[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37513-37514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17941]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket OST-2001-10144]


Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for emergency review and approval, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on two 
consumer complaint forms. One complaint form concerns accessibility 
problems experienced by a passenger with a disability in air travel and 
the other complaint form concerns alleged discrimination on the basis 
of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex or sexual 
orientation by an airline.

DATES: Comments are due August 17, 2001. Interested persons are invited 
to submit comments regarding this proposal.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Blane A. Workie, Office of the General 
Counsel, Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street, SW., Room 10424, 
Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-9342 (voice), (202) 755-7687 (TTY), 202-
366-7132 (fax), or [email protected] (email). Arrangements to 
receive this notice in an alternative format may be made by contacting 
the above named individual.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that the 
Department of Transportation (DOT) has submitted to OMB, for emergency 
processing, an information collection package with respect to the two 
proposed complaint forms concerning air travel service problems.
    The Department will use the complaint forms for the collection of 
information from person(s) who wish to file complaints to the 
Department regarding accessibility of airline service and alleged 
discrimination by an airline. The Department has submitted the proposal 
for the collection of information to OMB for review, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). The Department has 
requested emergency clearance of the collection of information, as 
described below, with approval being sought by August 15, 2001.

(1) Title of the Information Collection Proposal

    Complaint Concerning Accessibility of Airline Service (Passengers 
with Disabilities); Complaint Alleging Discrimination by an Airline 
Based on Race, Ethnicity, National Origin, Religion, Sex, or Sexual 
Orientation.

(2) Summary of the Collection of Information

    Each respondent (claimant) would be asked to submit the following 
information:
    1. Name, address, and telephone number of passenger or contact 
person, if other than the passenger.
    2. Name of the airline or company about which person(s) is 
complaining.
    3. Date(s) of the alleged violation (i.e. flight date).
    4. Flight number, if known.
    5. Origin and destination cities of trip.
    6. Brief description of the alleged violation and prohibited bases 
of the complaint.
    7. Brief description of efforts to resolve the complaint through 
airline staff.
    8. Information as to whether complainant has or will file a claim 
with a court or another agency.

[[Page 37514]]

(3) Description of the Need for the Information and Its Proposed 
Use

    The complaint forms provide information to make the public aware of 
their rights. Additionally, the complaint form concerning accessibility 
of airline service makes it easier and provides a less burdensome way 
for person(s) to file a complaint under the Air Carrier Access Act 
(ACAA) and 14 CFR part 382, our implementing regulation. The ACAA 
prohibits discrimination against passengers with disabilities by air 
carriers in providing air transportation service. The complaint form 
concerning allegations of discrimination by an airline make it easier 
and less burdensome for person(s) who wish to file a complaint under 
various federal statues, particularly 49 U.S.C. 40127, prohibiting U.S. 
and foreign air carriers from subjecting any air traveler to 
discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, religion, 
sex or ancestry.
    The completion of the complaint forms is entirely voluntarily. Many 
consumers prefer completing the complaint forms to drafting a letter or 
email because it tends to take less time. An additional benefit of the 
complaint forms is that the forms specifically ask questions about the 
type of information that is needed to conduct an investigation. The 
information in the complaint forms will be used to contact complainants 
and for conducting investigations.
    The forms are written in plain English; are user-friendly; take 
less time to complete than a letter or email; and enhance the quality 
and clarity of information collected that is required to investigate 
alleged complaints of discrimination.

(4) Description of the Likely Respondents, and Proposed Frequency 
of the Response to the Collection of Information:

    The likely respondents will be consumers who wish to file 
complaints of discrimination. The Department of Transportation 
presently receives approximately 675 disability complaints a year and 
75 discrimination complaints a year. Assuming that 5% of complainants 
will use the complaint forms, the estimated number of respondents is 
38. The proposed frequency of the response to the collection of 
information is annually.

(5) Estimate of the Total Reporting Burden That Will Result From 
the Collection of Information:

    Number of respondents: 38
    Total annual responses: 38
    Total burden hours: 19 (@ 30 minutes per response).

    Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Issued this 13th day of July, 2001, at Washington, DC.
Michael A. Robinson,
Clearance Officer, Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 01-17941 Filed 7-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P