[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 169 (Thursday, September 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52137-52138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17388]


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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for 
public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad 
Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data 
collections.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; 
(b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection 
of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize 
the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    Title and Purpose of information collection:
    Applicant Background Survey: New information collection.
    This information collection is needed to comply with Federal laws 
and regulations. 5 U.S.C. Chapter 72 Sec.  7201 establishes an anti-
discrimination policy. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sec.  
2000e-8 [Sec.  709], requires agencies to make and keep relevant 
records to identify unlawful employment practices. 29 CFR part 1602 
allows agencies to collect data to determine if there is any adverse 
impact on employment practices such as recruitment or selection.
    The RRB's Equal Employment Office needs to collect data to assess 
the impact of the agency's recruitment processes on the hiring of 
minorities, women and people with disabilities. To obtain the 
information necessary to conduct a proper assessment, the RRB proposes 
the use of Form EEO-44, Applicant Background Survey, which will collect 
information about the racial or ethnic identity, gender and disability 
of applicants for RRB jobs from outside of the Federal government. Form 
EEO-44 will only be viewed by RRB Human Resources personnel and Equal 
Employment Opportunity officials. Summarized data from all external 
applicants for a position will be used to identify hiring barriers 
which limit or tends to limit employment opportunities for members of a 
particular sex, race, or ethnic background, or based on an individual's 
disability status.
    The EEO-44 will contain a ``Plain English'' assurance that the 
information will be kept highly confidential and only shared with 
authorized RRB officials. This assurance will specifically state that 
the information obtained will be kept as a running tally which cannot 
be disaggregated into individual names, that information from the form 
is not entered into the RRB's personnel database, that the information 
will not be provided to selecting officials or any others who can 
affect the selection, or to the public, and that the forms will be 
destroyed after the position is filled. The information

[[Page 52138]]

maintained will not include the applicant's name or other identifier. 
Completion of one form will be requested of each respondent. Completion 
is voluntary.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

    The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Annual                      Burden
           Form No.               responses    Time  (min)      (hrs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EEO-44........................          800             5            67
------------------------------------------------------------------------


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection justification, form, and/or 
supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312) 
751-3363 or send an e-mail request to [email protected]. Comments 
regarding the information collection should be addressed to Ronald J. 
Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush Street, Chicago, 
Illinois 60611-2092 or send an e-mail to [email protected]. 
Comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-17388 Filed 8-31-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P