[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79100-79102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31823]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Proposed Collection, Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to
ensure that requested
[[Page 79101]]
data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and
financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents
can be properly assessed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is
soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the ``Multiple
Worksite Report and the Report of Federal Employment and Wages.'' A
copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be
obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the Addresses
section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before February 16, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer,
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080,
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington, DC 20212. Written comments also
may be transmitted by fax to 202-691-5111 (this is not a toll free
number).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer,
202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (See ADDRESSES section.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program is a
Federal/State cooperative effort which compiles monthly employment
data, quarterly wages data, and business identification information
from employers subject to State Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws. These
data are collected from State Quarterly Contribution Reports (QCRs)
submitted to State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The States send micro-
level employment and wages data, supplemented with the names,
addresses, and business identification information of these employers,
to the BLS. The State data are used to create the BLS sampling frame,
known as the longitudinal QCEW data. This file represents the best
source of detailed industrial and geographical data on employers and is
used as the sampling frame for most BLS surveys. The longitudinal QCEW
data include the individual employers' employment and wages data along
with associated business identification information that is maintained
by each State to administer the UI program as well as the Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program.
The QCEW Report, produced for each calendar quarter, is a summary
of these employer (micro-level) data by industry at the county level.
Similar data for Federal Government employees covered by the UCFE
program also are included in each State's report. These data are
submitted by all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands to the BLS which then summarizes these micro-level
data to produce totals for the States and the Nation. The QCEW Report
provides a virtual census of nonagricultural employees and their wages,
with nearly 53 percent of the workers in agriculture covered as well.
For employers having only a single physical location or worksite in
the State and, thus, operating under a single industrial and
geographical code, the data from the States' UI accounting files are
sufficient for statistical purposes. However, such data are not
sufficient for statistical purposes for those employers having multiple
establishments or engaging in different industrial activities within
the State. In such cases, the employer's QCR reflects only statewide
employment and wages and is not disaggregated by establishment or
worksite. Although data at this level are sufficient for many purposes
of the UI program, more detailed information is required to create a
sampling frame and to meet the needs of several ongoing Federal/State
statistical programs. The Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) is designed to
supplement the QCR when more detailed information is needed.
Because of the data captured by the MWR, improved establishment
business identification data elements have been incorporated into and
maintained by the longitudinal QCEW database. The MWR collects a
physical location address, secondary name (trade name, division,
subsidiary, etc.), and reporting unit description (store number, plant
name or number, etc.) for each worksite of multi-establishment
employers.
Employers with more than one establishment reporting under the same
UI account number within a State are requested to complete the MWR if
the sum of the employment in all of their secondary establishments is
10 or greater. The primary worksite is defined as the establishment
with the greatest number of employees. Upon receipt of the first MWR
form, each employer is requested to supply business location
identification information. Thereafter, this reported information
appears on the MWR each quarter. The employer is requested to verify
the accuracy of this business location identification information and
to provide only the employment and wages for each worksite for that
quarter. By using a standardized form, the reporting burden on many
large employers, especially those engaged in multiple economic
activities at various locations across numerous States, is reduced.
The function of the Report of Federal Employment and Wages (RFEW)
is to collect employment and wages data for Federal establishments
covered under the UCFE program. The MWR and RFEW are essentially the
same. The MWR/RFEW forms are designed to collect data for each
establishment of a multi-establishment employer.
No other standardized report is available to collect current
establishment-level monthly employment and wages data by SWAs for
statistical purposes each quarter from the private sector nor State and
local governments. Also, no other standardized report currently is
available to collect installation-level Federal monthly employment and
wages data each quarter by SWAs for statistical purposes. Completion of
the MWR is required by State law in 27 States and territories.
II. Current Action
Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for an
extension of the Multiple Worksite Report and the Report of Federal
Employment and Wages.
The BLS has taken steps to help reduce employer reporting burden by
developing a standardized format for employers to use to send these
data to the States in an electronic medium. The BLS established an
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Collection Center to improve and
expedite the MWR collection process. Employers who complete the MWR for
multi-location businesses can submit employment and wages information
on any electronic medium directly to the data collection center, rather
than separately to each State agency. The data collection center then
distributes the appropriate data to the respective States. In addition,
the BLS has developed a Web-based system, MWRweb, to collect these data
from small to medium-size businesses. The BLS continues to see much
greater utilization of this reporting option.
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in
comments that:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility.
[[Page 79102]]
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected.
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Title: Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) and the Report of Federal
Employment and Wages (RFEW).
OMB Number: 1220-0134.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit institutions, not-
for-profit institutions, and the Federal Government.
Frequency: Quarterly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average time
Form No. Total Respondent Total per response Total burden
respondents responses (minutes) (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLS 3020 (MWR).................. 139,817 Non-Federal 559,268 22.2 206,929
BLS 3021 (RFEW)................. 2,737 Federal 10,948 22.2 4,051
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals...................... 142,554 .............. 570,216 .............. 210,980
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the information collection request; they also will become a
matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 15th day of December, 2015.
Kimberly Hill,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2015-31823 Filed 12-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P