Labor Department, Employment and Training Administration
The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing new regulations governing the certification of temporary employment opportunities to be filled by nonimmigrant workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the obligations applicable to employers of such workers under the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker visa program (CW-1). This interim final rule (IFR), implementing provisions of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018 (Workforce Act), establishes the process by which a CNMI employer will obtain a prevailing wage determination (PWD) and temporary labor certification (TLC) from DOL for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in CW-1 status. Although the CW-1 visa classification predates the Workforce Act, classification as a CW-1 nonimmigrant does not currently require a labor certification. The Workforce Act institutes a labor certification requirement as a prerequisite for approval of a CW-1 petition by DHS and charges the Department with promulgating an IFR to administer this new labor certification requirement. We are also issuing regulations to provide for increased worker protections for both United States (U.S.) and foreign workers to ensure no U.S. worker is placed at a competitive disadvantage compared to a foreign worker or is displaced by a foreign worker.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration 20 CFR Part 655 [DOL Docket No. ETA-2019-0001] RIN 1205-AB92 AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor. ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments. SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing new regulations governing the certification of temporary employment opportunities to be filled by nonimmigrant workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the obligations applicable to employers of such workers under the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker visa program (CW-1). This interim final rule (IFR), implementing provisions of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018 (Workforce Act), establishes the process by which a CNMI employer will obtain a prevailing wage determination (PWD) and temporary labor certification (TLC) from DOL for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in CW-1 status. Although the CW-1 visa classification predates the Workforce Act, classification as a CW-1 nonimmigrant does not currently require a labor certification. The Workforce Act institutes a labor certification requirement as a prerequisite for approval of a CW-1 petition by DHS and charges the Department with promulgating an IFR to administer this new labor certification requirement. We are also issuing regulations to provide for increased worker protections for both United States (U.S.) and foreign worker…
Citation: 84 FR 12380
