[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17447-17448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7911]


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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. The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the 
proposed revision of the ``Survey of Occupational Injuries and 
Illnesses.'' A copy of the proposed information collection request 
(ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the 
Addresses section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
Addresses section of this notice on or before May 29, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 3255, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212, telephone number 
202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
telephone number 202-691-7628. (See Addresses section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 24(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
requires the Secretary of Labor to develop and maintain an effective 
program of collection, compilation, and analysis of statistics on 
occupational injuries and illnesses. The Commissioner of Labor 
Statistics has been delegated the responsibility for ``furthering the 
purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act by developing and 
maintaining an effective program of collection, compilation, analysis 
and publication of occupational safety and health statistics.'' The BLS 
fulfills this responsibility, in part, by conducting the Survey of 
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in conjunction with participating 
State statistical agencies. The BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and 
Illnesses provides the nation's primary indicator of the progress 
towards achieving the goal of safer and healthier workplaces. The 
survey produces the overall rate of occurrence of work injuries and 
illnesses by industry which can be compared to prior years to produce 
measures of the rate of change. These data are used to improve safety 
and health programs and measure the change in work-related injuries and 
illnesses.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
     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.

III. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Approximately 230,000 
establishments will be surveyed annually. The clearance will include 
revisions to the survey to reflect changes in the Occupational Safety 
and Health Administration recordkeeping requirements. The survey will 
provide prenotification materials for the employers in the new samples 
who are usually exempt from recording injuries and illnesses, as well 
as the non-exempt employers in the survey.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.
    OMB Number: 1220-0045.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Farms; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Frequency: Annually.

[[Page 17448]]



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                                                                                  Estimated time     Estimated
               Form                   Total respondents       Total responses      per response    total burden
                                                                                      (hours)         (hours)
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BLS 9300..........................  230,000..............  230,000..............             .40          91,666
Prenotification Package...........  175,000 out of         175,000 out of                   1.35         236,000
                                     230,000.               230,000.
                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals........................  230,000..............  230,000..............            1.4          327,666
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (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, DC this 23rd day of March, 2001.
W. Stuart Rust, Jr.,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 01-7911 Filed 3-29-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P