TEGL_15-15_Attachment1_Acc.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

Attachment 1 Program Planning Guidance and Information Package I. Introduction The Immigration and Nationality Act assigns certain responsibilities to the Secretary of Labor Secretary for employment-based immigration programs that require a labor certification. These statutory responsibilities include determining whether there are able willing and qualified U.S. workers available for the position in the area of intended employment and whether there would be any adverse effect on similarly-employed U.S. workers should a labor certification be granted. Accordingly statutory and regulatory provisions require all employers seeking to hire either permanent or temporary nonimmigrant foreign labor to apply first to the Secretary for certification. The Secretary has delegated the administration of these certification programs to the Employment and Training Administration s ETA s Office of Foreign Labor Certification OFLC . Congress appropriates funding for Federal and State foreign labor certification activities through the State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations SUIESO account. The State Grants activity funds services provided by State Workforce Agencies SWAs in support of the foreign labor certification program including placements of job orders inspections of employer-provided housing and the administration of prevailing wage employment practice surveys. ETA through OFLC distributes these funds annually to SWAs in accordance with approved State plans. This Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL provides SWAs with the necessary guidelines for updating their annual plans and requesting funds in order to carry out their foreign labor certification program responsibilities. The annual plan must show activity to be performed between October 1 2015 and September 30 2016. II. Grant Procedures A. Grant Application. The SWA grant application must be developed in accordance with the instructions contained in this TEGL. The grant application package submitted by the SWA to OFLC should consist of 1 a transmittal letter and 2 one original and one copy of the following documents Application for Federal Assistance SF-424 Office of Management and Budget OMB Control No. 4040-0004 Grants.gov . http www.grants.gov web grants forms sf-424-family.html Budget Information -Non-Construction Programs SF 424A sections B and D only OMB Control No. 4040-0006 Grants.gov . http apply07.grants.gov apply forms sample SF424A-V1.0.pdf 2 Important Notes 1. Submit a justification and supporting documentation for any proposed equipment purchases of 5 000 or more in addition to the grant budget form narrative. Prior approval of any equipment exceeding 5 000 and any contracts subcontracts must be obtained per 29 CFR 97.32 equipment and 29 CFR 97.30 subgrants contracts . 2. Please submit in addition to the grant budget form a narrative including supporting documentation to justify any proposed contracts and or subcontracts the SWA intends to execute to carry out these grant activities. In addition to the above additional justifications if needed and submitting the total grant amount request as specified in the 424 and 424a please note the application budget must be based on projected State territory needs for a period of one year. 3. Full-year funding levels will not be confirmed until the annual plans have been reviewed. Please use Attachment 4 to this TEGL as guidance for estimated funding. FY 2016 Annual Plan Foreign Labor Certification Workload Attachment 2 Section A H-2B Program Activities Attachment 2 Section B H-2A Program Activities Attachment 2 Section C Cost of H-2A and H-2B Temporary Labor Certification Activities Attachment 2 Section D Grantee Contact Information Attachment 2 Section F Annual Plan Certification Attachment 3 B. Grant Submission. A completed grant application package must be submitted by the SWA to OFLC within 30 calendar days following the date of issuance of the planning guidance using the following address 3 Office of Foreign Labor Certification Employment and Training Administration Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue NW Box 12-200 Washington DC 20210 To expedite review of your grant application package the preferred method is for SWAs to send a signed and scanned Word or PDF copy of the application to FLC.Grant dol.gov . Please include FY 2016 SWA Grant Plan in the subject line of the e-mail. C. Grant Approval. Within 30 calendar days of receipt OFLC will review the grant application package and inform the SWA in writing of any concerns or deficiencies that may prevent the grant application package from being approved. When it is determined that the grant application package meets the established criteria the OFLC Administrator will recommend approval to the ETA Grant Officer. After reviewing the approved grant application package from the OFLC Administrator the ETA Grant Officer will issue the grant including the approved grant application package and a Notice of Obligation to the SWA. D. Grant Signatures. The SWA s authorized representative must sign all signature pages of the grant application. If that individual has changed from the prior year you must provide an official letter on State letterhead with the grant application package identifying the new authorized representative. E. Grant Modifications. The grantee and the ETA Grant Officer at the recommendation of the OFLC Administrator may jointly modify the FY 2016 SWA Annual Plan including negotiated changes in program activities e.g. review of job orders wage or prevailing practice surveys etc. and funding levels during the grant period of performance. Any grant plan modification request must include a transmittal letter written narrative of the proposed modification s revised annual budget and quarterly spending plan. In the event that the Secretary is required by future legislation regulatory action or a court order to carry out responsibilities related to the administration of foreign labor certification programs not currently anticipated the OFLC Administrator will notify the SWAs and request that they submit appropriate modifications to their approved grant plans directly to the ETA Grant Officer in order to fully carry out their responsibilities. 4 III. Grant Reporting Procedures As a c ondition of receiving these grant funds SWAs agree to carry out responsibilities supporting the administration of foreign labor certification programs in accordance with all applicable regulations policies procedures handbooks manuals and other directives including but not limited to 20 CFR parts 655 and 656 29 CFR Part 97 and 2 CFR Part 225. Financial and programmatic reporting by SWAs enables OFLC to report key information to Congress and OFLC stakeholders regarding the use of grant funds. Accurate reporting of required financial and program management data provides vital information to support future OFLC funding levels and ensure the appropriate management of grant funds. OFLC is resp onsible for monitoring these cost-reimbursable grants. Monitoring activities may include review and recommendation for approval of the grant application package analysis of expenditure and performance data submitted by grantees execution of programmatic plan modifications assessing a grantee s timely and accurate submission of all required reports and on-site reviews where needed. OFLC will advise SWAs on how to administer the grant in accordance with the approved plan and the terms and conditions of their Wagner-Peyser Annual Grant Funding Agreement. SWAs will report financial and program management information using the following required reports A. Financial Status Report. ETA requires all grant recipients to submit the Form ETA- 9130 U.S. DOL Financial Report OMB Control No. 1205-0461 on a quarterly basis providing detailed expenditure information on the grant award activities. The Form ETA-9130 report is due no later than 45 calendar days after the end of each quarter left in the fiscal year and must be submitted online through ETA s Grantee Reporting System at https www.etareports.doleta.gov CFDOCS grantee prod reporting index.cfm . You can obtain a copy of the Form ETA-9130 at the following Web site http www.doleta.gov grants docs ETA-9130-ESandUI.pdf . Fiscal Year 2016 Reporting Months Report Due Date 1st Quarter October December February 14 2016 2nd Quarter January March May 15 2016 3rd Quarter April June August 15 2016 4th Quarter July September November 15 2016 The reporting system is available 24 hours a day including weekends however technical support is not available on weekends. If th e SWA experiences any technical issues submitting the report please contact the E-Grants Helpdesk via e-mail at e-grants.help dol.gov or phone at 202 693-2682. 5 Import ant Notes on Allowable Costs Costs incurred under the grant may only be attributed to activities supporting the dire ct administration of foreign labor certification programs and Costs may include staff resources travel expenditures other direct administrative costs and indirect overhead support where an approved indirect cost plan is in place . B. Program Activity Report. To account for work performed under the grant SWAs must submit the Form ETA-9127 Foreign Labor Certification Quarterly Activity Report OMB Control No. 1205-0457 on a quarterly basis providing detailed information on H-2A and H-2B program activities. The data required by the Form ETA-9127 are available to the SWAs as part of their routine processing of requests from employers SWAs currently maintain this data . The Form ETA-9127 report is due within 2 weeks after the end of each quarter during the fiscal year and may be submitted by e-mail directly to OFLC at FLC.Grant dol.gov . OFLC wi ll promptly review the report for completeness and notify the SWA of any inaccuracies or deficiencies requiring correction. You can obtain a copy of the Form ETA-9127 at the following Web site http www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov pdf 9127Instructions Final.pdf . If the 1 5 th day falls on a weekend Saturday or Sunday or Federal holiday then the report is due the next business day. If the SWAs experience any difficulties submitting the report they may contact the OFLC Grants Finance Team at FLC.Grant dol.gov or 202 513-7350. Fiscal Year 2016 Reporting Months Report Due Date 1st Quarter October December January 15 2016 2 nd Quarter January March April 15 2016 3 rd Quarter April June July 15 2016 4 th Quarter July September October 15 2016 C. Agricultural Prevailing Wage Survey Reports. A critical component of OFLC s ability to grant a labor certification under the H-2A temporary agricultural program is a finding that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers are not adversely impacted by the admission of temporary foreign workers. To that end an employer participating in the program is required to offer and pay the highest of several wages namely the Fiscal Year 2016 Reporting Months Report Due Date 6 Adverse Effect Wage Rate AEWR the prevailing hourly wage or piece rate the agreed -upon collective bargaining wage or the Federal or State minimum wage except where a special procedure is approved for an occupation or specific class of agricultural employment 20 CFR 655.120 a . SWAs collect and provide vital information to OFLC with respect to whether a prevailing hourly wage or piece rate exists for the occupation or crop in the area of intended employment also see 20 CFR 653.501 d 4 . These employer wage results are collected through survey instruments designed by the SWA conducted in accordance with the ETA Handbook No. 385 and transmitted to OFLC as soon as the wage results are completed based on the SWA s wage survey plan using the following standard forms ETA Form ETA-232 Domestic Agricultural In-Season Wage Report OMB Control No. 1205-0017 http www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov pdf in season.pdf ETA Form ETA-232A Wage Survey Interview Record OMB Control No. 1205-0017 . http www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov pdf wage.pdf . ETA Forms 232 and 232A may be submitted electronically at agwage.surveys dol.gov or mailed to the following address Office of Foreign Labor Certification Employment and Training Administration Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue NW Box 12-200 Washington DC 20210 If the SWA experiences any technical issues conducting the prevailing wage survey or submitting the results please contact the OFLC Temporary Programs Team at agwage.surveys dol.gov or 202 513-7350. Agricultural Employment Practice Survey Reports. Department of Labor Department regulations 20 CFR 655.122 b require that each job qualification and requirement listed in the employer s job offer must be bona fide and consistent with the normal and accepted qualifications required by employers that do not use H-2A workers in the same or comparable occupation and crops. In addition Department regulations allow for certain terms of employment provided that those terms constitute a prevailing practice. In making a determination as to whether a job offer contains normal and accepted qualifications and requirements or whether a term of employment would be considered a prevailing practice OFLC may rely on any information or data collected through State-conducted surveys. The SWA is responsible for designing the survey instruments to collect the data and for transmitting the survey results in summary form to the Chicago National Processing Center NPC as soon as the employment practice results are completed. Absent employment practice survey results the SWA will be 7 required to conduct ad hoc surveys. The prevailing normal or common practice survey results may be submitted electronically directly to the Chicago NPC at H2ASWA.Chicago dol.gov or mailed to the following address U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Office of Foreign Labor Certification Chicago National Processing Center 11 West Quincy Court Chicago IL 60604-2105 Attn H-2A Prevailing Practice Surveys If the SWA experiences any technical issues conducting or submitting the employment practice results please contact the Chicago NPC at H2ASWA.Chicago dol.gov or 312 886-8000.