[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 18, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65163-65164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31210]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Labor-Management Standards
29 CFR Part 470
RIN 1215-AB33
Obligations of Federal Contractors and Subcontractors; Notice of
Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Fees
AGENCY: Office of Labor-Management Standards, Employment Standards
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of request for duplicate copies of comments affected by
mail delivery problems.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) is seeking
information about, and duplicate copies of, public comments that may
have been submitted via U.S. mail, but that have not yet been received
by OLMS because of mail delivery problems that the U.S. Department of
Labor experienced from October through December of 2001. The subject of
such comments would have been a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM)
that was published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2001. The NPRM
proposed a regulation to implement Executive Order 13201, which was
signed by President George W. Bush on February 17, 2001.
DATES: Submission Period: Duplicate copies of comments that were
originally submitted by U.S. mail before the November 30, 2001, close
of the comment period, and that have not yet been received by OLMS,
must be submitted and received by January 2, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Duplicate copies of comments originally submitted via U.S.
mail during the comment period should be sent to Don Todd, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Programs, Office of Labor-
Management-Standards, Employment Standards Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor. Because of the special circumstances, described
below, that require the issuance of this notice, OLMS prefers that such
duplicate copies and accompanying documentation (see below) be
transmitted by facsimile (FAX) machine or e-mail. The e-mail address
for transmitting these documents is esa.gov">[email protected]esa.gov. The
telephone number of the FAX receiver is (202) 693-1340. Please note
that the NPRM originally limited comments sent via FAX transmittal to
five pages or fewer; however, this limitation will not apply to
transmission of duplicate copies. As described in detail in the
``Supplementary Information'' section below, arrangements for hard-copy
delivery may also be made by contacting OLMS.
As set forth in the NPRM, comments will be available for public
inspection during normal business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kay Oshel, Chief, Division of
Interpretations and Standards, Office of Labor-Management Standards,
Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-5605, Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-
1233 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with hearing
impairments may call 1-800-877-8339 (TTY/TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 1, 2001, OLMS published the
above-mentioned NPRM. See 66 FR 50010. The NPRM proposed a Rule to
implement Executive Order 13201 (66 FR 11221, February 22, 2001). As
set forth in detail in the preamble to the NPRM, that Order requires
non-exempt Government contractors and subcontractors to post notices
informing their employees that under Federal law, those employees have
certain rights related to union membership and use of union dues and
fees. The Order also provides the text of contractual provisions that
Federal Government contracting departments and agencies must include in
every Government contract, except for collective bargaining agreements
(as defined in 5 U.S.C. 7103(a)(8)) and contracts for purchases under
the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (as defined in the Office of
Federal Procurement Policy Act, 41 U.S.C. 403). The Rule proposed in
the NPRM would provide the text of the required contractual provisions,
explain exemptions, and set forth procedures for ensuring compliance
with the Order; it also would contain other related requirements. See
66 FR 50010 et seq. Both the Executive Order and the Proposed Rule were
intended to inform employees of their rights under the decisions of the
United States Supreme Court in Communications Workers of America v.
Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988), and related cases.
The NPRM invited comments on the Proposed Rule. Comments were to be
submitted to Deputy Assistant Secretary Don Todd at the Department of
Labor's (the Department's) main building, the Frances Perkins Building
(FPB), in Washington, DC. The NPRM established the deadline for receipt
of such comments as November 30, 2001.
On October 22, 2001, because postal workers at the U.S. Postal
Service's Brentwood mail distribution center in Washington, DC, were
found to have been exposed to anthrax bacteria, the Department
temporarily closed its mailrooms in the Washington metropolitan area
that received mail from Brentwood, including the mailroom in the
Frances Perkins Building. As a result, all mail that was addressed to
the FPB (including all first-class mail postmarked October 12 or later)
was redirected to a Lima, Ohio, facility to be irradiated. This
situation was not anticipated when OLMS set the deadline for receipt of
comments on the NPRM.
The FPB mailroom reopened on Monday, November 26, 2001. However,
because of the large amount of mail that was redirected to Ohio for
irradiation, delivery of the redirected mail to its intended recipients
has not yet been completed, and may not be completed for some time.
As of December 12, 2001, OLMS has received comments about the NPRM
from the following six commenters: the National Legal and Policy
Center; the Employment Policy Foundation; the
[[Page 65164]]
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.; the Associated
General Contractors of America, Inc.; LPA, Inc.; and a group of Members
of Congress who serve on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Education and the Workforce. OLMS seeks information about, and
duplicate copies of comments from, any other individuals or
organizations who submitted comments about the NPRM via U.S. mail
during the comment period. Such duplicate copies should be accompanied
by documentation establishing that the comments were originally mailed
on or before the November 30 deadline.
Duplicate copies of comments and accompanying documentation may be
delivered via facsimile or e-mail at the phone number and address
listed above. Where necessary, hard copies may also be delivered to the
address listed above in the ``For Further Information Contact''
section, via hand delivery, courier service, or a package delivery
service such as United Parcel Service, FedEx, or Airborne Express. OLMS
recommends that, where such hard copy delivery is necessary, the
commenter contact OLMS by telephone in advance to make appropriate
arrangements for delivery.
Signed at Washington, D.C., this 14th day of December, 2001.
D. Cameron Findlay,
Deputy Secretary.
Don Todd,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 01-31210 Filed 12-17-01; 10:33 am]
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