[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 7, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18408-18409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7851]


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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 revision of the ``Survey of Occupational Injuries and 
Illnesses.'' 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 June 7, 2004.

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

    Section 24(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
requires the Secretary of Labor to develop and maintain an effective 
program of collection, compilation, and analysis of statistics on 
occupational injuries and illnesses. The Commissioner of Labor 
Statistics has been delegated the responsibility for ``Furthering the 
purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act by developing and 
maintaining an effective program of collection, compilation, analysis 
and publication of occupational safety and health statistics.'' The BLS 
fulfills this responsibility, in part, by conducting the Survey of 
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in conjunction with participating 
State statistical agencies. The BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and 
Illnesses provides the nation's primary indicator of the progress 
towards achieving the goal of safer and healthier workplaces. The 
survey produces the overall rate of occurrence of work injuries and 
illnesses by industry which can be compared to prior years to produce 
measures of the rate of change. These data are used to improve safety 
and health programs and measure the change in work-related injuries and 
illnesses.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

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

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Revisions have been made 
to the 2004 survey to reflect the current Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration (OSHA) recordkeeping regulations. The survey 
measures the overall rate of occurrence of work injuries and illnesses 
by industry. For the more serious injuries and illnesses, those with 
days away from work, the survey provides detailed information on the 
injured/ill worker (age, sex, race, industry, occupation, and length of 
service), the time in shift, and the circumstances of the injuries and 
illnesses classified by standardized codes (nature of the injury/
illness, part of body affected, primary and secondary

[[Page 18409]]

sources of the injury/illness, and the event or exposure which produced 
the injury/illness).
    Survey data are used to assess the Nation's progress in improving 
the safety and health of America's work places; to prioritize scarce 
Federal and State resources; to guide the development of injury and 
illness prevention strategies; and to support OSHA and State safety and 
health standards and research. Data are essential for evaluating the 
effectiveness of Federal and State programs for improving work place 
safety and health. For these reasons, it is necessary to provide 
estimates separately for participating States.
    Type of Review: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.
    OMB Number: 1220-0045.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Farms; State, Local or Tribal Government.

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                                                                                                                           Average time      Estimated
              Form                       Total respondents               Frequency               Total responses           per response    total burden
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BLS 9300.......................  230,000..........................  Annually..........  230,000.........................              .4          91,666
                                                                                                                                    hour          hours.
Prenotification Package........  175,000 out of 230,000...........  Annually..........  175,000 out of 230,000..........            1.35         236,000
                                                                                                                                   hours          hours.
                                ------------------------------------
    Totals.....................  230,000..........................  ..................  230,000.........................  ..............         327,666
                                                                                                                                                  hours.
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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 26th day of March, 2004.
Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 04-7851 Filed 4-6-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P