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Dear Stakeholders,
Occupational regulations and licensing requirements are often used to ensure health and safety by governing how people are allowed to work in certain fields. Unfortunately, for many veterans and their spouses, these requirements can hinder their ability to attain gainful employment. To address this, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has teamed up with the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP) and the Women’s Bureau (WB) to host the “Veterans and Military Spouses Licensure” national online dialogue to gather information on the effects of occupational licensing requirements on employment opportunities for veterans, including disabled veterans, and military spouses and what can be done to ease these requirements.
You are invited to join this online discussion to share your ideas, votes and comments on how the government can better ensure that veterans and military spouses are able to successfully pursue their careers. Your input will be shared with policymakers and will help inform DOL’s policy efforts to enhance employment opportunities for veterans and military spouses.
The “Veterans and Military Spouses Licensure” national online dialogue will take place from May 29 through June 8, 2018. Please join this important conversation and spread the word to other participants who may be interested.
To learn more about the dialogue and to register to participate, please visit: https://VETS.ePolicyWorks.org/.
We look forward to hearing your important insights!

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

U.S. Department of Labor - Women's Bureau - 200 Constitution Ave., NW - Washington, DC 20210
202.693.6710 (telephone) - 202.693.6725 (fax) - website: www.dol.gov/wb/

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WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the launch of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Immigration Records SysTem (FIRST), which will eventually allow users to submit, manage, and receive FOIA requests entirely online. Before this change, USCIS only accepted FOIA requests by mail, fax, and email, and requesters typically received their documents on a compact disc by mail.  USCIS is commencing FIRST’s digital delivery of services in phases. Initially, requesters who have an immigration court date pending and file a request for documents can create an account within myUSCIS to receive documents digitally, eliminating the time and expense associated with receiving requests by mail.  Through their account, requesters can track the status of their FOIA cases and will receive email notification when USCIS has uploaded their records. In the coming months, this digital delivery option will be expanded to all FOIA and Privacy Act (PA) requesters. When FIRST is fully operational, requesters will be able to use a completely digital FOIA/PA system, from online submission to retrieving and downloading responsive documents. USCIS will notify the public as additional services become available.  “Today marks an important step in our effort to transform outdated USCIS systems,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “Modernizing the way we accept and respond to FOIA and Privacy Act requests is a priority. FIRST’s efficient process will reduce our FOIA backlog, eliminate errors, and speed up the delivery of documents to requesters.”  FIRST is part of the agency’s ongoing effort to move the nation’s legal immigration system away from paper-based services to digital transactions.  In December, USCIS expanded the variety of documents available in the Electronic Reading Room, disclosing cleared policy documents and external correspondence addressed to our leadership, along with their responses. This is in addition to providing access to information that had been requested at least three times and had been provided under FOIA.   FOIA provides the general public an avenue to request access to a variety of public information from federal agencies. Like all federal agencies, USCIS is required to disclose such records and information upon receiving a request.  For more information on USCIS and our programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and Facebook (/uscis). On May 25, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced that an additional 15,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas will be available for Fiscal Year 2018. In this determination, Secretary Nielsen determined there are not sufficient, qualified, U.S. workers available to perform temporary non-agriculture labor to satisfy the needs of American businesses in FY18. This allocation is in addition to the 66,000 visas already issued this year. Secretary Nielsen made this decision after consulting with Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, members of Congress, and business owners. “The limitations on H-2B visas were originally meant to protect American workers, but when we enter a situation where the program unintentionally harms American businesses it needs to be reformed,” said Secretary Nielsen. “I call on Congress to pass much needed reforms of the program and to expressly set the number of H-2B visas in statute.  We are once again in a situation where Congress has passed the buck and turned a decision over to DHS that would be better situated with Congress, who knows the needs of the program.  As Secretary, I remain committed to protecting U.S. workers and strengthening the integrity of our lawful immigration system and look forward to working with Congress to do so.” The H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker program was designed to serve U.S. businesses unable to find a sufficient number of qualified U.S. workers to perform nonagricultural work of a temporary nature. Congress set the annual H-2B visa cap at 66,000. A maximum of 33,000 H-2B visas are available during the first half of the fiscal year, and the remainder, including any unused H-2B visas from the first half of that fiscal year, is available starting April 1 through September 30. On February 27, 2018, USCIS determined that it had received sufficient H-2B petitions to meet the full FY 2018 statutory cap of 66,000. In the FY 2018 Omnibus, Congress delegated its authority to the Secretary to increase the number of temporary nonagricultural worker visas available to U.S. employers through September 30, just as it did in the FY 2017 Omnibus. In the intervening time since enactment of the FY 2018 Omnibus, the Secretary consulted with the Secretary of Labor on the issue, in accordance with Congressional requirements, and developed this rule. Starting today, eligible petitioners for H-2B visas can file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.  Eligible petitioners must submit a supplemental attestation on Form ETA 9142-B-CAA-2 with their petition. Details on eligibility and filing requirements are available in the final temporary rulepublished today and on the Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2018webpage. DHS is committed to ensuring that our immigration system is implemented lawfully and that American workers are protected. If members of the public have information that a participating employer may be abusing this program, DHS invites them to submit information to ReportH2BAbuse@uscis.dhs.gov and include information identifying the H-2B petitioning employer and relevant information that leads them to believe that the H-2B petitioning employer is abusing the H-2B program. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and Facebook (/uscis).   MedWatch - The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program A new MedWatch Safety Alert: HeartWare HVAD System by Medtronic: Class I Recall - Due to Unintended Intermittent Electrical Disconnection between the Power Source and the Controller intended for: Cardiology, Risk Manager, Nursing, Patient was just added to the FDA MedWatch Webpage.   You can read the complete MedWatch Safety Alert that includes recommendations at:https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm609599.htm  new MedWatch Safety Alert: STAT-Check and Medline Manual Resuscitator Bags by SunMed Holdings: Recall - Patient Port May Detach During Use intended for: Risk Manager, Nursing, Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine was just added to the FDA MedWatch Webpage.   You can read the complete MedWatch Safety Alert that includes recommendations at:https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm609537.htm SunMed Holdings, LLC Issues a Nationwide Recall of STAT-Check and Medline Manual Resuscitator Bags On May 29, 2018, SunMed Holdings, LLC initiated a nationwide recall of 18,808 units of STAT-Check and Medline resuscitator bags which were distributed between February 1, 2018 to May 13, 2018. The patient port retaining ring of the affected bags may not fully seat which may allow the patient port to detach during use. If this takes place, the resuscitator bags may not deliver air to the patient and result in a delay in treatment and life-threatening health consequences. There have been no reported injuries to date. End users who have STAT-Check or Medline resuscitator bags within the lot numbers listed below should stop using them and immediately contact SunMed Holdings, LLC for further instructions on the return of these products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332)

Pool Safety Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in children ages one to four? Don’t forget to sign up your kids for swimming lessons this summer! Check out these simple pool safety tips and learn how to teach children to be safe in and around the water.

Teen Driving Thinking about teaching your teen how to drive this summer? As nerve-racking as that sounds, there are steps you can take to ensure they are as safe as they can be on the road. Learn what to teach young drivers and how to set important ground rules.

2018 Hurricane Forecast The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its forecast for the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. Check out the agency’s predictions and which names have been selected for tropical cyclones this year.