[Federal Register: October 28, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 208)][Notices]
[Page 66391-66393]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28oc10-59]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2010-0049]
Regulations Containing Procedures for Handling of Retaliation
Complaints; 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 comments.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB
approval of the information collection requirements for handling of
retaliation complaints filed under various whistleblower protection
statutes contained in regulations at: 29 CFR part 24, Procedures for
the Handling of Retaliation Complaints under Federal Employee
Protection Statutes; 29 CFR part 1977, Discrimination Against Employees
Exercising Rights under the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and
Health Act; 29 CFR part 1978, Procedures for the Handling of
Retaliation Complaints under the Employee Protection Provision of the
Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982; 29 CFR part 1979,
Procedures for Handling Discrimination Complaints Under Section 519 of
the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st
Century; 29 CFR part 1980, Procedures for Handling of Discrimination
Complaints Under Section 806 of the Corporate and Criminal Fraud
Accountability Act of 2002, Title VIII of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002;
29 CFR part 1981, Procedures for the Handling of Discrimination
Complaints under Section 6 of the Pipeline Safety and Improvement Act
of 2002; 29 CFR part 1982, Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation
Complaints Under the National Transit Systems Security Act of 2007,
Enacted as Section 1413 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11
Commission Act of 2007, and the Federal Railroad Safety Act,
as Amended by Section 1521 of the Implementing Recommendations
of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007; and 29 CFR part 1983,
Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints
Under Section 219 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of
2008. These regulations set forth procedures employees must use to file
a complaint with OSHA alleging that their employer violated a
whistleblower protection provision contained in certain statutes that
prohibit retaliatory action by employers against employees who engage
in activities protected by the statutes.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
December 27, 2010.
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, and messenger or courier
service: You must submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA
Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2010-0049, U.S. Department of
Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Room N-2625, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries (hand,
express mail, and messenger or 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 Information Collection Request (ICR) (OSHA-2010-
0049). All comments, including any personal information you provide,
are placed in the public docket without change, and will 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 obtain a copy of the ICR by
contacting 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nilgun Tolek, Office of the
Whistleblower Protection Program, Directorate of Enforcement Programs,
OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3610, 200 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-2199.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent (e.g., an employee filing a retaliation
complaint) 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 Agency is responsible for investigating alleged violations of
"whistleblower" provisions contained in a number of statutes. These
whistleblower provisions prohibit retaliation by employers against
employees who report alleged violations of certain laws or regulations.
Accordingly, these provisions prohibit an employer from discharging or
taking any other retaliatory action against an employee because the
employee engages in any of the protected activities specified by the
whistleblower provisions of the statutes.
These statutes are covered under the following regulations: 29 CFR
part 24, Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints under
Federal Employee Protection Statutes (29 CFR part 24 covers: Safe Water
Drinking Act, 42 U.S.C. 300j-9(i); Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
33 U.S.C. 1367; Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 2622; Solid
Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6971; Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7622;
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. 5851; and the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act,
42 U.S.C. 9610); 29 CFR part 1977, Discrimination Against Employees
Exercising Rights under the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and
Health Act (29 CFR part 1977 covers: the Occupational Safety and Health
Act, 29 U.S.C. 660; the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, 15
U.S.C. 2651; and the International Safe Container Act, 46 U.S.C.
80507); 29 CFR part 1978, Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation
Complaints under the Employee Protection Provision of the Surface
Transportation Assistance Act of 1982; 29 CFR part 1979, Procedures for
Handling Discrimination Complaints Under the Wendell H. Ford Aviation
Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century; 29 CFR part 1980,
Procedures for Handling of Discrimination Complaints Under Section 806
of the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act of 2002, Title
VIII of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; 29 CFR part 1981, Procedures
for the Handling of Discrimination Complaints under Section 6 of the
Pipeline Safety and Improvement Act of 2002; 29 CFR part 1982,
Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under the
National Transit Systems Security Act of 2007, Enacted as Section 1413
of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007,
and the Federal Railroad Safety Act, as Amended by Section 1521 of the
Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007; and 29
CFR part 1983, Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints
Under Section 219 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of
2008. Information collection requirements contained in future
regulations promulgated by the Agency with respect to a whistleblower
provision of any other Federal law, except those that are assigned to
another DOL agency, will be added to this information collection.
These regulations specify the procedures that an employee must use
to file a complaint with OSHA alleging that their employer violated a
whistleblower provision for which the Agency has investigative
responsibility. Any employee who believes that such a violation
occurred may file a complaint, or have the complaint filed on their
behalf. Four of these regulations, 29 CFR parts 24, 1979, 1980 and
1981, require that complaints must be filed in writing, and should
include a full statement of the acts and omissions, with pertinent
dates, that are believed to constitute the violation. The other
regulations, 29 CFR parts 1977, 1978, 1982, and 1983, require
no particular form of filing for complaints.
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 individuals 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 requirements contained in the regulations containing
procedures for handling retaliation complaints at 29 CFR parts 24,
1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983.\1\ OSHA is proposing to
increase the burden hours in the currently approved information
collection request from 390 burden hours to 2,160 burden hours (a total
increase of 1,770 hours). These information collection requirements are
included in this extension. This increase is due to the Agency's
determination that all of the Agency's regulations containing
procedures for the investigation of retaliation complaints, regardless
of the form used to file a complaint, contain information collection
requirements associated with the initiation of the complaint. The
increase is also due to updated information showing an increase in the
annual number of complaints filed. The Agency will summarize the
comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this
summary in the request to OMB.
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\1\ Several of these regulations use the term "discrimination"
or "discrimination complaints" in their titles. These terms are
synonymous with "retaliation" and "retaliation complaints,"
respectively.
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Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Regulations Containing Procedures for Handling Retaliation
Complaints.
OMB Number: 1218-0236.
Affected Public: Individuals.
Number of Respondents: 2,160.
Frequency of Recordkeeping: Once per complaint.
Average Time per Response: 1 hour.
Total Annual Hours Requested: 2,160.
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-2010-0049). 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, and 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
David Michaels, PhD, MPH, 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. 4-2010
(75 FR 55355).
Signed at Washington, DC, on October 25, 2010.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-27264 Filed 10-27-10; 8:45 am]
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