Compliance Alert – August 2023
- August 23rd, 2023
- in Compliance, Newsletter
Legislative Updates
SB8 To amend Section 17-14-70, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide for the reapportionment and redistricting of the state’s United States Congressional districts for the purpose of electing members at the General Election in 2024 and thereafter, until the release of the next federal census. Identical language is listed in HB6. Rejected by Senate Confirmations.
Final Rules
Partial Filling of Prescriptions for Schedule II Controlled Substances
On July 22, 2016, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 became law. One provision of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 amended the Controlled Substances Act to allow for the partial filling of prescriptions for schedule II-controlled substances under certain conditions. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is amending its regulations to conform to this statutory provision, as well as to provide direction on gaps not addressed by legislation. DEA will also be amending its regulations to update a cross-reference in a paragraph that will be redesignated with this final rule.
Federal Agency: Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice
Affected Area: UMC, Student Health Center and Pharmacy
Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
OSHA is amending its occupational injury and illness recordkeeping regulation to require certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness information to OSHA that employers are already required to keep under the recordkeeping regulation. Specifically, OSHA is amending its regulation to require establishments with 100 or more employees in certain designated industries to electronically submit information from their OSHA Forms 300 and 301 to OSHA once a year. OSHA will not collect employee names or addresses, names of health care professionals, or names and addresses of facilities where treatment was provided if treatment was provided away from the worksite from the Forms 300 and 301. Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in certain industries will continue to be required to electronically submit information from their OSHA Form 300A annual summary to OSHA once a year. All establishments with 250 or more employees that are required to keep records under OSHA’s injury and illness regulation will also continue to be required to electronically submit information from their Form 300A to OSHA on an annual basis. OSHA is also updating the NAICS codes used in appendix A, which designates the industries required to submit their Form 300A data, and is adding appendix B, which designates the industries required to submit Form 300 and Form 301 data. In addition, establishments will be required to include their company name when making electronic submissions to OSHA. OSHA intends to post some of the data from the annual electronic submissions on a public website after identifying and removing information that could reasonably be expected to identify individuals directly, such as individuals’ names and contact information.
Federal Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor
Affected Area: EHS, Risk Management
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issues this final interpretation, which revises and supersedes its interpretation published on August 12, 2021 (the 2021 interpretation). This interpretation revises and clarifies the Department’s position on the legality of State laws and regulations that govern various aspects of the servicing of Federal student loans, such as preventing unfair or deceptive practices, correcting misapplied payments, or addressing refusals to communicate with borrowers. The Department concludes that these State laws are preempted by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) and other applicable Federal laws only in limited and discrete respects, as further discussed in this interpretation. This interpretation will help facilitate close coordination between the Department and its State partners to further enhance both servicer accountability and borrower protections.
Federal Agency: Office of the Secretary, Department of Education
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid
Revision of the Form LM-10 Employer Report
The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) of the Department of Labor (Department) is revising the Form LM–10 Employer Report upon review of the comments received in response to its September 13, 2022, notice of proposed form revision. Under section 203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA or the Act), employers must file a Form LM–10 Employer Report with the Department to disclose certain payments, expenditures, agreements, and arrangements. Under the revision, the Department adds a checkbox to the Form LM–10 report requiring certain reporting entities to indicate whether such entities were Federal contractors or subcontractors in their prior fiscal year, and two lines for entry of filers’ Unique Entity Identifier and Federal contracting agency or agencies, if applicable.
Federal Agency: Office of Labor-Management Standards, Department of Labor
Affected Area: HR
Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures
The U.S. Department of Labor publishes this final rule to modify procedures and standards the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP” or “the agency”) uses when issuing pre-enforcement notices and securing compliance through conciliation. This final rule strengthens OFCCP’s enforcement by rescinding the evidentiary standards and definitions codified in 2020 (“the 2020 rule”), which hindered the agency’s ability to pursue meritorious cases. OFCCP is instituting a streamlined, effective, and flexible pre-enforcement and conciliation process that promotes greater consistency with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”).
Federal Agency: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Department of Labor
Affected Area: HR, EOP
Proposed Rules
Personal Protective Equipment in Construction
OSHA is proposing to revise its Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standard for construction, at 29 CFR 1926.95(c), to explicitly state that PPE must fit properly to protect workers from workplace hazards. This revision would align the language in the PPE standard for construction with the corresponding language in OSHA’s PPE standards for general industry and maritime and affirm OSHA’s interpretation of its PPE standard for construction as requiring properly fitting PPE. Properly fitting PPE is a critical element of an effective occupational safety and health program. PPE must fit properly in order to provide adequate protection to employees. Improperly fitting PPE may fail to provide any protection to an employee, may present additional hazards, or may discourage employees from using such equipment in the workplace.
Federal Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); Labor
Affected Area: Campus Development, EHS
Comments Due: 9/18/2023
Federal Acquisition Regulation: Sustainable Procurement
DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to restructure and update the regulations to focus on current environmental and sustainability matters and to implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable.
Federal Agency: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Affected Area: Procurement
Comments Due: 10/2/2023
Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
This document proposes amendments to regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and proposes new regulations implementing the nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analyses requirements under MHPAEA, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021). Specifically, these proposed rules would amend the existing NQTL standard to prevent plans and issuers from using NQTLs to place greater limits on access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical/surgical benefits. As part of these changes, these proposed rules would require plans and issuers to collect and evaluate relevant data in a manner reasonably designed to assess the impact of NQTLs on access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits and would set forth a special rule with regard to network composition. These proposed rules would also amend existing examples and add new examples on the application of the rules for NQTLs to clarify and illustrate the protections of MHPAEA. Additionally, these proposed rules would set forth the content requirements for NQTL comparative analyses and specify how plans and issuers must make these comparative analyses available to the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the Departments), as well as to an applicable State authority, and participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. The Departments also solicit comments on whether there are ways to improve the coverage of mental health and substance use disorder benefits through other provisions of Federal law. Finally, HHS proposes regulatory amendments to implement the sunset provision for self-funded, non-Federal governmental plan elections to opt out of compliance with MHPAEA, as adopted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA, 2023).
Federal Agency: Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health, and Human Services
Affected Area: HR
Comments Due: 10/2/2023
The Department of Justice (“Department”) is proposing to revise the regulation implementing title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) in order to establish specific requirements, including the adoption of specific technical standards, for making accessible the services, programs, and activities offered by State and local Government entities to the public through the web and mobile apps.
Federal Agency: Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice
Affected Area: OIT, Strategic Communications
Comments Due: 10/3/2023
Clean Water Act Section 404 Tribal and State Program Regulation
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the Agency’s first comprehensive revision to the regulations governing Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404 Tribal and State programs since 1988. The primary purpose of the proposed revision is to respond to longstanding requests from Tribes and States to clarify the requirements and processes for assumption and administration of a CWA section 404 permitting program for discharges of dredged and fill material. The proposed revisions would facilitate Tribal and State assumption of the section 404 program, consistent with the policy of the CWA as described in section 101(b), by making the procedures and substantive requirements for assumption transparent and straightforward. It clarifies the minimum requirements for Tribal and State programs while allowing for flexibility in how these requirements are met. In addition, the proposed rule clarifies the criminal negligence standard for both the CWA section 402 and section 404 programs. Finally, the proposed rule makes technical revisions to remove outdated references associated with the section 404 Tribal and State program regulations.
Federal Agency: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Affected Area: EHS
Comments Due: 10/13/2023
Notices
The Department, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department’s information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Department is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.
Federal Agency: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Office of Disability Services
Comments Due: 9/23/2023
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act (the CCRAA), Public Law 110–84, established the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program under Part A of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (the HEA). The regulations for the TEACH Grant Program are in 34 CRF 686. The following sections of the TEACH Grant regulations are included in this information collection: 686.4, 686.11, 686.32, and 686.34. This is a request for an extension of the existing burden hours in OMB Control Number 1845–0084. The regulations in 686.4 require an institution that ceases to participate or becomes ineligible to participate in the TEACH Grant program during an award year to report to the Department of Education (the Department) within 45 days after the effective date of the loss of eligibility. The regulations in 686.11 establish that in addition to meeting the student eligibility requirements, in order to receive a TEACH Grant the applicant must submit the designated application, sign a TEACH Grant agreement to serve or repay (this burden is captured under OMB Control Number 1845–0083), and enroll in a TEACH Grant eligible institution. The regulations in 686.32 require an institution to provide initial, subsequent, and exit counseling to each TEACH Grant recipient and maintain documentation substantiating the counseling requirements. The regulations in 686.34 require the institution to promptly provide written notification to a student requesting repayment of any overpayment that the institution does not have responsibility to repay. The regulations also require that the institution refer the student to the Department if the student does not take positive action to promptly resolve the TEACH Grant overpayment. In addition, in 686.34 there is conversion counseling requirements for grant recipients whose TEACH Grants are converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans.
Federal Agency: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid, College of Education
Comments Due: 9/22/2023
The Program for International Student Assessments (PISA) is an international assessment of 15-year-olds, which focuses on assessing students’ reading, mathematics, and science literacy. PISA was first administered in 2000 and is typically conducted every three years. The United States has participated in all of the previous cycles and planned to participate in 2021 in order to track trends and to compare the performance of U.S. students with that of students in other education systems. PISA is sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the United States, PISA is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education.
Federal Agency: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Capstone International
Comments Due: 8/30/2023
This is a request for an extension of the information collection for the form used to obtain information from federal student loan borrowers who allege that the loans in their name were the result of a forgery. This information is used by the Secretary to make a determination of forgery for the Direct Loans, FFEL Program Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans held by the Department. This information collection stems from the common law legal principal of forgery, which is not reflected in the Department’s statute or regulations, but with which the Department must comply.
Federal Agency: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid
Comments Due: 9/13/2023
The information collected is required for Fire Management Assistance Grant Program (FMAGP) eligibility determinations, grants management, and compliance with other Federal laws and regulations. The FMAGP was established under section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C 5187, as amended by § 303 of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and authorizes the President to provide assistance to any state or local government for the mitigation, management, and control of any fire on public or private forest land or grassland that threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. 44 CFR part 204 specifies the information collections necessary to facilitate the provision of assistance under the FMAGP. Additionally, the information collection is used by both FEMA Regional and State staff to facilitate the declaration request and grant administration processes of FMAGP, as well as end of year internal reporting of overall declaration requests and estimated grant outlays.
Federal Agency: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security
Affected Area: University Lands
Comments Due: 10/10/2023
Items of Interest
NSF to Launch Grant Program for Research Security Studies (ExecutiveGov)
The National Science Foundation has introduced the Research on Research Security Program to fund projects focused on identifying, preventing and diminishing research security risks. The program will accept proposals until Sept. 25, and award grants by December, NSF said Wednesday… Prior to the program’s launch, NSF will host a workshop for national and international experts to raise awareness and identify study topics for the project.
The Nomination of Individuals to the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee
The Under Secretary for Economic Affairs requests the nomination of individuals to the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee (FESAC or the Committee). The Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, in coordination with the Directors of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Census Bureau, as well as the Commissioner of the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will consider nominations received in response to this notice, as well as from other sources.
Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH), Request for Nominations
FACOSH is authorized to advise the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) on all matters relating to the occupational safety and health of Federal employees (Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668), 5 U.S.C. 7902, Executive Orders 12196 and 13511). This includes providing advice on how to reduce and keep to a minimum the number of injuries and illnesses in the Federal workforce and how to encourage the establishment and maintenance of effective occupational safety and health programs in each Federal agency.
Comments Due: 9/22/2023
Policies
| Posting Date | Department | Contact | Name | Effective Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/11/2023 | Human Resources | Susan Norton | Attendance Policy
|
8/13/2001 | Revised Policy: Included language to help define attendance expectations, that employees are expected to have leave time to cover absences, unless covered by Faculty Handbook, and included wording about the necessity of communicating to supervisor about being late to work or leaving early. |
| 8/10/2023 | Equal Opportunity Programs | Beth Howard | Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and Affirmative Action Policy Statement | 5/31/2017 | Revised Policy: General updates and clarifications to policy. |