The Department of Labor (Department) will solicit public comment on a proposed rule to provide additional flexibility to states in providing labor exchange services under the Wagner-Peyser Act, including services to veterans. The Wagner-Peyser Act section 3(a) provides the Secretary legal authority to set staffing standards and requirements to ensure effective service delivery of services provided under the Wagner-Peyser Act. The Secretary and Department propose to use that authority to remove excessive staffing standards and requirements, and provide States with maximum flexibility to use staffing approaches other than State merit staffing that allow for high quality and cost-efficient service delivery. This interpretation is consistent with the Michigan v. Herman court ruling (81 F. Supp. 2nd 840 (W.D. Mich. 1998)) establishing that continuing or eliminating the merit staffing policy was at the discretion of the Department.