New regs for Monday: ‘Badly misshapen’ kiwis

{mosads}Additionally, the department is asking for comments on a proposal to eliminate a marketing tool for potatoes grown in Oregon and California.

Visas:
The Labor Department is proposing to indefinitely delay the implementation of a rule on temporary immigrant labor wages. 

Congress has passed a law prohibiting the department from using funds to implement the 2011 rule, which would recalculate the wages needed to obtain visas for workers in industries other than agriculture. The department had previous delayed the rule multiple times and now is seeking to do so indefinitely.

Finance:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is issuing an order to help smooth over implementation of new rules on derivatives swaps called for by the Dodd-Frank law.

The commission is granting temporary relief from some of the rules “to avoid unnecessary market disruptions and to facilitate market participants’ transition to the new Dodd-Frank swaps regime,” it said. 

Separately, the Federal Reserve Board wants to revise its rule on capital risk requirements to make technical amendments and clarify certain provisions. 

Health:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is proposing to update its standards to reflect new citations, names and addresses. According to the agency, the changes “will not affect current practices.” 

Chemicals:
The Environmental Protection Agency is allowing the importation and use of methyl bromide for specific purposes. Though the substance is widely considered to deplete the ozone layer, the agency is exempting some uses from a general prohibition. 

Military:

The Pentagon is removing an outdated regulation on military personnel debts. 

Fishing:

The National Marine Fisheries Service is prohibiting the retention of northern rockfish in an area off the coast of Alaska, because the limit for fishing has been reached. 

Appeals process:

An office of the Interior Department wants to change the way it handles appeals and unpaid orders.

Also, the Merit Systems Protection Board, which works to protect the rights of federal employees, is updating the forms that agencies need to provide when issuing a decision to an employee on a subject that can be appealed.