[Federal Register: September 29, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 189)][Notices] [Page 56615-56616]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29se08-113]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2008-0023]
Telecommunications; Extension of the Office of Management and
Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork)
Requirements
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB
approval of the information collection requirement contained in the
Standard on Telecommunications (29 CFR 1910.268). The purpose of this
requirement is to ensure that employees have been trained as required
by the Standard to prevent risk of death or serious injury.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
November 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service:
When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2008-0023,
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA
docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2008-0023). All comments, including any
personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket
without change, and may be made available online at http://
www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments see
the "Public Participation" heading in the section of this notice
titled "SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION."
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index;
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609,
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202)
693-2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs)
is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651
et seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or
appropriate for enforcement of the Act or for developing information
regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses,
and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires that OSHA obtain
such information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those
operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent feasible
unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
Under the paperwork requirement specified by paragraph (c) of the
Standard, employers must certify that his or her employees have been
trained as specified by the performance-language training provision of
the Standard. Specifically, employers must prepare a certification
record which includes the identity of the person trained, the signature
of the employer or the person who conducted the training, and the date
the training was completed. The certification record shall be prepared
at the completion of training and shall be maintained on file for the
duration of the employee's employment. The information collected would
be used by employers as well as compliance officers to determine
whether employees have been trained according to the requirements set
forth in 29 CFR 1910.268(c).
II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
Whether the proposed information collection requirements
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions,
including whether the information is useful;
The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
The quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply;
for example, by using automated or other technological information
collection and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the information
collection requirement contained in the Standard on Telecommunications
(29 CFR 1910.268). In the existing ICR, the Agency calculated burden
hours and cost for the training certification record for all employees
working in the telecommunications industry. After further research, the
Agency has found that this is not the case; only a percentage of
employees in telecommunications customer service and all
telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, and line
installers and repairers are subject to the training requirement of the
Standard. Therefore, OSHA is proposing to decrease the existing burden
hour estimate for the collection of information requirement specified
by the Standard from 4,202 hours to 1,507 hours, for a total decrease
of 2,695 hours. The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in
response to this notice and will include this summary in the request to
OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Telecommunications (29 CFR 1910.268).
OMB Number: 1218-0225.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; not-for-profit
organizations; Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 668.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Three (3) minutes for an establishment
to disclose training records and 3 minutes for the training record to
be generated.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,507.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.
IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments in response to this document as follows:
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2008-0023). You
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES).
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them
to your comments.
Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand,
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627).
Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's "User
Tips" link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about
materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR
31159).
Signed at Washington, DC, on September 22nd, 2008.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E8-22705 Filed 9-26-08; 8:45 am]
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