[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 28 (Thursday, February 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7375-7376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02750]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Labor-Management Standards
Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
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 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.
Currently, the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) of the
Department of Labor (Department) is soliciting comments concerning the
proposed extension of the collection of information requirements
implementing Executive Order (E.O.) 13496: Notification of Employee
Rights Under Federal Labor Laws. A copy of the proposed information
collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed
below in the addresses section of this Notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before April 11, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Andrew R. Davis, Chief of the Division of Interpretations
and Standards, Office of Labor-Management Standards, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5609, Washington, DC 20210,
olms-
[[Page 7376]]
[email protected], (202) 693-0123 (this is not a toll-free number), (800)
877-8339 (TTY/TDD).
Please use only one method of transmission for comments (mail or
Email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background: President Barack Obama signed
Executive Order 13496 (E.O. 13496) on January 30, 2009, requiring
certain Government contractors and subcontractors to post notices
informing their employees of their rights as employees under Federal
labor laws. The Order also provides the text of contractual provisions
that Federal Government contracting departments and agencies must
include in every Government contract, except for collective bargaining
agreements and contracts for purchases under the Simplified Acquisition
Threshold.
OLMS administers the enforcement provisions of Executive Order
13496, while the compliance evaluation and investigatory provisions are
handled by the Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs (OFCCP), pursuant to the Order's implementing regulatory
provisions (29 CFR part 471). Complaints can be filed with both
agencies.
II. Review Focus: The Department is particularly interested in
comments which:
* 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;
* 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; and
* 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.
III. Current Actions: The Department seeks extension of the current
approval to collect this information. An extension is necessary because
if this information collection is not conducted, E.O. 13496 could not
be enforced through the complaint procedure.
E.O. 13496 advances the Administration's goal of promoting economy
and efficiency of Federal government procurement by ensuring that
workers employed in the private sector as a result of Federal
government contracts are informed of their rights to engage in union
activity and collective bargaining. Knowledge of such basic statutory
rights promotes stable labor-management relations, thus reducing costs
to the Federal government.
The contractual provisions require contractors and subcontractors
to post a notice, created by the Secretary of Labor, informing
employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The
notice also provides a statement of the policy of the United States to
encourage collective bargaining, as well as a list of activities that
are illegal under the Act. The notice concludes with a general
description of the remedies to which employees may be entitled if these
rights have been violated and contact information for further
information about those rights and remedies, as well as enforcement
procedures.
The clause also requires contractors to include the same clause in
their nonexempt subcontracts and purchase orders, and describes
generally the sanctions, penalties, and remedies that may be imposed if
the contractor fails to satisfy its obligations under the Order and the
clause.
The regulatory provisions implementing E.O. 13496 (29 CFR part 471)
include the language of the required notices, and they explain posting
and contractual requirements, the complaint process, the investigatory
process, and sanctions, penalties, and remedies that may be imposed if
the contractor or subcontractor fails to comply with its obligations
under the Order. Specifically, 29 CFR part 471.11(c) sets forth the
procedures that the Department must use when accepting written
complaints alleging that a contractor doing business with the Federal
government has failed to post the notice required by the Executive
Order.
Type of Review: Extension
Agency: Office of Labor-Management Standards
OMB Number: 1245-0004
Affected Public: Employees of Federal Contractors and
Subcontractors
Total Respondents: 10.
Total Annual responses: 10.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 12.80.
Estimated Time Per Response: 1.28 hours.
Frequency: On occasion of employee of a Federal contractor or
subcontractor filing a complaint alleging a violation of proposed 29
CFR part 471.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $5.30 ($0.53 per response x 10
respondents)
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0
Employee Complaints Cost: $323.10 ($32.31 per response x 10
respondents)
Total Annual Burden Cost: $328.40 ($5.30+ $323.10)
Total respondent and responses estimates are based upon the
estimate of 25 in the previous E.O. 13496 extension of information
collection. See 78 FR 12799. In that submission, the Department
estimated it would receive 25 employee complaints. However, since the
Department received only two employee complaints since publishing the
final rule in 2010, the Department has lowered its complaint estimate
to 10.
The Department has not adjusted its total employee complaint hour
estimate of 1.28 hours, which it estimated in the E.O. 13496 final
rule. 75 FR 28368.
Based on the average seasonally-adjusted hourly earnings on private
non-farm payrolls for all workers of $25.24, we estimate that an
employee will incur a cost of approximately $32.31 for the 1.28 hours
involved ($25.24 x 1.28) in preparing a complaint. The total hourly
cost for all employees is therefore $323.10. Additionally, employees
will incur costs of $0.53 per complaint in capital/start-up costs
($0.49 for postage + $0.03 for an envelope + $0.01 for paper) for a
total cost of $5.30. The total cost for the estimated 10 complaints is
therefore $328.40 ($323.10 + $5.30). There are no ongoing operation/
maintenance costs associated with this information collection.
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 will also become a
matter of public record.
Dated: January 20, 2016.
Andrew R. Davis,
Chief of the Division of Interpretations and Standards, Office of
Labor-Management Standards, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016-02750 Filed 2-10-16; 8:45 am]
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