ESA Proposed Rule

Volume 66, Number 243, Page 65163-65164

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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 OLMS-Mail@fenix2.dol-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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