[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 231 (Monday, December 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84172-84174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26527]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2012-0026]
Regulations Containing Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation
Complaints; Revision 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 the proposal to
revise the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the
information collection requirements specified in the Regulations
Containing Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
February 2, 2024.
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.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov
. Documents in the docket 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 website. All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA
docket number (OSHA-2012-0026) for the Information Collection Request
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online.
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal
information such as Social Security numbers and birthdates.
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;
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 (PRA) (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, the 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 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 effort in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The following sections describe who uses the information collected
under each requirement, as well as how they use it. The Department of
Labor (DOL), through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), is responsible for investigating alleged violations of
whistleblower protection provisions contained in certain Federal
statutes (provisions) that prohibit retaliatory action by employers
against employees who report unsafe or unlawful practices. These
provisions prohibit an employer from discharging or otherwise
retaliating against an employee because the employee engages in any of
the protected activities specified in the relevant statute. This
information collection covers the whistleblower provisions under the
following statutes: (1) the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29
U.S.C. 660(c); (2) the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, 49 U.S.C.
31105; (3) the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, 15 U.S.C. 2651;
(4) the International Safe Container Act, 46 U.S.C. 80507; (5) the Safe
Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300j-9(i); (6) the Energy Reorganization
Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5851; (7) the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9610; (8) the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. 1367; (9) the Toxic
Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 2622; (10) the Solid Waste Disposal
Act, 42 U.S.C. 6971; (11) the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7622; (12) the
Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st
Century, 49 U.S.C. 42121; (13) the Corporate and Criminal Fraud
Accountability Act, Title VIII of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), 18
U.S.C. 1514A; (14) the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act, 49 U.S.C.
60129; (15) the National Transit Systems Security Act, 6 U.S.C. 1142;
(16) the Federal Railroad Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. 20109; (17) the
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, 15 U.S.C. 2087; (18) the
Affordable Care Act, 29 U.S.C. 218C; (19) the Consumer Financial
Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. 5567; (20) the Seaman's Protection Act, 46
U.S.C. 2114; (21) FDA Food Safety and Modernization Act, 21 U.S.C.
399d; (22) the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-
21), 49 U.S.C. 30171; (23) the Taxpayer First Act, 26 U.S.C. 7623(d);
(24) the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, 15 U.S.C. 7a-3; and
(25) the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 31 U.S.C. 5323(a)(5), (g), & (j).
Information collected under these whistleblower provisions and the
related regulations is necessary for OSHA officials to investigate
complaints to determine if a potential violation has occurred.
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 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 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 Revise the approval of the information
collection requirements contained in Regulations Containing Procedures
for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints. The agency is requesting an
adjustment increase in Burden Hours from 10,126 hours to 17,387 hours,
a difference of 7,261 hours. This increase is due to the an increase in
the agency's estimate of complaints received.
OSHA 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: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Title: Regulations Containing Procedures for the Handling of
Retaliation Complaints (29 CFR parts 24, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981,
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, and 1992).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0236.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 17,387.
Number of Responses: 17,387.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 17,387.
Estimated Cost (Operation andMaintenance): $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), if your comments, including
attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA
Docket Office at 202-693-1648; or (3) by hard copy. All comments,
attachments, and other material must identify the agency name and the
OSHA docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2012-0026). You may supplement
electronic submissions by uploading document files electronically.
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 from this
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on
using the http://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 from the website, and for
assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, Deputy 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. 8-2020
(85 FR 58393).
Signed at Washington, DC.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2023-26527 Filed 12-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
