[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 166 (Friday, August 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52732-52734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19629]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0064(2004)]


OSHA-7 Form (``Notice of Alleged Safety and Health Hazards''); 
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 public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its request for an extension 
of the information collection requirements specified by the OSHA-7 
Form.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by October 26, 2004.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be 
received by October 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0064(2004), by any of the following methods:
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand-delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington,

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DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number is (877) 889-
5627). The OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours of 
operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., ET.
    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.
    Electronic: You may submit comments through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov/. Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for 
submitting comments.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or 
background materials, such as the complete Information Collection 
Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and 
attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://OSHA.gov. Comments, 
submissions and the ICR are available for inspection and copying at the 
OSHA Docket Office at the address above. You may also contact Todd Owen 
at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.
    (For additional information on submitting comments, please see the 
``Public participation'' heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards 
and Guidance, OSHA, Room N-3609, U.S. Department of Labor, 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 and supporting materials in response to 
this document by (1) hard copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or 
(3) electronically through the OSHA Web page.
    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 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for 
information about security procedures concerning the delivery of 
materials by express delivery, hand delivery and messenger service.
    All comments, submissions and background documents are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above 
address. Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are 
available at http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for 
information about materials not available through the OSHA Web page and 
for assistance using the Web page to locate docket submissions.
    Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice as well as other 
relevant documents are available on OSHA's Web page.

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 accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) 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 paragraphs (a) and (c) of 29 CFR 1903.11 (``Complaints by 
employers'') employees and their representatives may notify the OSHA 
area director or an OSHA compliance officer of safety and health 
hazards regulated by the Agency that they believe exist in their 
workplaces at any time. These provisions state further that this 
notification must be in writing and ``shall set forth with reasonable 
particularity the grounds for the notice, and shall be signed by the 
employee or representatives of the employee.''
    Along with providing specific hazard information to the Agency, 
paragraph (a) permits employees/employee representatives to request an 
inspection of the workplace. Paragraph (c) also addresses situations in 
which employees/employee representatives may provide the information 
directly to the OSHA compliance officer during an inspection. An 
employer's former employees may also submit complaints to the Agency.
    To address the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (c), especially 
the requirement that the information be in writing, the Agency 
developed the OSHA-7 Form; this form standardized and simplified the 
hazard-reporting process. For paragraph (a), they may complete an OSHA-
7 Form obtained from the Agency's Web site and then send it to OSHA on-
line, or deliver a hardcopy of the form to the OSHA area office by mail 
or facsimile, or by hand. They may also write a letter containing the 
information and hand-deliver it to the area office, or send it by mail 
or facsimile. In addition, they may provide the information orally to 
the OSHA area office or another party (e.g., a Federal safety and 
health committee for Federal employees), in which case the area office 
or other party completes the hardcopy version of the form. For the 
typical situation addressed by paragraph (c), an employee/employee 
representation informs an OSHA compliance officer orally of the alleged 
hazard during an inspection, and the compliance officer then completes 
the hardcopy version of the OSHA-7 Form; occasionally, the employee/
employee representative provides the compliance officer with the 
information on the hardcopy version of the OSHA-7 Form.
    The information in the hardcopy version of the OSHA-7 Form includes 
information about the employer and alleged hazards, including: The 
establishment's name, mailing address, and telephone and facsimile 
numbers; the site's address and telephone facsimile numbers; the name 
and telephone number of the management official; the type of business; 
a description, and the specific location of the hazards, including the 
approximate number of employees exposed or threatened by the hazards; 
and whether or not the employee/employee representative informed 
another government agency about the hazards (and the name of the agency 
if informed).
    Additional information on the hardcopy version of the form 
addresses the complainant including: Whether or not the complainant 
wants OSHA to reveal their name to the employer; whether the 
complainant is an employee or an employee representative, or for 
information provided orally, a member of a Federal safety and health 
committee or another party (with space to specify the party); the 
complainant's name, telephone number, and address; and the 
complainant's signature attesting that they believe a violation of an 
OSHA standard exists at the named establishment; and the date of the 
signature. An employee representative must also provide the name of the 
organization they represent and their title.
    The information contained in the on-line version of the OSHA-7 Form 
is similar to the hard copy version. However, the on-line version 
requests the complainant's e-mail address, and

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does not ask for the establishment's and site's telephone and facsimile 
numbers and the complainant's signature and signature date.
    The Agency uses the information collected on the OSHA-7 Form to 
determine whether reasonable grounds exist to conduct an inspection of 
the workplace. The description of the hazards, including the number of 
exposed employees, allows the Agency to asses the severity of the 
hazards and the need to expedite the inspection. The completed form 
also provides an employer with notice of the complaint and may serve as 
the basis for obtaining a search warrant if an employer denies the 
Agency access to the workplace.

III. Special Issues for Comment

     OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following 
issues:
     Whether the 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 requirements 
contained on the OSHA-7 Form. The Agency 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 
requirement contained in the Standard.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information 
collection requirements.
    Title: Notice of Alleged Safety and Health Hazards, OSHA 7 Form.
    OMB Number: 1218-0064.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Number of Respondents: 50,955.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 50,955.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes (.25 hour) to 
communicate the required information orally to the Agency to 25 minutes 
(.42 hour) to provide the information in writing and send it to OSHA.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 13,611 hours.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $692.

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 August 23, 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-19629 Filed 8-26-04; 8:45 am]
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