[Federal Register: January 13, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 9)][Notices]               [Page 2417-2418]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13ja11-109]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2010-0056]

 
OSHA-7 Form ("Notice of Alleged Safety and Health Hazards"); 
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 public comments concerning its proposal to 
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements 
specified in the OSHA-7 Form.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
March 14, 2011.

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 your comments and attachments 
to the OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2010-0056, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Heath 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 Information Collection Request (ICR) (OSHA-2010-
0056). 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 Todd Owen at 
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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., workers filing occupational safety or 
health complaints) 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 OSH 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 paragraphs (a) and (c) of 29 CFR Sec.  1903.11 ("Complaints 
by employees") workers and their representatives may notify the OSHA 
area director or an OSHA compliance officer of safety and health 
hazards regulated by the Agency that they believe exist in their 
workplaces at any time. These provisions state further that this 
notification must be in writing and "shall set forth with reasonable 
particularity the grounds for the notice, and shall be signed by the 
employee or representative of the employee."
    In addition to providing specific hazard information to the Agency, 
paragraph (a) permits workers/worker representatives to request an 
inspection of the workplace. Paragraph (c) also addresses situations in 
which workers/worker representatives may provide the information 
directly to the OSHA compliance officer during an inspection. An 
employer's former workers may also submit complaints to the Agency.
    To address the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (c), especially 
the requirement that the information be in writing, the Agency 
developed the OSHA-7 Form; this form standardized and simplified the 
hazard reporting process. For paragraph (a), they may complete an OSHA-
7 Form obtained from the Agency's Web site and then send it to OSHA 
online, or deliver a hardcopy of the form to the OSHA area office by 
mail or facsimile, or by hand. They may also write a letter containing 
the information and hand deliver it to the area office, or send it by 
mail or facsimile. In addition, they may provide the information orally 
to the OSHA area office or another party (e.g., a Federal safety and 
health committee for Federal workers), in which case the area office or 
other party completes the hardcopy version of the form. For the typical 
situation addressed by paragraph (c), a worker/worker representative 
informs an OSHA compliance officer orally of the alleged hazard during 
an inspection, and the compliance officer then completes the hardcopy 
version of the OSHA-7 Form; occasionally, the worker/worker 
representative provides the compliance officer with the information on 
the hardcopy version of the OSHA-7 Form.
    The information in the hardcopy version of the OSHA-7 Form includes 
information about the employer and alleged hazards, including: the 
establishment's name; the site's address and telephone and facsimile 
numbers; the name and telephone number of the management official; the 
type of business; a description and the specific location of the 
hazards, including the approximate number of workers exposed or 
threatened by the hazards; and whether or not the worker/worker 
representative informed another government agency about the hazards 
(and the name of the agency if so informed).
    Additional information on the hardcopy version of the form concerns 
the complainant including: whether or not the complainant wants OSHA to 
reveal their name to the employer; whether the complainant is a worker 
or a worker representative, or for information provided orally, a 
member of a Federal safety and health committee or another party (with 
space to specify the party); the complainant's name, telephone number, 
and address; and the complainant's signature attesting that they 
believe a violation of an OSHA standard exists at the named 
establishment; and the date of the signature. A worker representative 
must also provide the name of the organization they represent and their 
title.
    The information contained in the online version of the OSHA-7 Form 
is similar to the hardcopy version. However, the online version 
requests the complainant's e-mail address, and does not ask for the 
site's facsimile number or the complainant's signature and signature 
date.
    The Agency uses the information collected on the OSHA-7 Form to 
determine whether reasonable grounds exist to conduct an inspection of 
the workplace. The description of the hazards, including the number of 
exposed workers, allows the Agency to assess the severity of the 
hazards and the need to expedite the inspection. The completed form 
also provides the employer with notice of the complaint and may serve 
as the basis for obtaining a search warrant if the employer denies the 
Agency access to the workplace.

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 workers 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 relating to the OSHA-7 Form. The Agency is 
requesting an increase in burden hours from 12,775 to 13,414 (a total 
increase of 639 burden hours). The Agency will summarize the comments 
submitted in response to this notice and will include this summary in 
the request to OMB to extend the approval of the information collection 
requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Notice of Alleged Safety and Health Hazards, OSHA-7 Form.
    OMB Number: 1218-0064.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Number of Respondents: 50,715.
    Total Responses: 50,715.
    Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes (.25 hour) to 
communicate the required information orally to the Agency to 25 minutes 
(.42 hour) to provide the information in writing and send it to OSHA.
    Total Burden Hours Requested: 13,414.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $1,116.

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-2010-0056). 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

    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 January 10, 2011.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2011-602 Filed 1-12-11; 8:45 am]
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