10246 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 23, 2022 / Notices 

1H–2A employers must provide workers engaged 

in herding or the production of livestock on the 

range meals or food to prepare meals without 

charge or deposit charge. See 20 CFR 655.210(e). 

2Consumer Price Index—December 2021, 

published January 12, 2022, at https://www.bls.gov/ 

news.release/archives/cpi_01122022.pdf. 

3 In 2021, the maximum allowable charge under 

20 CFR 655.122(g) and 655.173 was $13.17 per day. 

See 86 FR 13756 (Mar. 10, 2021). 

other forms of information technology, 

(e.g., permitting electronic submission 

of responses). 

Agency: DOL–ETA. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

changes. 

Title of Collection: Unemployment 

Insurance Benefit Accuracy 

Measurement. 

Form: BAM State Operations 

Handbook (ET Handbook 395, 5th 

edition). 

OMB Control Number: 1205–0245. 

Affected Public: State Workforce 

Agencies (Primary), individuals, 

businesses, and not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

181,633. 

Frequency: Varies. 

Total Estimated Annual Responses: 

228,745. 

Estimated Average Time per 

Response: Varies. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 618,084 hours. 

Total Estimated Annual Other Cost 

Burden: $0. 

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 

Angela Hanks, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment 

and Training, Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03765 Filed 2–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FW–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Labor Certification Process for the 

Temporary Employment of H–2A and 

H–2B Foreign Workers in the United 

States: Annual Update to Allowable 

Monetary Charges for Agricultural 

Workers’ Meals and for Travel 

Subsistence Reimbursement, 

Including Lodging 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Employment and 

Training Administration (ETA) of the 

Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing 

this notice to announce the annual 

updates to allowable monetary charges 

employers of H–2A workers, in 

occupations other than herding or 

production of livestock on the range, 

may charge these workers when the 

employer provides three meals per day. 

This notice also announces the 

maximum travel subsistence meal 

reimbursement a worker with receipts 

may claim under the H–2A and H–2B 

programs. Finally, this notice includes a 

reminder regarding employers’ 

obligations with respect to overnight 

lodging costs as part of required 

subsistence. 

DATES: This notice is effective on 

February 23, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office 

of Foreign Labor Certification, 

Employment and Training 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 

Room N–5311, Washington, DC 20210, 

telephone (202) 693–8200 (this is not a 

toll-free number). Individuals with 

hearing or speech impairments may 

access the telephone numbers above via 

TTY/TDD by calling the toll-free Federal 

Information Relay Service at 1 (877) 

889–5627. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 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 or H–2B 

nonimmigrant temporary workers in the 

U.S. unless the petitioner has received 

an H–2A or H–2B labor certification 

from DOL. The 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. 

See 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) and 

(b), 1184(c)(1), and 1188(a); 8 CFR 

214.2(h)(5) and (6); 20 CFR 655.1(a) and 

655.100. 

Allowable Meal Charge 

H–2A agricultural employers who are 

employing workers in occupations other 

than herding or production of livestock 

on the range must offer and provide 

each worker three meals per day or 

provide the workers free and convenient 

cooking facilities.1 See 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. See id. The amount of meal 

charges is governed by 20 CFR 655.173. 

By regulation, DOL has established 

the methodology for determining the 

maximum amount that H–2A 

agricultural employers may charge 

workers for providing them with three 

meals per day. See 20 CFR 655.173(a). 

This methodology allows for annual 

adjustments of the previous year’s 

maximum allowable charge based on 

the updated Consumer Price Index for 

All Urban Consumers for Food (CPI–U 

for Food), not seasonally adjusted. See 

id. The maximum amount employers 

may charge workers for providing meals 

is adjusted annually by the 12-month 

percentage change in the CPI–U for 

Food for the prior year (i.e., between 

December of the year just concluded 

and December of the prior year). See id. 

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification 

(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 percentage change in the CPI–U 

for Food between December 2020 and 

December 2021 was 6.3 percent.2 Thus, 

the annual update to the H–2A 

allowable meal charge is calculated by 

multiplying the current allowable meal 

charge ($13.17) by the 12-month 

percentage change in the CPI–U for 

Food between December 2020 and 

December 2021 ($13.17 × 1.063 = 

$14.00). Accordingly, the updated 

maximum allowable charge under 20 

CFR 655.122(g) and 655.173 is $14.00 

per day, and an employer is not 

permitted to charge a worker more than 

$14.00 per day unless the OFLC 

Certifying Officer approves a higher 

charge, as authorized under 20 CFR 

655.173(b).3

Reimbursement for Travel-Related 

Subsistence 

H–2B and H–2A employers must pay 

reasonable travel and subsistence costs, 

including the costs of meals and 

lodging, incurred by workers during 

travel to the worksite from the place 

from which the worker has come to 

work for the employer and from the 

place of employment to the place from 

which the worker departed to work for 

the employer, as well as any such costs 

incurred by the worker incident to 

obtaining a visa authorizing entry to the 

United States for the purpose of H–2A 

or H–2B employment. See 20 CFR 

655.122(h)(1) and (2) and 655.20(j)(1)(i) 

and (ii). 

Specifically, an H–2A employer is 

responsible for providing, paying in 

advance, or reimbursing a worker for the 

reasonable costs of daily travel-related 

subsistence between the employer’s 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 23, 2022 / Notices 10247 

4See id. 

worksite and the place from which the 

worker has come to work for the 

employer, if the worker completes 50 

percent of the work contract period. The 

employer must provide (or pay at the 

time of departure) the worker’s return 

costs upon the worker completing the 

contract or being dismissed without 

cause. See 20 CFR 655.122(h)(1) and (2). 

Similarly, an H–2B 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 has come to work for 

the employer—if the worker completes 

50 percent of the job order period—and 

upon the worker completing the job 

order period or being dismissed early 

(for any reason), return costs as well. 

See 20 CFR 655.20(j)(1)(i) and (ii). 

The minimum amount of daily travel 

subsistence expense for meals for which 

a worker is entitled to reimbursement 

must be at least as much as the 

employer would charge for providing 

the worker with three meals per day 

during employment (if applicable). 

Under no circumstances may the 

employer reimburse workers less than 

the amount permitted under 20 CFR 

655.173(a) (i.e., the current year’s daily 

meal charge amount of $14.00). The 

maximum amount an employer is 

required to reimburse workers for daily 

travel-related subsistence, as evidenced 

with receipts, is equal to the standard 

Continental United States (CONUS) per 

diem rate, as established by the General 

Services Administration (GSA) at 41 

CFR part 301, formerly published in 

Appendix A and now found at https:// 

www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/perdiem-rates. See Maximum Per Diem 

Reimbursement Rates for the 

Continental United States, 86 FR 45731 

(Aug. 16, 2021) (2021 Update). The 

standard CONUS meals and incidental 

expenses rate is $59.00 per day for 

2022.4 Workers who qualify for travel 

reimbursement are entitled to 

reimbursement for meals up to the 

standard CONUS meals and incidental 

expenses rate when they provide 

receipts. In determining the appropriate 

amount of reimbursement for meals for 

less than a full day, the employer may 

limit the meal expense reimbursement, 

with receipts, to 75 percent of the 

maximum reimbursement for meals, or 

$44.25, based on the GSA per diem 

schedule. See 2021 Update, 86 FR at 

45731. If a worker does not provide 

receipts, the employer is not obligated 

to reimburse above the minimum stated 

at 20 CFR 655.173, as specified above. 

If transportation and lodging are not 

provided by the employer, the amount 

an employer must pay for 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. 

The employer also is responsible for the 

costs of return transportation and 

subsistence, including lodging costs 

where necessary, as described above. 

These requirements apply equally to 

instances where the worker is traveling 

within the U.S. to the employer’s 

worksite. See 20 CFR 655.122(h)(1) and 

(2) and 655.20(j)(1)(i) and (ii). 

For further information on when the 

employer is responsible for lodging 

costs, please see the DOL’s H–2A 

Frequently Asked Questions on Travel 

and Daily Subsistence, on OFLC’s 

website at https://www.dol.gov/ 

agencies/eta/foreign-labor. 

Authority: 20 CFR 655.173. 

Angela Hanks, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment 

and Training, Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03762 Filed 2–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Comment Request; 

Unemployment Compensation for ExServicemembers, Handbook No. 384 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor’s 

(DOL) Employment and Training 

Administration (ETA) is soliciting 

comments concerning a proposed 

revision to the information collection 

request (ICR) titled, ‘‘Unemployment 

Compensation for Ex-servicemembers 

Handbook No. 384.’’ 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). 

DATES: Consideration will be given to all 

written comments received by April 25, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with 

applicable supporting documentation, 

including a description of the likely 

respondents, proposed frequency of 

response, and estimated total burden, 

may be obtained free by contacting Jorge 

Colo ́n by telephone at (202) 693–0173 

(this is not a toll-free number), TTY 1– 

877–889–5627 (this is not a toll-free 

number), or by email at Colon.Jorge.D@

dol.gov. 

Submit written comments about, or 

requests for a copy of, this ICR by mail 

or courier to the U.S. Department of 

Labor, Employment and Training 

Administration, Office of 

Unemployment Insurance, 200 

Constitution Ave. NW, S–4524, 

Washington, DC 20210; or by email: 

Colon.Jorge.D@dol.gov or by Fax at 202– 

693–3975. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jorge Colo ́n by telephone at (202) 693– 

0173 (this is not a toll-free number) or 

by email at Colon.Jorge.D@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOL, as 

part of continuing efforts to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

conducts a pre-clearance consultation 

program to provide the general public 

and Federal agencies an opportunity to 

comment on proposed and/or 

continuing collections of information 

before submitting them to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for final 

approval. This program helps to ensure 

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 can be properly assessed. 

This notice reflects a revision changing 

the burden for the frequency of 

responses per respondent, reducing the 

frequency from 51.5 to 36. 

State Workforce Agencies (SWA) 

administer the Unemployment 

Compensation for Ex-servicemembers 

(UCX) program in accordance with the 

same terms and provisions of the paying 

State’s unemployment insurance laws, 

which apply to unemployed claimants 

who worked in the private sector. SWAs 

must be able to obtain certain 

information (wage and separation data) 

about each claimant filing claims for 

UCX benefits in order to determine their 

eligibility for benefits. DOL has 

prescribed a form to enable SWAs to 

obtain this necessary information from 

the Military Branches. Form ETA–843 is 

essential to the UCX claims process, and 

the frequency of use varies depending 

upon the circumstances involved. 

Sections 8521–8525 of Title 5 of the 

U.S. Code authorize this information 

collection. 

This information collection is subject 

to the PRA. A Federal agency generally 

cannot conduct or sponsor a collection 


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