[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 53 (Thursday, March 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12869-12870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-6100]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0100(2004)]


Grantee Quarterly Progress Report; Extension of the Office of 
Management and Budget's Approval of Information-Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA requests comments concerning its proposed extension of 
the information-collection requirements specified by the Grantee 
Quarterly Progress Report.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by May 17, 2004.
    Facsimile and electronic transmissions: Your comments must be 
received by May 17, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

I. Submission of Comments

    Regular mail, express delivery, hand-delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your written comments and attachments to the OSHA 
Docket Office, Docket No. ICR-1218-0100(2004), U.S. Department of 
Labor, Room N-2625, 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., EST.
    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, ICR 1218-0100(2004), in 
your comments.
    Electronic: You may submit comments, but not attachments, through 
the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov.

II. Obtaining Copies of the Supporting Statement for the Information 
Collection Request

    The Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Request 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: Cynthia Bencheck, Division of Training 
and Educational Programs, OSHA Office

[[Page 12870]]

of Training and Education, 2020 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington 
Heights, Illinois 60005; telephone: (847) 297-4810; e-mail: 
[email protected]; or facsimile: (847) 297-4874.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Submission of Comments in 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 webpage. 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 material 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 (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.
    Section 21 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 
``OSH Act'') (29 U.S.C. 670) authorizes the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration (``OSHA'' or the ``Agency'') to conduct directly, 
or through grants and contracts, education and training courses. These 
courses must ensure an adequate number of qualified personnel to 
fulfill the purposes of the Act, provide them with short-term training, 
inform them of the importance and proper use of safety and health 
equipment, and train employers and employees to recognize, avoid, and 
prevent unsafe and unhealthful working conditions.
    Under Section 21, OSHA awards training grants to nonprofit 
organizations to provide part of the required training. The Agency 
requires organizations that receive these grants to submit quarterly 
progress reports that provide information on their grant-funded 
training activities; these reports allow OSHA to monitor the grantee's 
performance and to determine if an organization is using grant funds as 
specified in its grant application. Accordingly, the Agency compares 
the information provided in the quarterly progress report to the 
quarterly milestones proposed by the organization in the workplan and 
budget that accompanied the grant application. This information 
includes: Identifier data (organization name and grant number); the 
date and location where the training occurred; the length of training 
(hours); the number of employees and employers attending training 
sessions provided by the organization during the quarter; a description 
of the training provided; a narrative account of the grant activities 
conducted during the quarter; and an evaluation of progress regarding 
planned versus actual work accomplished. This comparison permits OSHA 
to determine if the organization is meeting the proposed program goals 
and objectives, and spending funds in the manner described in the 
proposed budget.
    Requiring these reports on a quarterly basis enables OSHA to 
identify workplan, training and expenditure discrepancies in a timely 
fashion so that it can implement appropriate action. In addition, this 
information permits the Agency to access an organization's ability to 
meet projected milestones and expenditures; this ability serves as one 
of the criteria used by the Agency in determining whether or not to 
renew the organization's training grant for subsequent years.

III. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information-collection 
requirements are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's 
functions, including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the 
burden (time and costs) of the information-collection requirements, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information collected; and
     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 is proposing to extend the information-collection (paperwork) 
requirements specified in the Grantee Quarterly Progress Report. The 
Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice, and will include this summary, along with the comments, in its 
request to OMB to extend the approval of these information-collection 
requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information-
collection requirements.
    Title: Grantee Quarterly Progress Report.
    OMB Number: 1218-0100.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 67.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Total Responses: 67.
    Average Time Per Response: 12 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,216.
    (Operations and Maintenance): $0.

V. 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 at Washington, DC, on March 15, 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-6100 Filed 3-17-04; 8:45 am]
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