[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58142-58143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25515]


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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 extension of the ``Multiple Worksite Report and the Report of 
Federal Employment and Wages.'' 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 December 8, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
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

    The Covered Employment and Wages (ES-202) Program is a Federal/
State cooperative effort which compiles monthly employment data, 
quarterly wage data, and business identification information from 
employers subject to State Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws. These data 
are collected from State Quarterly Contribution Reports (QCRs) 
submitted to State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). The States 
send micro-level employment and wages data, supplemented with the 
names, addresses, and business identification information of these 
employers, to the BLS. The State data are used to create the BLS 
sampling frame, known as the Business Establishment List. This file 
represents the best source of detailed industrial and geographical data 
on employers and is used as the sampling frame for most BLS surveys. 
The Business Establishment List includes the individual employers' 
employment and wages data along with associated business identification 
information that is maintained by each State to administer the UI 
program as well as the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees 
(UCFE) program.
    The ES-202 Report, produced for each calendar quarter, is a summary 
of these employer (micro-level) data by industry at the county level. 
Similar data for Federal Government employees covered by the UCFE 
Program also are included in each State report. These data are 
submitted by all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 
the Virgin Islands to the BLS which then summarizes these macro-level 
data to produce totals for the States and the Nation. The ES-202 Report 
provides a virtual census of nonagricultural employees and their wages, 
with about 47 percent of the workers in agriculture covered as well.
    For employers having only a single physical location (worksite) in 
the State and, thus, operating under a single assigned industrial and 
geographical code, the data from the States' UI accounting files are 
sufficient for statistical purposes. Such data, however, are not 
sufficient for statistical purposes for those employers having multiple 
establishments or engaged in different industrial activities within the 
State. In such cases, the employer's QCR reflects only statewide 
employment and wages and is not disaggregated by establishment or 
worksite. Although data at this level are sufficient for many purposes 
of the UI Program, more detailed information is required to create a 
sampling frame and to meet the needs of several ongoing Federal/State 
statistical programs. The Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) is designed to 
supplement the QCR when more detailed information is needed.
    As a result of the MWR, improved establishment business 
identification data elements have been incorporated into and maintained 
on the Business Establishment List. The MWR collects a physical 
location address, secondary name (trade name, division, subsidiary, 
etc.), and reporting unit description (store number, plant name or 
number, etc.) for each worksite of multi-establishment employers.
    Employers with more than one establishment reporting under the same 
UI account number within a State are requested to complete the MWR if 
the sum of the employment in all of their secondary establishments is 
10 or greater. The primary worksite is defined as the establishment 
with the greatest number of employees. Upon receipt of the first MWR 
form, each employer is requested to supply business location 
identification information. Thereafter, this reported information is 
computer printed on the MWR each quarter. The employer is requested to 
verify the accuracy of this business location identification 
information and to provide only the employment and wages for each 
worksite for that quarter. By using a standardized form, the reporting 
burden on many large employers, especially those engaged in multiple 
economic activities at various

[[Page 58143]]

locations across numerous States, has been reduced.
    Comparable to the MWR, the function of the Report of Federal 
Employment and Wages (RFEW) is to collect employment and wage data for 
each installation of Federal agencies. The RFEW aids in the development 
and maintenance of business identification information by installation. 
The RFEW was modeled after the MWR and is used only to collect data 
from Federal agencies covered by the UCFE program.
    No other standardized report is available to collect current 
establishment-level employment and wages data by SESAs for statistical 
purposes each quarter from the private sector nor State and local 
governments. Also, no other standardized report currently is available 
to collect installation-level Federal employment and wages data each 
quarter by SESAs for statistical purposes. Completion of the MWR is 
required by state law in 21 States.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    [sbull] 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

    The BLS has taken steps to help reduce employer reporting burden by 
developing a standardized format for employers to use to send these 
data to the States in an electronic medium. The BLS also established an 
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Collection Center to improve and 
expedite the MWR collection process. Employers who complete the MWR for 
multi-location businesses can now submit employment and wages 
information on any electronic medium (tape, cartridge, diskette, or 
computer-to-computer) directly to the data collection center, rather 
than to each State agency, separately. The data collection center then 
distributes the appropriate data to the respective States. The BLS also 
has been working very closely with firms providing payroll and tax 
filing services for employers as well as the developers of payroll and 
tax filing software to include this electronic reporting as either a 
service for their clients or a new feature of their system. In 
addition, the BLS is developing a web-based system to collect these 
data from small to medium size businesses.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) and the Report of Federal 
Employment and Wages (RFEW).
    OMB Number: 1220-0134.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit institutions, not 
for-profit institutions, Federal Government, and State, local or tribal 
government.

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                                                                                                                           Average time
                  Form number                         Total                     Respondent                     Total       per response    Total burden
                                                   respondents                                               responses       (minutes)        (hours)
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BLS 3020 (MWR).................................         116,172  Non-Federal............................         464,688            22.2         171,935
BLS 3021 (RFEW)................................           2,074  Federal................................           8,296            22.2           3,070
                                                -----------------
    Totals.....................................         118,246  .......................................         472,984  ..............         175,004
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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 25th day of September, 2003.
Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 03-25515 Filed 10-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P