[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 52 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13433-13434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6612]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office for Equal Opportunity, Office of the Secretary, DOI.

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Office for Equal Opportunity announces the 
proposed public information collection and seeks public comments on the 
provisions thereof.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by May 17, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations on the proposed 
information collection should be sent to the Office for Equal 
Opportunity, Attn: Michael Dole, Department of the Interior, 1849 C St 
NW., Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instrument, please write to the above address, or 
call Michael Dole, (202) 208-5183. The collection instrument is also 
available on the internet at: http://www.doi.gov/diversity/doc/
di__1935.pdf.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOI is below parity with the relevant 
Civilian Labor Force representation for many of our mission critical 
occupations, and has developed a 5 year Strategic Plan to improve 
representation and be more responsive to the changing demographics of 
the country. The only way to determine if there are barriers in the 
recruitment and selection process is to track the groups that apply and 
the groups at each stage of the selection process. There is no other 
objective way to make these determinations, and no source of this 
information other than directly from applicants.
    The information is not provided to selecting officials and plays no 
part in the selection of individuals. Instead, it is used in summary 
form to determine trends over many selections within a given occupation 
or organizational area. The information is treated in a very 
confidential manner. No information from this form is entered into the 
Personnel File of the individual selected, and the records of those not 
selected are destroyed after the conclusion of the selection process.
    The format of the questions on ethnicity and race are compliant 
with the new OMB requirements, and are

[[Page 13434]]

identical to those which will be used in the year 2000 census. This 
form is a simplification and update of a similar applicant background 
survey used by DOI for many years. In light of this long term routine 
use and the need to quickly move to the new format, OMB has granted a 6 
month emergency approval of the form to allow its use during the period 
for public comment.
    Comments are invited on : (a) whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility and 
clarity of the information to be collected: and (d) ways to minimize 
the burden of the information collection on respondents, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    Title, Associated Form, and OMB Number: Applicant Background 
Survey, DI form 1935; OMB Control No.: 1091-0001.
    Needs and Uses: This form is used to obtain source of recruitment, 
ethnicity, race, and disability data on job applicants to determine if 
the recruitment is effectively reaching all aspects of the relevant 
labor pool and to determine if there are proportionate acceptance rates 
at various stages of the recruitment process. Response is optional. The 
information is used for evaluating recruitment only, and plays no part 
in the selection of who is hired.
    Affected Public: Applicants for DOI jobs.
    Annual Burden Hours: 9,960.
    Number of Respondents: 120,000.
    Responses Per Respondent: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: no more than 5 minutes.
    Frequency: 1 per application.

    Dated: March 8, 1999.
Michael Dole,
Affirmative Employment Program Administrator, Department of the 
Interior.
[FR Doc. 99-6612 Filed 3-17-99; 8:45am]
BILLING CODE 4310-10-P