H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification

OMB Control No: 1205-0537	ICR Reference No: 202203-1205-004
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 201907-1205-012
Agency/Subagency: DOL/ETA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 10/12/2022

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved
Responses	467,843	0
Time Burden (Hours)	102,865	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

---

Abstract: The Secretary of Labor (Secretary) has delegated the responsibility of issuing temporary labor certifications, through the Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration (ETA), to ETA’s OFLC. See Secretary’s Order 06-2010. The Secretary has also delegated responsibility for enforcement of the worker protections to the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). See Secretary’s Order 01-2014. This information collection, OMB Control No. 1205-0466, includes the collection of information related to an employer’s request for nonimmigrant workers, as well as the material terms, wages, and conditions of employment that facilitate the recruitment of U.S. workers and issuance of temporary labor certifications in the H-2A program. ETA uses this information collection to meet its statutory and regulatory responsibilities for administering the H-2A program. An employer seeking to employ H-2A workers must file a completed Form ETA-9142A (including all supporting documentation) and a copy of the job order (also known as the agricultural clearance order, Form ETA-790) must be submitted for circulation in ARS by the SWA serving the area of intended employment and the SWAs in other states, as appropriate to recruit for the job opportunity. These forms and all supporting documentation constitute the H-2A application.

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 8 USC 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)    US Code: 8 USC 1184(c)(1) Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)    US Code: 8 USC 1188 Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

---

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
1205-AB89	Final or interim final rulemaking	87 FR 61660	10/12/2022

---

Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

---

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 2

IC Title Form No. Form Name Collection of U.S. Worker Wage Information from SWAs ETA 232 Domestic Agricultural In-Season Wage Report H-2A Information Collection from Employers ETA 9142A, ETA 9142A - Appendix A, ETA 9142A - Appendix B, ETA 790, ETA 790A, ETA 790A - Addendum A, ETA 790A Addendum B, ETA 790A Addendum C H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification ,   H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification ,   H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification ,   Agricultural Clearance Order ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order

---

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	467,843	0	0	467,843	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	102,865	0	0	102,865	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Changing Regulations

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The total number of responses, burden hours, and monetized costs associated with all collections under this ICR differ from previous estimates. The answer provided to A.12 provides more information regarding this burden increase. The chart below shows the changes in burden requested under this ICR, by showing the burden last approved by OMB in connection with OMB 1205-0466, and the new burden estimates resulting from the changes the final rule prompts to OMB 1205-0466, for which approval is sought through this IC for OMB 1205-0537. There has been an increase of total burden hours. The one main reason why the estimated numbers of annual responses, burden hours, and monetized cost of respondent time associated with this ICR have increased from the previously approved burden is the increase on the number of applications filed with OFLC to request certifications. Integrating the burden and costs related to Form ETA-232, which is currently authorized under ICR 1205-0017, will eventually increase the total burden under ICR 1205-0466. In connection with the request for approval to integrate ICR 1205-0017, the Department requests approval to revise the collection (i.e., the new Form ETA-232) for use in the H-2A program under OMB 1205-0466. Modernizing wage data collection methods and permitting the SWA to leverage other state agency surveys should reduce the SWA’s burden per response to this information collection by 70 percent, from 11 hours per response to 3.30 hours per response. This revision would reduce the SWA’s burden in responding to the Form ETA-232 by 7.70 hours but would increase the burden of this ICR by 3.30 hours per SWA response. In addition, estimated burden hours for employers had changed from the estimate provided for the NPRM, reflecting the Department’s decision not to adopt two optional information collections proposed in the NPRM. First, the Department did not adopt the proposal to allow an employer the option of staggering the entry of some of its H-2A workers under a single certification. Second, the Department did not adopt the proposal to allow an employer to request post-certification changes to specific worksites in the area of intended employment where H-2A workers are authorized to work. These decisions eliminated the related notification and document retention burden that had been included in the estimated burden hours of the NPRM. Despite the estimated increase in burden hours overall, due in part to the increased volume of responses and the transfer of information collection tools currently covered under ICR OMB 1205-0017 into this collection (OMB 1205-0466), the proposed forms are intended to reduce the overall burden and costs associated with each individual information collection response. Although the Department proposes a new Form ETA-9142A, Appendix B, H-2A Labor Contractor Surety Bond, the collection tool simplifies and facilitates an existing response requirement. The record retention requirement for job opportunities in herding or the range production of livestock currently housed in 1205-0519 has always been the recordkeeping requirements associated with the information collection requirements in 1205-0466. As a result, ETA is including in this ICR Revision request that the burden currently in OMB 1205-0519 be merged into OMB 1205-0466. Adding this burden to 1205-0466 would add 5 minutes for 842 of the 14,586 respondents covered in 1205-0466 for a total burden increase of 70 hours. However, the respondents who are subject to this additional burden are not subject to other recordkeeping burdens applicable to respondents with job opportunities other than herding or production of livestock on the range, such as recording start and end time of the workday. As a result, merging the burden of OMB 1205-0519 into OMB 1205-0466 does not increase the overall record retention burden of OMB 1205-0466.

---

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $10,206,598

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Emily St. Onge 202 693-2605 [email protected]

---

Common Form ICR:  No

---

On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
		(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
		(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
		(c) It reduces burden on small entities;
		(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;
		(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;
		(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;
		(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:
			(i) Why the information is being collected;
			(ii) Use of information;
			(iii) Burden estimate;
			(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
			(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
			(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
		(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.
		(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and
		(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Certification Date: 10/12/2022

---