Attestations filed by facilities using nonimmigrant aliens as registered nurses--Employment and Training Administration, DOL. Notice

The Department of Labor (DOL) is publishing, for public information, a list of the following health care facilities which plan on employing nonimmigrant alien nurses. These organizations have attestations on file with DOL for that purpose.     

Attestations by facilities using nonimmigrant aliens as registered nurses--DOL. Final rule

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration (ESA) of the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) are publishing final regulations governing the filing and enforcement of attestations by facilities seeking to use nonimmigrant aliens as registered nurses under H-1A visas. The attestations, required under the Immigration and Nationality Act, pertain to substantial disruption in the delivery of health care services, absence of adverse effect on wages and working conditions of similarly employed registered nurses, payment of wages to nonimmigrant alien nurses employed by the facility at wage rates paid to other registered nurses similarly employed by the facility, taking timely and significant steps designed to recruit and retain U.S. nurses in order to reduce dependence on nonimmigrant alien nurses, absence of a strike or lockout, and giving appropriate notice of filing. Facilities are required to submit these attestations to DOL as a condition for being able to petition the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for H-1A nurses. The attestation process is administered by ETA, while complaints and investigations regarding the attestations are handled by ESA.     

Privacy Act of 1974; computer matching program (SSA/Department of Labor (DOL)--SSA) match number 1013. Social Security Administration (SSA). Notice of computer matching program

In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a computer matching program that SSA plans to conduct with DOL.     

Removal of regulations on black lung benefits. Final rule

This final rule removes regulations on the Black Lung program from the Social Security Administration's (SSA) chapter of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The Black Lung Consolidation of Administrative Responsibility Act transferred the responsibility for administering Part B of the Black Lung benefits program from SSA to the Department of Labor (DOL), and we are removing the regulations in recognition of the fact that we are no longer responsible for administering any aspect of the Part B Black Lung program. DOL concurs with this final rule removing the regulations.     

Legislators as Lobbyists

Public policy is produced by elected and unelected officials and through the interactions of branches of government. We consider how such interactions affect policy implementation and representation. We argue that legislators try to influence bureaucratic decisions through direct communication with federal agencies, and that such contact is effective and has consequences for policy outcomes. We provide empirical evidence of this argument using original data about direct communication between members of Congress and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) along with decisions made by the DOL regarding trade and redistributive policies. We find that direct contacts influence DOL decisions, and the agency is more likely to reverse previous decisions when requested to do so by legislators. Our results challenge key assumptions and findings in the previous literature and have important implications for interbranch relations and informal means of control over the implementation of national policy.     

Labor condition applications and requirements for employers using aliens on H-1B visas in specialty occupations--Department of Labor. Interinal final rule; request for comments

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Employment Standards Administration (ESA) of the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) are promulgating regulations governing the filing and enforcement of labor condition applications filed by employers seeking to use aliens in specialty occupations on H-1B visas. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended by the Immigration Act of 1990 (Act), an employer seeking to employ an alien in a specialty occupation on an H-1B visa is required to file a labor condition application with, and receive the approval of, DOL before the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) may approve an H-1B visa petition. The labor condition application process will be administered by ETA; complaints and investigations regarding labor condition applications will be the responsibility of ESA.     

Attestations by facilities using nonimmigrant aliens as registered nurses--Employment and Training Administration and Employment Standards Administration, Labor--Final rule and amendment and announcement of effective date

On January 6, 1994, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration of the Department of Labor published final regulations governing the filing and enforcement of attestations by health care facilities seeking to use the services of nonimmigrant aliens as registered nurses under H-1A visas. At that time, ETA submitted the information collection requirements to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. This document amends the January 6, 1994, Federal Register document to display the OMB control numbers and announces the effective date for the sections containing information collection requirements for which OMB approval has been received.     

Under the quasi-judicial state: H-1B employment rights in an era of judicial retrenchment

Foreign workers holding H-1B visas gained recourse to federal employment rights under the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) for the very first time when Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT90). This paper examines H-1B employment rights enforcement under the INA as it has intersected with broader features of the American legal system: what political scientists call judicial retrenchment and the quasi-judicial state. I first show how H-1B rights, already limited by the domestic politics that shaped the IMMACT, became subject to judicial retrenchment when the federal courts confined H-1B disputes under the INA to the quasi-judicial state at the Department of Labor (DOL). I then use published data on DOL investigation outcomes, published and unpublished administrative case records, and judicial cases reviewing agency action to examine the extent to which and how H-1B workers can use the quasi-judicial state to solve workplace problems. My empirical findings contribute to a new understanding of the relationship between rights retrenchment, the judiciary, and the rise of alternatives to court in immigration and employment law and point to possible fine-grained changes for future immigration reform.     

Independent auditors as fiscal gatekeepers

This paper develops a framework for the analysis of gatekeeping in tax enforcement, whereby independent auditors are assigned the duty of attesting taxpayers’ returns. The equilibrium of the market for gatekeepers’ services is characterized, as well as taxpayers’ and auditors’ optimal behavior. The paper identifies the conditions under which the introduction of a mandatory attestation system is likely to be desirable.The results of the paper suggest that: (1) collusion may disrupt the gatekeeping system if the compounded liability of the auditor and the taxpayer is not sufficiently high; (2) a more extended delegation of the enforcement power to private auditors is generally desirable; (3) the cartelization of the gatekeepers’ market has definitely detrimental effects; and (4) when the probability that erroneous attestations are detected and sanctioned depends on the effort exerted by a public enforcer, multiple equilibria may arise, due to the substitutability of public and private monitoring.     

Independent auditors as fiscal gatekeepers

This paper develops a framework for the analysis of gatekeeping in tax enforcement, whereby independent auditors are assigned the duty of attesting taxpayers’ returns. The equilibrium of the market for gatekeepers’ services is characterized, as well as taxpayers’ and auditors’ optimal behavior. The paper identifies the conditions under which the introduction of a mandatory attestation system is likely to be desirable.The results of the paper suggest that: (1) collusion may disrupt the gatekeeping system if the compounded liability of the auditor and the taxpayer is not sufficiently high; (2) a more extended delegation of the enforcement power to private auditors is generally desirable; (3) the cartelization of the gatekeepers’ market has definitely detrimental effects; and (4) when the probability that erroneous attestations are detected and sanctioned depends on the effort exerted by a public enforcer, multiple equilibria may arise, due to the substitutability of public and private monitoring.     

Notice regarding HRSA grant requirement--participation in the 340B drug pricing program--HRSA. Notice

Section 602 of Public Law 102-585, the "Veterans Health Care Act of 1992," enacted section 340B of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, "Limitation on Prices of Drugs Purchased by Covered Entities." Section 340B provides that a manufacturer who sells covered outpatient drugs to eligible entities must sign a pharmaceutical pricing agreement with the Secretary of HHS in which the manufacturer agrees to charge a price for covered outpatient drugs that will not exceed that amount determined under a statutory formula. The purpose of this notice is to request comments on a proposed grant award requirement in which all entities, except those entities which fall within excepted categories, that receive HRSA grants listed in section 340B(a)(4) and that purchase or reimburse for covered outpatient drugs must participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, or demonstrate good cause for nonparticipation. When the Prime Vendor program is operational, HRSA intends to publish a second Federal Register notice proposing an expansion of the grant award requirement to include participation in the Prime Vendor Program.     

Notice regarding section 602 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 rebate option--HRSA. Notice

Section 602 of Pub. L. 102-585, the "Veterans Health Care Act of 1992", enacted section 340B of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, "Limitation on Prices of Drugs Purchased by Covered Entities." Section 340B provides that a manufacturer who sells covered outpatient drugs to eligible entities must sign a pharmaceutical pricing agreement with the Secretary of HHS in which the manufacturer agrees to charge a price for covered outpatient drugs that will not exceed that amount determined under a statutory formula. The purpose of this notice is to request comments on the proposal of a rebate option for State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) receiving funds under Title XXVI of the PHS Act.     

刑事诉讼告知义务初探

告知义务是国家赋予国家机关(含警察、检察官及法官)告知被追诉人(犯罪嫌疑人、被告人)相关的事实、理由及权利的义务,是国家机关在刑事诉讼中承担的关照、帮助被追诉人实现其权利的一项特别义务。设定国家机关的告知义务,有利于保障被追诉人充分行使其权利。不论是国际公约还是一些法治发达国家都有关于告知义务的明确规定。我国刑事诉讼法对于告知义务的规定相对简单,应参照并借鉴国际公约及西方法治发达国家的立法经验,予以修改与完善。     

Procedures for designating classes of employees as members of the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000; Final rule. Final rule

This document describes how the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") will consider designating classes of employees to be added to the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 ("EEOICPA'). Under EEOICPA, and Executive Order 13179, the Secretary of HHS is authorized to make such designations, which take effect 180 days after Congress is notified unless Congress provides otherwise. An individual member (or the eligible survivors of a member) of a class of employees added to the Special Exposure Cohort would be entitled to compensation if the Department of Labor ("DOL") finds that employee incurred a specified cancer and the claim meets other requirements established under EEOICPA.     

Notice regarding section 602 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 inclusion of outpatient hospital facilities--PHS. Notice

Section 602 of Public Law 102-585, the "Veterans Health Care Act of 1992" (the "Act"), enacted section 340B of the Public Health Service Act ("PHS Act"), "Limitation on Prices of Drugs Purchased by Covered Entities." Section 340B provides that a manufacturer who sells covered outpatient drugs to eligible entities must sign a pharmaceutical pricing agreement (the "Agreement") with the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, in which the manufacturer agrees to charge a price for covered outpatient drugs that will not exceed the amount determined under a statutory formula. Section 340B(a)(4) lists the entities eligible to receive discount outpatient drug pricing (i.e., certain disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) and PHS grantees). The definition of a disproportionate share hospital found in section 340B(a)(4)(L) provides criteria to determine which such hospitals are eligible to participate in the program. However, the definition does not include criteria to determine which outpatient facilities (including off-site or satellite clinics) working in conjunction with the eligible hospital would be considered part of the hospital for purposes of eligibility for section 340B drug discounts. The Office of Drug Pricing, which administers this program with PHS, is proposing certain procedures to determine which outpatient hospital facilities are included as part of an eligible disproportionate share hospital.     

Designation of medically underserved populations and areas--HRSA. Notice

Under the provisions of section 330(b)(6) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, 42 U.S.C. 254c(b)(6), as amended by Pub. L. 99-280, the Governors of the States of Hawaii and Maine have asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate specific populations within their States as medically underserved populations (MUPs). Also, under section 330(b)(3) of the PHS Act, certain geographic areas in the States of Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Washington have been proposed for designation as medically underserved areas (MUAs). This notice provides an opportunity for State and local officials, State organizations representing Community Health Centers, and other interested parties in the above-mentioned States to provide recommendations and to comment on the proposals to designate as medically underserved the areas and populations described in this notice.     

Medical care collection or recovery--VA. Notice

In a companion document published in the "Proposed Rules" section of this issue of the Federal Register, we proposed to amend VA's medical regulations concerning collection or recovery by VA for medical care or services provided or furnished to a veteran: (i) For a non-service connected disability for which the veteran is entitled to care (or the payment of expenses of care) under a health-plan contract; (ii) For a non-service connected disability incurred incident to the veteran's employment and covered under a worker's compensation law or plan that provides reimbursement or indemnification for such care and services; or (iii) For a non-service connected disability incurred as a result of a motor vehicle accident in a State that requires automobile accident reparations insurance. The proposed rule includes methodology for establishing charges for VA medical care or services. Using this methodology, information for calculating proposed charge amounts at individual VA facilities for inpatient facility charges, skilled nursing facility/sub-acute inpatient facility charges, outpatient facility charges, and physician charges is set forth below. If this methodology were adopted subsequently as a final rule, the applicable data in this document, designed for the period August 1998 through September 1999, would be used for the period from the effective date of the final rule through September 1999. Accordingly, interested parties may wish to retain this document for future reference.     

心理测试中的注意心理机制

心理测试(俗称测谎)的主要任务就是发现被测人记忆中是否存在有关测试主题的心理信息,而心理信息的形成主要取决于注意,所以说注意是心理信息形成的重要源泉,也是心理测试的一个重要心理学基础,因此对注意心理机制的分析将有助于测试题目的编制和结果的分析,从而提高测试的有效性和准确性。     

Notice regarding Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act of 1992--HRSA. Notice

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (the "Secretary"), in consultation with the Attorney General, provides the following notice regarding Public Law 102-501, the "Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act of 1992" (the "Act"). The Act provides for liability protection for certain health care professionals and entities. This notice sets forth information whereby an entity or a person can determine when, and the extent to which, it is deemed to be an entity as described in the Act.     

Notice regarding the Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act of 1992--HRSA. Notice

On May 8, 1995, the Secretary of Health and Human Services published a final rule implementing certain provisions of the Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act of 1992 (the Act). The Act provides for liability protection for certain grantees of the Public Health Service and for certain individuals associated with these grantees. The Health Resources and Services Administration is the agency within the Department responsible for administering certain aspects of the Act. This notice provides further guidance regarding the final rule.