[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 81 (Thursday, April 26, 2012)][Notices][Pages 24992-24993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10056]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0861]
OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health
(OSPP); 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 OSHAs Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety
and Health (OSPP).
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
June 25, 2012.
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, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0861, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 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 (OSHA-2011-0861) for the Information Collection Request
(ICR). 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 from 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 accord with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (PRA-95) (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 the 1970 (the OSH Act) 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 OSHA 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).
The OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP) allows OSHA to enter
into an extended, voluntary, cooperative relationship with groups of
employers, workers, and representatives (sometimes including other
stakeholders, and sometimes involving only one employer) to encourage,
assist and recognize their efforts to eliminate serious hazards and
achieve a high level of worker safety and health that goes beyond what
historically has been achieved through traditional enforcement methods.
Each OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) determines which information will
be needed, determining the best collection method, and clarifying how
the information will be used. At a minimum, each OSP must identify
baseline illness and injury data corresponding to all summary line
items on the OSHA 200/300 logs, and must track changes at either the
worksite level or participant-aggregate level. An OSP may also include
other measures of success, such as training activity, self inspections,
and/or workers' compensation data.
In this regard, the information collection requirements for the
OSPP are used by the Agency to gauge the effectiveness of its programs,
identify needed improvements, and ensure that its resources are being
used for good and effective purposes.
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 function to
protect workers, 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 employees who must comply;
for example, by using automated or other technological information
collection and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
The Agency is requesting that OMB extend the approval of the
collection of information (paperwork) requirements outlined by OSHA's Strategic
Partnership Program. In addition, the Agency proposes to use a blanket
approval, eliminating the need for the Agency to submit the collection
of information requirements for each individual partnership to OMB for
approval. The Agency also proposes to decrease the existing burden hour
estimate from 361,416 to 108,702 as a result of a decrease in the
number of partnerships. OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in
response to this notice, and will include this summary in its request
to OMB to extend the approval of the collection of information
requirements.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and
Health (OSPP).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0244.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Responses: 18,144.
Average Time per Response: Eleven (11) hours to develop the
partnership requirements, craft agreement language, and conduct an
internal review process.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 108,702.
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 this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0861).
You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference
to an electronic or a 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 dates 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, Ph.D., 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. 1-2012
(77 FR 3912).
Signed at Washington, DC, on April 20, 2012.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2012-10056 Filed 4-25-12; 8:45 am]
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