[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 244 (Friday, December 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70840-70842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31288]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0065(2004)]


Standard on Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records (29 
CFR 1910.1020), Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's 
(OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to decrease the 
existing burden-hour estimates, and to extend OMB approval of the 
information collection requirements of the regulation titled Access to 
Employee Exposure and Medical Records (29 CFR 1910.1020).

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:

[[Page 70841]]

    Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or sent) by 
February 17, 2004.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be sent 
by February 17, 2004.

I. Submission of Comments

    Regular mail, express delivery, hand-delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Docket No. ICR 1218-0065(2004), Room N-2625, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. OSHA Docket 
Office and Department of Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 
p.m., e.s.t.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including any attachments, are 10 
pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 
693-1648. You must include the docket number of this document, Docket 
No. ICR 1218-0065(2004), in your comments.
    Electronic: You may submit comments, but not attachments, 
throughout the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov/.

II. Obtaining Copies of Supporting Statement for the Information 
Collection

    The Supporting Statement for the information Collection is 
available for downloading from OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov. 
The supporting statement is available for inspection and copying in the 
OSHA Docket Office, at the address listed above. A printed copy of the 
supporting statement can be obtained by contacting Todd Owen at (202) 
693-2222

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards 
and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to 
Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document by (1) hard 
copy, (2) fax transmission (facsimile), or (3) electronically through 
the OSHA Web page. Please note you cannot attach materials such as 
studies or journal articles to electronic comments. If you have 
additional materials, you must submit three copies of them to the OSHA 
Docket Office at the address above. The additional materials must 
clearly identify your electronic comments by name, date, subject and 
docket number so we can attach them to your comments. Because of 
security-related problems there may be a significant delay in the 
receipt of comments by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket 
Office at (202) 693-2350 for information about security procedures 
concerning the delivery of materials by express delivery, hand delivery 
and messenger service.

II. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information collection burden is correct. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) authorizes 
information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for 
enforcement of the Act or for developing information regarding the 
causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and 
accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). Under the authority granted by the OSH Act, 
OSHA published a health regulation governing access to employee 
exposure-monitoring data and medical records. This regulation does not 
require employers to collect any information or to establish any new 
systems of records. Rather, it requires that employers provide 
employees, their designated representatives, and OSHA with access to 
employee exposure-monitoring and medical records, and any analyses 
resulting from these records, whether or not the records are mandated 
by specific occupational safety and health standards. In this regard, 
the regulation specifies requirements for record access, record 
retention, employee information, trade-secret management, and record 
transfer. Accordingly, the Agency attributes the burden hours and costs 
associated with exposure monitoring and measurement, medical 
surveillance, and the other activities required to generate the data 
governed by the regulation to the health standards that specify these 
activities, therefore, OSHA did not include these burden hours and 
costs in this ICR.
    Access to exposure and medical information enables employees and 
their designated representatives to become directly involved in 
identifying and controlling occupational health hazards, as well as 
managing and preventing occupationally-related health impairment and 
disease. Providing the Agency with access to the records permits it to 
ascertain whether or not employers are complying with the regulation, 
as well as the recordkeeping requirements of its other health 
standards; therefore, OSHA access provides additional assurance that 
employees and their designated representatives are able to obtain the 
data they need to conduct their analyses.

III. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    [sbull] Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions to 
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
    [sbull] The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    [sbull] The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    [sbull] Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

IV. Proposed Actions

    OSHA proposes to decrease the existing burden-hour estimates, and 
to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements of 
the Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 
1910.1020). The reduction is mainly a result of a reduction in the 
estimated number of establishments affected by this regulation.
    OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements contained in 
the Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 
1910.1020).
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently-approved information 
collection requirement.
    Title: Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records (29 CFR 
1910.1020).
    OMB Number: 1218-0065.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; 
Federal government; State, local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents; 717,268.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 4,577,613.

[[Page 70842]]

    Average Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to 10 
minutes (.17 hour).
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 561,308.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

III. Authority and Signature

    John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The 
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3506), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Signed in Washington, DC on December 15, 2003.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 03-31288 Filed 12-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M