10814 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

guidance and examples of the

appropriate methods for determination

of the actual wage for purposes of the

H–1B wage requirement. The

underlying regulatory provisions at

§§ 655.731(a)(1), 655.731(b)(2), and

655.760(a)(3) were not open for notice

and comment.

In the Interim Final Rule preamble,

the Department fully described and

responded to the comments and stated:

After carefully considering all the

comments, the Department has concluded

that Appendix A—which was created in

response to employers’ requests for technical

guidance—has not served its intended

purpose and has, instead, caused some

confusion. The Department has, therefore,

decided that Appendix A will not be

included in the Interim Final Rule. The

controlling standards for determining and

documenting an employee’s ‘‘actual wage’’

are contained in the current regulation, 20

CFR 655.731(a)(1), 655.731(b)(2), and

655.760(a)(3) (none of which were opened for

comment in the NPRM). If the need arises in

the future, the Department, as appropriate,

will provide compliance advice or technical

assistance further explaining the current

regulation.

[65 FR 80193]

Although this preamble discussion

made the Department’s intention

perfectly clear, and the Table of

Contents did not contain Appendix A,

the Department neglected to include an

explicit instruction in the regulatory

text to delete Appendix A. It is,

therefore, necessary that a correction

Rule be issued to achieve the Interim

Final Rule’s intention. This Final Rule

provides the needed correction, and

removes Appendix A from the H–1B

regulations.

Procedural Requirements

The Department is of the view that

this correction to an inadvertent error in

the Interim Final Rule is not a rule to

which the procedural requirements of

the Administrative Procedure Act or the

various statutes and executive orders

relating to rules apply. If this correction

is a rule, however, notice and comment

is not required. Interested parties have

had two opportunities to comment on

Appendix A. In addition, the Appendix

was an interpretation of § 655.731 and,

as required by the rules of the Federal

Register, did not contain new

requirements or restrictions.

Furthermore, if the correction is a rule,

the Department finds good cause not to

provide further notice and comment.

Such additional notice and comment

would be unnecessary and contrary to

the public interest since the public was

advised in the preamble to the Interim

Final Rule that the Appendix was

deleted and unnecessary confusion

would result if this correction were not

made immediately. For the same

reasons, the correction is effective on

January 19, 2001, the effective date of

the Interim Final Rule.

This correction contains no

paperwork requirements to which the

Paperwork Reduction Act applies. In

addition, this action, if a rule, is not a

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ within

the meaning of Executive Order 12866.

Furthermore, this action is not a ‘‘major

rule’’ within the meaning of the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement Act or

an ‘‘unfunded mandate’’ within the

meaning of Title II of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995. Finally,

the action will not have federalism

implications within the meaning of

Executive Order 13132, and a regulatory

flexibility analysis is not required by the

Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Accordingly, the Department makes

the following correction to the interim

final rule published on December 20,

2000. On page 80233, in the first

column immediately preceding the

heading for subpart I, insert instruction

21a to read as follows:

21a. Appendix A to subpart H of part

655 is removed.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 12th day of

February, 2001.

Raymond J. Uhalde,

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and

Training Administration.

Thomas M. Markey,

Acting Administrator, Wage and Hour

Division, Employment Standards

Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–4126 Filed 2–16–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–30–U

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training

Administration

20 CFR Parts 655 and 656

RIN 1215–AB09

Labor Condition Applications and

Requirements for Employers Using

Nonimmigrants on H–1B Visas in

Specialty Occupations and as Fashion

Models; Labor Certification Process

for Permanent Employment of Aliens

in the United States

AGENCY: Employment and Training

Administration, Labor, in concurrence

with the Employment Standards

Administration, Wage and Hour

Division, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Interim final rule; OMB

approval of information collection

requirements.

SUMMARY: The Employment and

Training Administration (ETA) and the

Employment Standards Administration

(ESA) of the Department of Labor (DOL)

are providing notice that on January 18,

2001, the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) approved under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the

information collection requirements

contained in Sections 655.700; 655.731;

655.736; 655.737(e)(1); 655.738(e);

655.739(i), and 655.760 of the subject

regulation, under OMB No. 1205–0310.

DATES: These information collection

requirements became effective on

January 19, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Ginley, Director, Office of

Enforcement Policy, Wage and Hour

Division, Employment Standards

Administration, Department of Labor,

Room S–3510, 200 Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20210.

Telephone: (202) 693–0745 (this is not

a toll-free number).

Dale M. Ziegler, Chief, Division of

Foreign Labor Certifications, U.S.

Employment Service, Employment and

Training Administration, Department of

Labor, Room C–4318, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.

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

a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

December 20, 2000 (65 FR 80110), ETA

and ESA jointly published an Interim

Final Rule (IFR) governing the

employment of H–1B nonimmigrants in

the United States. The Department at

the same time submitted an information

collection request, in accordance with

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and 5 CFR part 1320,

seeking approval of the information

collection requirements contained in

that rule. These information collection

requirements are contained in Sections

655.700; 655.731; 655.736;

655.737(e)(1); 655.738(e); 655.739(i);

and 655.760 of that rule.

On January 18, 2001, OMB approved

these information collections under the

PRA and 5 CFR part 1320. The OMB

control number assigned to these

information collections is 1205–0310

and approval will expire January 31,

2004.

Signed at Washington, DC this 12th day of

February, 2001.

Raymond J. Uhalde,

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and

Training Administration.

Thomas M. Markey,

Acting Administrator, Wage and Hour

Division, Employment Standards

Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–4119 Filed 2–16–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–30–P