2020-06314. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Application for a Farm Labor Contractor or Farm Labor Contractor Employee Certificate of Registration

ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Wage and Hour Division (WHD)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before April 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) if the information will be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (4) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (5) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-693-8073, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) provides that no person shall engage in any farm labor contracting activity for any money or valuable consideration paid or promised to be paid, unless such person has a certificate of registration from the Secretary of Labor specifying which farm labor contracting activities such person is authorized to perform. See 29 U.S.C. 1802(7), 1811(a); 29 CFR 500.1(c), -.20(i), -.40. MSPA also provides that a Farm Labor Contractor (FLC) shall not hire, employ, or use any individual to perform farm labor contracting activities unless such individual has a certificate of registration as a FLC or a certificate of registration as a Farm Labor Contractor Employee (FLCE) of the FLC that authorizes the activity for which such individual is hired, employed or used. 29 U.S.C. 1811(b); 29 CFR 500.1(c). Form WH-530 is an application used to obtain a Farm Labor Contractor License. This information collection is currently approved for use through March 31, 2020. MSPA section 401 (29 U.S.C. 1841) requires, subject to certain exceptions, all Farm Labor Contractors (FLCs), Agricultural Employers (AGERs), and Agricultural Associations (AGASs) to ensure that any vehicle they use or cause to be used to transport or drive any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker conforms to safety and health standards prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under the MSPA and with other applicable Federal and State safety standards. These MSPA safety standards address the vehicle, driver, and insurance. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has created Forms WH-514, WH-514a, and WH-515, which allow FLC applicants to verify to the WHD that the vehicles used to transport migrant/seasonal agricultural workers meet the MSPA vehicle safety standards and that anyone who drives such workers meets the Act's minimum physical requirements. The WHD uses the information in deciding whether to authorize the FLC/FLC Employee applicant to transport/drive any migrant/seasonal agricultural worker(s) or to cause such transportation. Form WH-514 is used to verify that any vehicle used or caused to be used to transport any migrant/seasonal agricultural worker(s) meets the Department of Transportation (DOT) safety standards. When the adopted DOT rules do not apply, FLC applicants seeking authorization to transport any migrant/seasonal agricultural workers use Form WH-514a to verify that the vehicles meet the DOL safety standards and, upon the vehicle meeting the required safety standards, the form is completed. Form WH-515 is a doctor's certificate used to document that a motor vehicle driver or operator meets the minimum DOT physical requirements that the DOL has adopted. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on October 31, 2019 (84 FR 58413).

This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.

DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.

Agency: DOL-WHD.

Title of Collection: Application for a Farm Labor Contractor or Farm Labor Contractor Employee Certificate of Registration.

OMB Control Number: 1235-0016.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, farms, not-for-profit institutions.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 27,632.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 34,672.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 13,304 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $995,540.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

Dated: March 19, 2020.

Frederick Licari,

Departmental Clearance Officer.