[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50627-50628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25623]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. 
Currently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments 
concerning the proposed new collection of the ``Construction Industry 
Benefits Test.'' A copy of the proposed information collection request 
(ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the 
addressee section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before November 25, 1997. The Bureau of 
Labor Statistics is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Karin G. Kurz, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 3255, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212. Ms. Kurz can be 
reached on 202-606-7628 (this is not a toll free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) has determined that 
research should be conducted into alternative ways of collecting 
information for Davis-Bacon Act purposes. As a result, ESA's Wage and 
Hour Division (WHD) wishes to evaluate the usefulness of BLS data in 
the Davis-Bacon wage determination process.

The Davis-Bacon Act

    The Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 276a) requires that workers employed 
on federal construction contracts valued in excess of $2,000 be paid 
wages and fringe benefits that, at a minimum, have been determined by 
the Secretary of Labor to be prevailing for corresponding classes of 
workers employed on projects similar in character to the contract work 
in the area where the construction takes place. The prevailing wage is 
defined by Department of Labor regulations as the wage paid to more 
than 50 percent of the workers in the job classification on similar 
projects in the area during the period in question. If the majority of 
those employed in the classification are not paid the same wage, the 
prevailing wage is determined by calculating the average of the wages 
paid. In cases where the majority of workers in a classification are 
represented by a union

[[Page 50628]]

and are paid the same rate, the union rate is the prevailing rate.
    Current Actions: The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) and 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Office of Compensation and 
Working Conditions (OCWC) have entered into an interagency agreement to 
test the feasibility of BLS collecting and publishing information on 
the incidence of and employer costs for specific benefits by detailed 
construction occupations in local areas. The purpose is to provide ESA 
with an alternative method for arriving at compensation determinations 
for the construction industry as required by the Davis-Bacon Act.
    BLS will provide ESA with the survey results in both a publication 
and an electronic file. In addition, BLS will provide respondents and 
other interested parties with the survey results.
    BLS plans wage and benefit collection in four metropolitan areas, 
Jacksonville, Florida; Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah; Toledo, Ohio; and 
Tucson, Arizona. In each locality, BLS will survey a sample of 
establishments and, within each establishment, take a sample of blue-
collar jobs. Information will be collected on benefits incidence and 
costs, hours worked, wages, and worker characteristics such as union/
nonunion and full-time/part-time job status.
    The compensation data will include the following information:
     Incidence of employee benefits by occupation;
     Employer benefits cost by occupation; and
     Median and mean earnings by occupation.
    Worker characteristic information will include the following:
     Union and nonunion;
     Full-time and part-time; and
     Time and incentive.
    The types of benefit information collected will include:
     Health, life, and disability insurance;
     Retirement plan information;
     Leave information; and
     Overtime, shift, and bonus pay.
    Depending upon response levels, varying degrees of occupational 
detail will be produced.
    The survey forms to be used for this test are the Employment Cost 
Index forms previously approved under the National Compensation Survey 
(OMB Number 1220-0164). BLS will use the information collected in this 
test for statistical purposes only. To the full extent permitted by 
law, BLS will hold the information in confidence and will not disclose 
it without the written consent of respondents.
    Type of Review: New Collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: Construction Industry Benefits Test.
    OMB Number: 1220-New.
    AFfected Public: Business or other for-profit.

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                                     Number of                         Total          Average                   
       Fiscal year average          respondents    Responses per   responses per    minutes per    Total burden 
                                     per year          year            year          response          hours    
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BLS 3038A.......................             550               1             468              75             585
BLS 3038B.......................             550               1             468              35             273
BLS 3038D.......................             550               1             468             180            1404
Quality assurance...............             117               1             117              10              20
Average annual burden...........             550               1             468             293            2282
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Coast (operating/maintenance): $0.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they also will become a 
matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, D.C., this 23rd day of September, 1997.
W. Stuart Rust, Jr.,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 97-25623 Filed 9-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-M