16074 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 53 / Monday, March 19, 2012 / Notices 

APPENDIX—Continued 

[40 TAA petitions instituted between 2/20/12 and 3/2/12] 

TA–W Subject firm (petitioners) Location Date of 

institution 

Date of 

petition 

81384 ................ Industrial Plastics (Union) ..................................................... Valley City, OH ..................... 03/02/12 03/02/12 

81385 ................ Pfizer, Inc. (State/One-Stop) ................................................ Groton, CT ............................ 03/02/12 02/27/12 

81386 ................ W Scott & Co. (Workers) ...................................................... St. Joseph, MO ..................... 03/02/12 03/01/12 

81387 ................ Eastman Kodak (Workers) ................................................... Kettering, OH ........................ 03/02/12 03/01/12 

[FR Doc. 2012–6570 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Notice of Listening Sessions on 

Implementation of Unemployment 

Insurance Provisions of the Middle 

Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 

of 2012 (Pub. L. 112–96) 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration (ETA), Labor. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

participation in listening sessions. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces 

listening sessions designed to gain input 

from employers, labor organizations, 

State workforce agencies, and relevant 

program experts on the implementation 

of provisions of the Middle Class Tax 

Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 

related to Short Time Compensation 

(STC) and Self Employment Assistance 

(SEA) programs. Specifically the 

Department of Labor (Department) is 

interested in hearing from stakeholders 

on the following issues: 

• Model State legislation to support 

implementation of the two programs; 

• Guidance and technical assistance 

to States; and 

• Reporting requirements. 

Times and Dates: The listening 

sessions for the STC and SEA programs 

are as follows: 

Short Time Compensation 

Monday, March 19, 2012 at 1 p.m. EST. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 3 p.m. EST. 

Self Employment Assistance 

Monday, March 19, 2012 at 3 p.m. EST. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 1 p.m. EST. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

To Register: You must be a registered 

user of Workforce3 One to participate in 

the listening sessions. To register for 

Workforce 3 One go to www.

workforce3one.org. To register for the 

listening sessions please visit: https://

www.workforce3one.org/view/

1001206655621113753/info to register. 

Once an individual has registered, an 

email will be sent with detailed 

instructions for accessing the listening 

session and for dialing into the 

conference call line. The listening 

sessions will be recorded. Space is 

limited, so please only register for one 

STC session and one SEA session. 

Background: The Middle Class Tax 

Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 

(Pub. L. 112–96) (Act) includes within 

it Title II—Unemployment Benefit 

Continuation and Program 

Improvement, which contains Subtitle 

D—Short-Time Compensation Program, 

that has new provisions that promote 

significant expansion of the STC 

program (also known as work sharing) 

and Subtitle E—Self-Employment 

Assistance, both provide incentives for 

States to implement these programs. 

Below are summaries of the provisions 

for both the STC and SEA programs in 

the Act. 

Short Time Compensation Program 

The Act codifies and expands the 

existing definition of STC by amending 

section 3306, Federal Unemployment 

Tax Act (FUTA), to add a new 

subsection defining ‘‘short-time 

compensation program’’ as a program 

under which: 

• Employer participation is 

voluntary; 

• Employers reduce employee hours 

in lieu of layoffs; 

• The reduction of hours is at least 10 

percent and not more than 60 percent 

and employees are not disqualified from 

unemployment compensation; 

• Employees receive a pro rata share 

of unemployment benefits that they 

would have received if totally 

unemployed; 

• Employees meet work availability 

and work search requirements if they 

are available for their workweek as 

required; 

• Eligible employees may participate 

in appropriate training, either employer 

sponsored or funded under the 

Workforce Investment Act of 1998; 

• Employers are required to certify 

that, if health and retirement benefits 

are provided, those benefits will not be 

reduced due to participation in the STC 

program; and 

• The State unemployment insurance 

agency requires the employer to submit 

a written plan describing how the 

requirements of this subsection will be 

implemented, with an estimate of the 

number of layoffs that would have 

occurred but for the STC program; the 

plan must be consistent with employer 

obligations under Federal law. 

The Act provides for a transition 

period and effective date for existing 

programs that can be either the date the 

State changes its law or 2 years and 6 

months after the enactment of the Act. 

Except for the transition period, the STC 

provisions are effective upon enactment, 

pending guidance from the Department. 

The Act provides for two ways that 

States may implement and/or expand 

their STC programs. To encourage States 

to implement permanent STC programs, 

the Act provides for 100 percent 

reimbursement of the amount of STC 

paid under a program meeting the new 

definition for an STC program in section 

3306(v), up to 26 times the amount of 

regular compensation, including 

dependents’ allowances, payable to the 

individual under State law. However, 

no payments may be made to a State for 

STC benefits paid to an individual who 

is employed on a seasonal, temporary, 

or intermittent basis. States operating an 

STC program under the old definition 

will be eligible for 2 years of 

reimbursement until they amend their 

laws to conform to the new definition 

under 3306(v). Payments are available 

for STC programs for weeks of 

unemployment beginning on or after 

February 22, 2012, and ending on or 

before the date that is 3 years and 6 

months after the date of enactment. 

To enable States that need to enact 

new State legislation, which could take 

time, the Act also provides for a 

temporary Federal STC program. If a 

State’s law does not provide for 

payment of STC, States may enter into 

an agreement with the Secretary OF 

Labor (Secretary) such that the State 

will be paid, by way of reimbursement, 

one-half of the amount of STC paid to 

individuals pursuant to the agreement, 

and any additional administrative 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 53 / Monday, March 19, 2012 / Notices 16075 

expenses incurred by reason of the 

agreement. States that want to take 

advantage of the new temporary Federal 

program must enter into an agreement 

with the Secretary to provide STC to 

individuals. States are reimbursed onehalf of benefits paid under this option 

and participating employers must pay 

the remaining one-half of the amount of 

STC paid by the State. The money must 

be deposited into the State’s 

unemployment trust fund and may not 

be used to calculate the employer’s 

contribution rate. An agreement entered 

into under this section applies to weeks 

of unemployment beginning on or after 

the date on which the agreement is 

entered into, and ending on or before 

the date that is 2 years and 13 months 

after the date of enactment of the Act. 

States may receive payments under this 

section ‘‘with respect to a total of not 

more than 104 weeks.’’ States may 

receive funding for both programs for a 

total of not more than 156 weeks. 

In addition to Federal reimbursement 

for benefits paid to States for either a 

permanent STC program or the 

temporary Federal STC program, the Act 

provides for grants to States for 

implementation or improved 

administration of enacted STC programs 

and promotion and enrollment of 

employers to participate in the program. 

States that have an STC program that 

does not meet the requirements of 

section 3306(v) of the FUTA, or that 

have a program under the terms of an 

agreement with the Secretary, are not 

eligible for grants under this section. In 

addition, States with STC programs 

subject to discontinuation, or which are 

not scheduled to take effect within 12 

months of certification, may not receive 

grants. The Act provides a formula for 

calculating the maximum amount of 

grants available to a State, and further 

provides that one-third of the maximum 

incentive payment to a State is available 

for implementation or improved 

administration and two-thirds is 

available for promotion and enrollment. 

The Act also requires the Secretary to 

establish a process to recoup grant funds 

if it is determined that, during the 5- 

year period beginning with the first date 

a grant is awarded to a State, the State 

terminated the STC program or failed to 

meet appropriate requirements for the 

program. 

With regard to these provisions the 

Secretary is required to: 

• Develop and periodically review 

and revise, model legislative language 

that States may use to develop and enact 

STC programs; 

• Provide technical assistance and 

guidance to States in developing, 

enacting, and implementing such 

programs; 

• Establish reporting requirements for 

the number of estimated averted layoffs, 

number of participating employers, and 

other reporting as the Secretary may 

require; and 

• Consult with employers, labor 

organizations, State workforce agencies, 

and other program experts in 

developing the model legislative 

language, guidance, development of 

reporting requirements, and delivery of 

technical assistance. 

Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) 

Program 

The Act amends extended benefits 

(EB) law to add a new provision, section 

208, to the Federal-State Extended 

Unemployment Compensation Act of 

1970. Section 208 provides authority to 

States to establish an SEA program for 

individuals receiving extended benefits. 

Current law limits SEA participation to 

individuals who are eligible to receive 

‘‘regular compensation.’’ In addition, 

the Act adds new section 4001(j) of the 

Supplemental Appropriations Act of 

2008 to make SEA programs available to 

recipients of benefits under the 

Emergency Unemployment 

Compensation (EUC) program, if a State 

chooses to create an SEA program for 

EUC claimants. 

Individuals may receive up to 26 

weeks of SEA payments based on EUC, 

EB, or combined EUC/EB eligibility. The 

Act permits an individual who is 

receiving SEA under an EB program to 

continue to receive EUC SEA benefits 

when they exhaust EB eligibility, up to 

the combined eligibility limit. The Act 

limits the percentage of EUC/EB 

participants that may participate in SEA 

to no more than 1 percent of the number 

of individuals receiving benefits in 

either program. Individuals may only be 

approved for participation in SEA if the 

agency ‘‘has a reasonable expectation 

that the individual will be entitled to at 

least 13 weeks’’ of EUC and/or EB 

benefits. Individuals may drop out of 

SEA at any time and receive the balance 

of EB or EUC to which they were 

initially determined eligible. 

The Act also provides for grants to 

States to improve administration of 

existing SEA programs enacted prior to 

February 22, 2012. Grants may also be 

used for development, implementation, 

and administration of SEA programs 

established after February 22, 2012 for 

regular State benefits, EB, or EUC. The 

Act also authorizes the Secretary to 

award grants to States to promote SEA 

programs and enroll unemployed 

individuals in those programs. The 

amount of a grant shall be determined 

based on the percentage of unemployed 

individuals relative to the percentage of 

unemployed individuals in all States. 

Applications for grants must be 

submitted to the Secretary on or before 

December 31, 2013. 

With regard to these provisions the 

Secretary is required to: 

• Develop model language, and 

periodically review and revise the 

model language; 

• Provide technical assistance and 

guidance in establishing, improving, 

and administering SEA programs; 

• Establish reporting requirements for 

State SEA programs on, the total 

number of individuals who received 

unemployment compensation and were 

referred to an SEA program, participated 

in the SEA program, and received an 

allowance under the SEA program; 

• Establish reporting requirements for 

State SEA programs on the total amount 

of allowances provided to SEA 

participants; 

• Establish reporting requirements for 

State SEA programs on the total income 

for businesses established by 

participants and the total number of 

individuals employed in such 

businesses; 

• Establish reporting requirements for 

State SEA programs on other 

information the Secretary deems 

appropriate; and 

• Consult with employers, labor 

organizations, State workforce agencies, 

and other program experts in 

developing the model legislative 

language, guidance, development of 

reporting requirements, and delivery of 

technical assistance. 

The Act also requires the Secretary to 

utilize resources available throughout 

the Department and to coordinate with 

the Small Business Administration to 

ensure adequate funding is reserved and 

available to provide entrepreneurial 

training for SEA participants. 

Stakeholder Consultation Opportunities 

As described above, the Secretary is 

required to consult with employers, 

labor organizations, State workforce 

agencies, and other program experts in 

developing the model legislative 

language, guidance, development of 

reporting requirements, and delivery of 

technical assistance for both the STC 

and SEA initiatives. In order to meet 

this requirement and to expeditiously 

develop guidance for States to 

implement these programs, the 

Department invites employers, labor 

organizations, State workforce agencies, 

other relevant program experts, and 

other interested parties to participate in 

the listening sessions listed above 

designed to receive this input from key 


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16076 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 53 / Monday, March 19, 2012 / Notices 

program stakeholders. There will be two 

listening sessions scheduled for each 

program. In addition, a Web chat feature 

will be available to enable online 

contributions from participants who are 

unable to provide verbal contributions 

during the listening sessions due to do 

the available time and number of 

participants. The listening sessions will 

be 90 minutes long and will be 

recorded. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Dale Ziegler, Deputy Administrator, 

Office of Unemployment Insurance, 

ETA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 

Constitution Avenue NW., Room S– 

4524, Washington, DC 20210. 

Telephone: (202) 693–2942, (this is not 

a toll-free number). 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 13th day of 

March 2012. 

Jane Oates, 

Assistant Secretary, Employment and 

Training Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6573 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FW–P 

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS 

ADMINISTRATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: NARA is giving public notice 

that the agency proposes to request use 

of a new information collection. This 

information collection is a questionnaire 

designed to identify potential grant 

recipients that have limited experience 

with managing Federal funds. The 

public is invited to comment on the 

proposed information collections 

pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before May 18, 2012 to 

be assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent 

to: Paperwork Reduction Act Comments 

(NHP), Room 4400, National Archives 

and Records Administration, 8601 

Adelphi Rd, College Park, MD 20740– 

6001; or faxed to (301) 713–7409; or 

electronically mailed to 

tamee.fechhelm@nara.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the proposed information 

collections and supporting statements 

should be directed to Tamee Fechhelm 

at telephone number (301) 837–1694, or 

fax number (301) 713–7409. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(Public Law 104–13), NARA invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to comment on proposed 

information collections. The comments 

and suggestions should address one or 

more of the following points: (a) 

Whether the proposed information 

collection is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of NARA; 

(b) the accuracy of NARA’s estimate of 

the burden of the proposed information 

collection; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on all 

respondents, including the use of 

information technology; and (e) whether 

small businesses are affected by this 

collection. The comments that are 

submitted will be summarized and 

included in the NARA request for Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. In this notice, 

NARA is soliciting comments 

concerning the following information 

collections: 

Title: Accounting System and 

Financial Capability Questionnaire. 

OMB number: 3095–00XX. 

Agency form numbers: NA Form 

17003. 

Type of review: Regular. 

Affected public: Not-for-profit 

institutions and State, Local, or Tribal 

Government. 

Estimated number of respondents: 

100. 

Estimated time per response: 4 hours. 

Frequency of response: On occasion. 

Estimated total annual burden hours: 

400. 

Abstract: Pursuant to the Title 2, 

Section 215 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, Grants and Agreements 

with Institutions of Higher Education, 

Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit 

Organizations (formerly Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

Circular A–110) and Office of 

Management and Budget Circular A– 

133, Audits of States, Local 

Governments, and Non-Profit 

Organizations, grant recipients are 

required to maintain adequate 

accounting controls and systems in 

managing and administering Federal 

funds. Some of the recipients of grants 

from the National Historical 

Publications and Records Commission 

(NHPRC) have proven to have limited 

experience with managing Federal 

funds. This questionnaire is designed to 

identify those potential recipients and 

provide appropriate training or 

additional safeguards for Federal funds. 

Additionally, the questionnaire serves 

as a pre-audit function in identifying 

potential deficiencies and minimizing 

the risk of fraud, waste, abuse, or 

mismanagement, which we use in lieu 

of a more costly and time consuming 

formal pre-award audit. 

Dated: March 7, 2012. 

Michael L. Wash, 

Executive for Information Services/CIO. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6564 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7515–01–P 

National Science Foundation 

Advisory Committee for Mathematical 

and Physical Sciences; Notice of 

Meeting 

In accordance with Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463, as 

amended), the National Science 

Foundation announces the following 

meeting: 

Name: Directorate for Mathematical and 

Physical Sciences Advisory Committee (66). 

Date/Time: April 7, 2010 8 a.m.–6 p.m., 

April 8, 2010 8 a.m.–3 p.m. 

Place: National Science Foundation, Room 

1235, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 

22230. 

Type of Meeting: Open. 

Contact Person: Dr. Morris L. Aizenman, 

Senior Science Associate, Directorate for 

Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Room 

1005, National Science Foundation, 4201 

Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230. 

(703) 292–8807. 

Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice and 

recommendations concerning NSF science 

and education activities within the 

Directorate for Mathematical and Physical 

Sciences. 

Agenda 

Update on current status of Directorate 

Report of MPS Committee of Visitors 

Report of NSF Advisory Subcommittees 

Meeting of MPSAC with Divisions within 

MPS Directorate 

Discussion of MPS Long-term Planning 

Activities 

Summary Minutes: May be obtained from 

the contact person listed above. 

Dated: March 14, 2012. 

Susanne E. Bolton, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6572 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 


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