[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 147 (Thursday, July 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44971-44972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19454]


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MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection

AGENCY: Merit Systems Protection Board.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et. seq.), this notice announces that the Merit Systems Protection 
Board (MSPB or the Board) has forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for approval the following proposed information 
collection: e-Appeal, a new electronic application for filing an appeal 
with the Board, and MSPB Form 185 (7/03), a revised MSPB paper Appeal 
Form.
    On September 4, 2002, MSPB published in the Federal Register (67 FR 
56600) a notice of its intent to submit this proposed information 
collection to OMB for approval. The notice advised the public that MSPB 
had revised and expanded its approved MSPB Appeal Form (Optional Form 
283, OMB Control Number 3124-0009) to create a new MSPB Appeal Forms 
Package. The expanded package of forms included additional questions 
necessitated by the enactment of new laws and changes in the Board's 
regulations since the MSPB Appeal Form was last revised in 1994. The 
notice further advised the public that MSPB planned to develop a new 
electronic application for filing an appeal with the Board, based on 
the MSPB Appeal Forms Package. Public comments suggested that, in paper 
form, the expanded MSPB Appeal Forms Package was too long and too 
complicated, particularly for pro se appellants. The comments also 
noted that the majority of appellants would not need many of the forms 
in the package. Accordingly, MSPB revised its approach to this 
information collection.
    As now proposed, this information collection will consist of two 
MSPB-provided options for filing an appeal with the Board. The first 
option, e-Appeal, is an electronic application based on the 
comprehensive MSPB Appeal Forms Package. It will permit an appellant to 
file any type of appeal over which the Board has jurisdiction and to 
raise any additional claims that the Board may consider in the 
particular type of appeal being filed. An appellant will access the e-
Appeal application via the MSPB Web site and will be guided through the 
process in an interview format. The questions presented to each 
appellant will be those applicable to the particular type of appeal 
being filed.
    The second option is a simplified paper MSPB Appeal Form (MSPB Form 
185). This form will include only questions applicable to the majority 
of appeals filed with the Board, i.e., appeals of an agency personnel 
action or a decision affecting the appellant's retirement rights or 
benefits. Other claims, such as claims that the appealed action or 
decision was the result of prohibited discrimination or that the agency 
committed harmful procedural error in taking it, can be raised with the 
appeal if the appellant provides the required information to support 
each claim as an attachment. (Alternatively, such claims can be raised 
later in the process.) The form can also be used to file an Individual 
Right of Action (IRA) appeal under the Whistleblower Protection Act, a 
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) 
appeal, or a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) appeal if the 
appellant provides the additional information required for those types 
of appeals as an attachment.
    The MSPB Form 185 will replace the current OF-283 and will be the 
form that an agency provides when it takes an action or makes a 
decision that is appealable to the Board. The majority of appellants 
will be able to file their appeals using the simplified MSPB Form 185 
without having to provide additional information as an attachment. Use 
of the form is not mandatory. An appellant who chooses to file on paper 
may do so in any written format, including letter form, as long as the 
appeal provides the information required by the Board's regulations and 
otherwise complies with those regulations.
    The two MSPB-provided options for filing an appeal with the Board 
are available for review on the MSPB Web site at http://www.mspb.gov/e-appeal.html.
    In this regard, we are soliciting comments on the public reporting 
burden. The reporting burden for this collection of information is 
estimated to vary from 20 minutes to 4 hours per response, with an 
average of 60 minutes, including time for reviewing instructions, 
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data 
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

                                        Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
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                                                                                        Hours per
              5 CFR section                Annual number    Frequency   Total annual    response     Total hours
                                          of respondents  per response    responses     (average)
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1201, 1208 and 1209.....................          6,300             1         6,300             1         6,300
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    Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other aspect of 
the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the 
burden, to the address shown below. Please refer to

[[Page 44972]]

OMB Control No. 3124-0009 in any correspondence.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 2, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the paperwork burden should be addressed 
to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for MSPB, 725 17th 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, with a copy to Mr. Arlin Winefordner, 
Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20419 (or by e-mail to [email protected]).

    Dated: July 25, 2003.
Matthew Shannon,
Counsel to the Clerk of the Board.
[FR Doc. 03-19454 Filed 7-30-03; 8:45 am]
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