Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 3625 

1Although this provision vests approval authority 

in the ‘‘Attorney General,’’ the Secretary of 

Homeland Security now may exercise this 

authority. See 6 U.S.C. 202(3)–(4), 251, 271(b), 291, 

551(d)(2), 557; 8 U.S.C. 1103(c) (2000). 

2 Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

& Explosives, 920 F.3d 1, 13 (D.C. Cir. 2019). 

Background 

With the Framework for Artificial 

Intelligence Diffusion interim final rule, 

the Commerce Department’s Bureau of 

Industry and Security (BIS) revises the 

Export Administration Regulations’ 

(EAR) controls on advanced computing 

integrated circuits (ICs) and adds a new 

control on artificial intelligence (AI) 

model weights for certain advanced 

closed-weight dual-use AI models. In 

conjunction with the expansion of these 

controls, which BIS has determined are 

necessary to protect U.S. national 

security and foreign policy interests, BIS 

is adding new license exceptions and 

updating the Data Center Validated End 

User authorization to facilitate the 

export, reexport, and transfer (incountry) of advanced computing ICs to 

end users in destinations that do not 

raise national security or foreign policy 

concerns.Together, these changes will 

cultivate secure ecosystems for the 

responsible diffusion and use of AI and 

advanced computing ICs. 

Public Briefing 

On January 15, 2025, BIS will host a 

public briefing to address the details of 

this rule. The virtual public briefing will 

be held on January 15, 2025. The virtual 

public briefing will begin at 12 p.m. EST 

and conclude at 1 p.m. EST. 

Procedure for Requesting Participation 

To participate in the public meeting 

virtually, register at: https://

events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/ 

a0c17530-aae8-43e0-b64ce2f9bafbbcf4@44cf3ec3-840c-4086-b7dee3bc9a6c2db4 no later than 9 a.m. EST 

on January 15, 2025, for virtual 

participation. This web page will also 

display the agenda of the public meeting 

and any other necessary information. 

Special Accommodations 

For any special accommodation 

needs, please send an email to: rpd2@

bis.doc.gov. 

Thea D. Rozman Kendler, 

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00637 Filed 1–13–25; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

20 CFR Part 655 

[DOL Docket No. ETA–2020–0005] 

Adjudication of Temporary and 

Seasonal Need for Herding and 

Production of Livestock on the Range 

Applications Under the H–2A Program; 

Ratification of Department’s Actions 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Ratification. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor is 

publishing notification of the Assistant 

Secretary for Employment and 

Training’s ratification of the rule 

published December 16, 2021, titled 

Adjudication of Temporary and 

Seasonal Need for Herding and 

Production of Livestock on the Range 

Applications Under the H–2A Program. 

DATES: This ratification was signed on 

January 10, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information regarding 20 CFR 

part 655, 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 

Teletypewriter (TTY)/ 

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 

(TDD) by calling the toll-free Federal 

Information Relay Service at 1 (877) 

889–5627. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On May 6, 2021, the Department of 

Labor (‘‘DOL’’ or ‘‘Department’’) issued 

a notice of proposed rulemaking 

(‘‘NPRM’’) in the Federal Register 

(‘‘FR’’) to amend its regulations 

regarding the adjudication of temporary 

and seasonal need for employers 

seeking herding or production of 

livestock on the range job opportunities 

under the H–2A program. See 

Adjudication of Temporary and 

Seasonal Need for Herding and 

Production of Livestock on the Range 

Applications Under the H–2A Program, 

86 FR 24368 (May 6, 2021) (‘‘NPRM’’). 

The NPRM was open for public 

comment for 30 days until June 7, 2021. 

See Adjudication of Temporary and 

Seasonal Need for Herding and 

Production of Livestock on the Range 

Applications Under the H–2A Program, 

86 FR 71373, 71376 (Dec. 16, 2021) 

(‘‘Final Rule’’). On December 16, 2021, 

DOL published the Final Rule in the FR. 

See Final Rule, 86 FR 71373. The Final 

Rule went into effect on January 18, 

2022. Id. 

Since publication of the Final Rule, a 

question has been raised in litigation 

concerning whether a separate rule, 

Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology 

for the Temporary Employment of H–2A 

Nonimmigrants in the Non-Range 

Occupations in the United States, 88 FR 

12760 (Feb. 28, 2023), was approved by 

the Attorney General in consultation 

with the Secretary of Labor and the 

Secretary of Agriculture. 8 U.S.C. 1188, 

Statutory Note.1 With respect to the 

Final Rule, prior to its issuance on 

December 16, 2021, the Final Rule was 

provided to the Departments of 

Homeland Security and Agriculture 

through the interagency review process 

prescribed by Executive Order 12866. 

Further, on December 31, 2024, the 

Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

consultation with the Secretary of Labor 

and Secretary of Agriculture, approved 

the Final Rule. 

To resolve any possible uncertainty 

with respect to the Final Rule, the 

Department, through its Assistant 

Secretary for Employment and Training, 

is ratifying the Final Rule. Under 

established case law, an agency may, 

through ratification, ‘‘purge[ ] any 

residual taint or prejudice left over 

from’’ a potential defect in a prior 

governmental action.2 The Department 

is issuing this ratification out of an 

abundance of caution, and this 

ratification is not a statement that the 

Final Rule is invalid absent this 

ratification. 

II. Ratification 

By virtue of the authority vested in 

the Secretary of Labor by law, including 

by the Immigration and Nationality Act 

of 1952, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

seq. (‘‘INA’’), and as delegated to the 

Assistant Secretary for Employment and 

Training, 75 FR 66268, I am affirming 

and ratifying a prior action by Angela 

Hanks, Acting Assistant Secretary for 

Employment and Training. On 

December 16, 2021, the Employment 

and Training Administration published 

in the FR the Final Rule codifying 

amendments to the Department’s 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
3626 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 15, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

1Although this provision vests approval authority 

in the ‘‘Attorney General,’’ the Secretary of 

Homeland Security now may exercise this 

authority. See 6 U.S.C. 202(3)–(4), 251, 271(b), 291, 

551(d)(2), 557; 8 U.S.C. 1103(c) (2000). 

2 Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

& Explosives, 920 F.3d 1, 13 (D.C. Cir. 2019). 

regulations regarding the adjudication of 

temporary need for employers seeking 

to employ nonimmigrant workers in job 

opportunities covering the herding or 

production of livestock on the range. 86 

FR 71373 (Dec. 16, 2021). 

The Final Rule was signed by Acting 

Assistant Secretary Hanks. I have full 

and complete knowledge of the Final 

Rule action taken by former Acting 

Assistant Secretary Hanks. Subsequent 

to the Secretary of Homeland Security’s 

documented approval of the Final Rule 

dated December 31, 2024, in 

consultation with the Secretary of Labor 

and Secretary of Agriculture, and out of 

an abundance of caution and to avoid 

any doubt as to its validity, I have 

independently evaluated the Final Rule 

and the basis for adopting it. I have 

determined that the amendments to the 

regulations in the Final Rule are 

consistent with the Secretary of Labor’s 

statutory responsibility to certify that 

there are insufficient able, willing, and 

qualified U.S. workers available to 

perform the needed work and that the 

employment of H–2A workers will not 

adversely affect the wages and working 

conditions of workers in the United 

States similarly employed. I have also 

determined that the changes adopted in 

the Final Rule strike an appropriate 

balance between the statute’s competing 

goals of providing employers with an 

adequate supply of legal agricultural 

labor and protecting the wages of 

workers in the United States similarly 

employed by ensuring the Department’s 

adjudication of temporary or seasonal 

need is conducted in the same manner 

for all applications for temporary 

agricultural labor certification, 

consistent with statute’s requirements. I 

also agree with the Department’s 

certification that the Final Rule does not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

See Final Rule, 86 FR 71382. 

Therefore, pursuant to my authority 

as the Assistant Secretary for 

Employment and Training, and based 

on my independent review of the action 

and the reasons for taking it, I hereby 

affirm and ratify the Final Rule, as of 

January 10, 2025, including all 

regulatory analysis certifications 

contained therein. This action is taken 

without prejudice to any right to litigate 

the validity of the Final Rule as 

approved and published on December 

16, 2021. Nothing in this action is 

intended to suggest any legal defect or 

infirmity in the approval or publication 

of the Final Rule. 

Jose ́ Javier Rodrı ́guez, 

Assistant Secretary, Employment and 

Training Administration, Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00829 Filed 1–14–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

20 CFR Part 655 

[DOL Docket No. ETA–2015–0004] 

Temporary Agricultural Employment of 

H–2A Foreign Workers in the Herding 

or Production of Livestock on the 

Range in the United States; 

Ratification of Department’s Actions 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Ratification. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor is 

publishing notification of the Assistant 

Secretary for Employment and 

Training’s ratification of the rule 

published October 16, 2015, titled 

Temporary Agricultural Employment of 

H–2A Foreign Workers in the Herding or 

Production of Livestock on the Range in 

the United States. 

DATES: This ratification was signed on 

January 10, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information regarding 20 CFR 

part 655, 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 

Teletypewriter (TTY)/ 

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 

(TDD) by calling the toll-free Federal 

Information Relay Service at 1 (877) 

889–5627. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On April 15, 2015, the Department of 

Labor (‘‘DOL’’ or ‘‘Department’’) issued 

a notice of proposed rulemaking 

(‘‘NPRM’’) in the Federal Register 

(‘‘FR’’) to amend its regulations 

regarding the certification of temporary 

employment of nonimmigrant workers 

in temporary or seasonal agricultural 

employment in herding or the 

production of livestock on the range in 

the United States. See Temporary 

Agricultural Employment of H–2A 

Foreign Workers in the Herding or 

Production of Livestock on the Open 

Range in the United States, 80 FR 20300 

(Apr. 15, 2015) (‘‘NPRM’’). The NPRM 

was open for public comment for 45 

days until June 1, 2015. See Temporary 

Agricultural Employment of H–2A 

Foreign Workers in the Herding or 

Production of Livestock on the Range in 

the United States, 80 FR 62958 (Oct. 16, 

2015) (‘‘Final Rule’’). On October 16, 

2015, DOL published a final rule in the 

FR. See Final Rule, 80 FR at 62958. The 

Final Rule went into effect on November 

16, 2015. Id. 

Since publication of the Final Rule, a 

question has been raised in litigation 

concerning whether a separate rule, 

Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology 

for the Temporary Employment of H–2A 

Nonimmigrants in the Non-Range 

Occupations in the United States, 88 FR 

12760 (Feb. 28, 2023), was approved by 

the Attorney General in consultation 

with the Secretary of Labor and the 

Secretary of Agriculture. 8 U.S.C. 1188, 

Statutory Note.1 With respect to the 

Final Rule, prior to its issuance on 

October 15, 2015, the Final Rule was 

provided to the Departments of 

Homeland Security and Agriculture 

through the interagency review process 

prescribed by Executive Order 12866. 

Further, on December 31, 2024, the 

Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

consultation with the Secretary of Labor 

and Secretary of Agriculture, approved 

the Final Rule. 

To resolve any possible uncertainty 

with respect to the Final Rule, the 

Department, through its Assistant 

Secretary for Employment and Training, 

is ratifying the Final Rule. Under 

established case law, an agency may, 

through ratification, ‘‘purge[ ] any 

residual taint or prejudice left over 

from’’ a potential defect in a prior 

governmental action.2 The Department 

is issuing this ratification out of an 

abundance of caution, and this 

ratification is not a statement that the 

Final Rule is invalid absent this 

ratification. 

II. Ratification 

By virtue of the authority vested in 

the Secretary of Labor by law, including 

by the Immigration and Nationality Act 

of 1952, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

seq. (‘‘INA’’), and as delegated to the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1