April 24, 2012, to Will 

Bronson, Designated Federal Official for 

the task force, at defendingchildhood

taskforce@nccdcrc.org. The task force 

expects that any public statements 

presented by individuals/organizations 

during the public comment portion of 

the hearing will not repeat previously 

submitted statements. 

Catherine Pierce, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Justice 

Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention, Child Protection 

Division. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5169 Filed 3–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Labor Certification Process for the 

Temporary Employment of Aliens in 

Agriculture in the United States: 2012 

Allowable Charges for Agricultural 

Workers’ Meals and Travel 

Subsistence Reimbursement, 

Including Lodging 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice and clarification of 

policy. 

SUMMARY: The Employment and 

Training Administration (ETA) of the 

Department of Labor (Department) is 

issuing this Notice to announce the 

allowable charges for 2012 that 

employers seeking H–2A workers may 

charge their workers when the employer 

provides three meals a day, and the 

maximum meal reimbursement which a 

worker with receipts may claim. The 

Department is also providing 

clarification on the issue of overnight 

lodging costs as part of required 

subsistence, where necessary. 

DATES: Effective Date: This notice is 

effective March 2, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William L. Carlson, Ph.D., 

Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor 

Certification (OFLC), U.S. Department of 

Labor, Room C–4312, 200 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 

Telephone: 202–693–3010 (this is not a 

toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

United States (U.S.) Citizenship and 

Immigration Services of the Department 

of Homeland Security will not approve 

an employer’s petition for the admission 

of H–2A nonimmigrant temporary 

agricultural workers in the U.S. unless 

the petitioner has received from the 

Department an H–2A labor certification. 

The H–2A labor certification provides 

that: (1) There are not sufficient U.S. 

workers who are able, willing, and 

qualified, and who will be available at 

the time and place needed to perform 

the labor or services involved in the 

petition; and (2) the employment of the 

foreign worker(s) in such labor or 

services will not adversely affect the 

wages and working conditions of 

workers in the U.S. similarly employed. 

8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 1184(c)(1), 

and 1188(a); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5) and (6). 

Allowable Meal Charge 

Among the minimum benefits and 

working conditions which the 

Department requires employers to offer 

their U.S. and H–2A workers are three 

meals a day or free and convenient 

cooking and kitchen facilities. 20 CFR 

655.122(g). Where the employer 

provides the meals, the job offer must 

state the charge, if any, to the worker for 

such meals. 

The Department provides, at 20 CFR 

655.173(a), the methodology for 

determining the maximum amounts that 

H–2A agricultural employers may 

charge their U.S. and foreign workers for 

providing them with three meals per 

day. This methodology provides for 

annual adjustments of the previous 

year’s maximum allowable charge based 

upon updated Consumer Price Index 

(CPI) data. The maximum charge 

allowed by 20 CFR 655.122(g) is 

adjusted by the same percentage as the 

12 month percent change in the CPI for 

all Urban Consumers for Food (CPI–U 

for Food). The 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 20 CFR 

655.173(b). 

The Department has determined the 

percentage change between December of 

2010 and December of 2011 for the CPI– 

U for Food was 3.7 percent. 

Accordingly, the maximum allowable 

charge under 20 CFR 655.122(g) shall be 

no more than $11.13 per day, unless the 

OFLC Certifying Officer approves a 

higher charge as authorized under 20 

CFR 655.173(b). 

Reimbursement for Daily Travel 

Subsistence 

The regulations at 20 CFR 655.122(h) 

establish that the minimum daily travel 

subsistence expense, for which a worker 

is entitled to reimbursement, is 

equivalent to the employer’s daily 

charge for three meals or, if the 

employer makes no charge, the amount 

permitted under 20 CFR 655.122(g). 

The maximum meals component of 

the daily travel subsistence expense is 

based upon the standard minimum 

Continental United States (CONUS) per 

diem rate as stated by the General 

Services Administration (GSA) at 41 

CFR part 301, appendix A. The CONUS 

meal component remains $46.00 per 

day. Workers who qualify for travel 

reimbursement are entitled to 

reimbursement for meals up to the 

CONUS meal rate when they provide 

receipts. In determining the appropriate 

amount of reimbursement for meals for 

less than a full day, the employer may 

provide for meal expense 

reimbursement, with receipts, to 75 

percent of the maximum reimbursement 

for meals of $34.50, as provided for in 

the GSA per diem schedule. If a worker 

has no receipts, the employer is not 

obligated to reimburse above the 

minimum stated at 20 CFR 655.122(g) as 

specified above. 

The Department also wishes to restate 

its policy on lodging during travel to 

and from the worksite. An 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 comes to work for the 

employer, if the worker completes 50 

percent of the work contract period, and 

upon the worker completing the 

contract, return costs. In those instances 

where a worker must travel to obtain a 

visa so that the worker may enter the 

U.S. to come to work for the employer, 

the employer must pay for the 

transportation and daily subsistence 

costs of that part of the travel as well. 

The Department has traditionally 

interpreted the regulation to require the 

employer to assume responsibility for 

the reasonable costs associated with the 

worker’s travel, including 

transportation, food, and, in those 

instances where it is necessary, lodging. 

If not provided by the employer, the 

amount an employer must pay for 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2012 / Notices 12883 

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, and if the worker completes the 

contract, return transportation and 

subsistence costs, including lodging 

costs where necessary. This policy 

applies equally to instances where the 

worker is traveling within the U.S. to 

the employer’s worksite. For further 

information on when the employer is 

responsible for lodging costs, see the 

FAQ on travel costs at the OFLC Web 

site at http:// 

www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/. 

Signed in Washington, DC, this 28th day of 

February 2012. 

Jane Oates, 

Assistant Secretary, Employment and 

Training Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5243 Filed 2–29–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Wage and Hour Division 

Announcement of Public Briefings on 

the Changes to the Labor Certification 

Process for the Temporary NonAgricultural Employment of H–2B 

Aliens in the United States 

AGENCIES: Employment and Training 

Administration and Wage and Hour 

Division; Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of Meeting and 

Webinars. 

SUMMARY: On February 21, 2012, the 

Department of Labor (the Department or 

DOL) published a Final Rule to amend 

the H–2B regulations at 20 CFR part 655 

governing the certification of temporary 

employment of nonimmigrant workers 

in temporary or seasonal nonagricultural employment. See 

Temporary Non-Agricultural 

Employment of H–2B Aliens in the 

United States, Final Rule, 76 FR 10038, 

Feb. 21, 2012 (the H–2B Final Rule). 

The Department’s H–2B Final Rule also 

created new regulations at 29 CFR part 

503 to provide for enhanced 

enforcement under the H–2B program 

requirements should employers fail to 

meet their obligations under the H–2B 

program. The Department has also made 

changes to the Application for 

Temporary Employment Certification, 

ETA Form 9142 (OMB Control No. 

1205–0466). The H–2B Final Rule is 

scheduled to become effective on April 

23, 2012. 

The Department has scheduled three 

webinars and one public briefing to 

educate stakeholders, program users, 

and other interested members of the 

public on changes to the H–2B program 

made by the H–2B Final Rule and on 

applying for H–2B temporary labor 

certifications under the new regulations 

using the modified ETA Form 9142. 

As currently planned, the sessions 

will take place in March and early 

April, 2012. The in-person briefing will 

be held at DOL in Washington, DC This 

notice provides the public with dates, 

location, and registration information 

regarding the webinars and public 

briefing. These informational sessions 

are subject to change and/or 

cancellation without further notice in 

the Federal Register. However, the 

Department will post any changes 

related to the webinars on the Office of 

Foreign Labor Certification Web site at: 

http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/ 

and will notify registered participants of 

any changes to the in-person briefing. 

Please note that the capacity of each 

webinar is limited to 200 concurrent 

participants. Ability to log in to a 

webinar session is established on a firstcome, first-served basis; please note that 

all the webinars will cover essentially 

the same information. Participants will 

be able to log in approximately 30 

minutes prior to the official start of the 

webinar listed below. We encourage 

organizations or other groups of 

participants to access the webinars at a 

single, centralized location to maximize 

attendance. 

DATES: The webinars and briefing dates 

are: 

1. Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 

Webinar. 

Time: 1:30 p.m.–4 p.m. Eastern 

Daylight Time. 

2. Tuesday, March 20, 2012, Webinar. 

Time: 1:30 p.m.–4 p.m. Eastern 

Daylight Time. 

3. Tuesday, March 27, 2012, Webinar. 

Time: 1:30 p.m.–4 p.m. Eastern 

Daylight Time. 

4. Tuesday, April 17, 2012, In-person 

briefing in Washington, DC 

Time: 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Eastern Daylight 

Time. Check-in of registered 

participants will begin onsite at 9 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are: 

Webinars 

1. To join the Webinars, please follow 

these steps: 

To join the March 14 Webinar, please 

go to: 

https://dol.webex.com/dol/onstage/

g.php?d=646230663&t=a&EA=

erskine.timothy%40dol.gov&ET=

2d120e21c0cb4635d8f0bd3e97c6ca60&

ETR=915808b73610795947a9ea7bf

97313de&SourceId=b8f4e0b12f35fc

ede040fc0a0f8423ac&RT=MiMxMQ==

&p 

And click ‘‘Join Now’’. To join the 

March 20 Webinar, please go to: 

https://dol.webex.com/dol/onstage/

g.php?d=647498716&t=a&EA=

erskine.timothy%40dol.gov&ET=

c9e80572b4c79ccf5cd558e1c8de99e2&

ETR=aa513badddf52796a18d716d83e

db8fd&SourceId=b8f4a81c5ebcd

5a8e040fc0a10846718&RT=MiMxMQ==

&p 

And click ‘‘Join Now’’. 

To join the March 27 Webinar, please 

go to: 

https://dol.webex.com/dol/onstage/

g.php?d=644379778&t=a&EA=erskine.

timothy%40dol.gov&ET=9adf2136109

7d9035af79e481ed0f923&ETR=

59fcba3eed369d888cc6207ddb37bd2a&

SourceId=b8f4a81c5ec6d5a8e040

fc0a10846718&RT=MiMxMQ==&p 

And click ‘‘Join Now’’. 

2. If a Security Information message 

appears, click ‘‘Run’’ or ‘‘Yes’’. 

3. Enter your name and email address. 

4. Click ‘‘Join Now’’. 

In-Person Briefing 

Washington DC—DOL Auditorium, 

Frances Perkins Building, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 

This venue will accommodate 100 

participants. All visitors should enter 

the building at the visitors’ entrance at 

3rd and D Streets, NW and must bring 

with them a government-issued ID to 

gain access to the building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information regarding the 

Employment and Training 

Administration’s portion of the 

briefings, 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). 

For further information regarding the 

Wage and Hour Division’s portion of the 

briefings, contact Jim Kessler, Branch 

Chief of Immigration and Farm Labor, 

Wage and Hour Division, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Room S–3510, 

Washington, DC 20210; Telephone (202) 

693–0070 (this is not a toll-free 

number). 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES