[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 91 (Thursday, May 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26237-26238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10089]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0187]
Electrical Standards for Construction and General Industry;
Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of
the 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 the request for an
extension of the information collection requirements contained in the
Electrical Standards for Construction and for General Industry. The
Standards address safety procedures for installation and maintenance of
electric utilization equipment that prevent death and serious injuries
among construction and general industry workers in the workplace caused
by electrical hazards.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
July 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to
read or download through the website. All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in
locating docket submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA
docket number for this Federal Register notice (OSHA-2011-0187). OSHA
will place comments, including any personal information you provide, in
the public docket, which may be available online. Therefore, OSHA
cautions interested parties about submitting personal information such
as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. For further information
on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the
section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman or Theda Kenney,
Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor,
Washington, DC; telephone (202) 693-2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of the 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 (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).
The information collection requirements specified by the Electrical
Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 1926, subpart K) and for
General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S) alert workers to the
presence and types of electrical hazards in the workplace, thereby
preventing serious injury and death by electrocution. The information
collection requirements in these Standards involve the following: The
employer using electrical equipment that is marked with the
manufacturer's name, trademark, or other descriptive markings that
identify the producer of the equipment, and marking the equipment with
the voltage, current, wattage, or other ratings necessary; requiring
each disconnecting means for motors and appliances to be marked legibly
to indicate its purpose, unless located and arranged so the purpose is
evident; requiring the entrances to rooms and other guarded locations
containing exposed live parts to be marked with conspicuous warning
signs
forbidding unqualified persons from entering; and, for construction
employers only, establishing and implementing the assured equipment
grounding conductor program instead of using ground-fault circuit
interrupters.
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
cost) 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 proposing an increase adjustment to the existing burden
hours from 194,976 hours to 200,662 for the Electrical Standards for
Construction and for General Industry, a total increase of 5,686. The
cost of the labels is $10.66, which increased from $4.25, a difference
of $6.41. The cost of caution and warning signs remains $19.19. The
total cost over a five-year period to the employer is $44,753,780 (or
$8,950,756 per year). The agency will summarize any 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 contained in these Standards.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Electrical Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 1926,
subpart K) and for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S).
OMB Number: 1218-0130.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Not-for-profit
institutions; Federal Government; State, local, or tribal governments.
Number of Respondents: 923,147.
Frequency of Response: Occasionally.
Total Responses: 2,822,871.
Average Time per Response: Various.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 200,662.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $8,950,756.
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 https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. Please
note: While OSHA's Docket Office is continuing to accept and process
submissions by regular mail, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Docket
Office is closed to the public and not able to receive submissions to
the docket by hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service. All
comments, attachments, and other materials must identify the agency
name and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-
0187). 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.
Due to security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of comments.
Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://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 https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on
using the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627)
for information about materials not available through the website, and
for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, Acting 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 May 6, 2021.
James S. Frederick,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-10089 Filed 5-12-21; 8:45 am]
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