[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 153 (Thursday, August 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44866-44867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15540]


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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 ``National Compensation Survey.'' 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 October 9, 2007.

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, 202-691-7628. (This 
is not a toll free number.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
202-691-7628. (See ADDRESSES section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is an ongoing survey of 
earnings and benefits among private firms, State, and local government. 
The NCS is the integration of the sampling, collection, and processing 
for the Employment Cost Index (ECI), the Employee Benefits Survey 
(EBS), and the Locality Pay Surveys (LPS) into a single, unified 
program of compensation statistics. This integration improves data for 
policymakers and researchers, reduces respondent burden, improves the 
utilization of BLS resources, and enhances the published measures of 
compensation. Data from the integrated program include estimates of 
wages by job levels covering broad groups of related occupations, and 
data that directly links benefit plan costs with detailed plan 
provisions. The integrated program's single sample also produces both 
time-series indexes and cost levels for industry and occupational 
groups, thereby increasing the analytical potential of the data. 
Benefits of the integrated sample include: Improved measures of trends, 
better integration of benefit costs and plan provisions, data for 
narrow occupations, and broad regional and occupational coverage. The 
NCS employs probability methods for selection of occupations. This 
ensures that sampled occupations represent all occupations in the 
workforce, while minimizing the reporting burden on respondents. Data 
from the NCS are critical for setting Federal white-collar salaries, 
determining monetary policy (as a Principal Federal Economic 
Indicator), and for compensation administrators and researchers in the 
private sector.
    The survey collects data from a sample of employers. These data 
will consist of information about the duties, responsibilities, and 
compensation (earnings and benefits) for a sample of occupations for 
each sampled employer.
    Data will be updated on either an annual or quarterly basis. The 
updates will allow for production of data on change in earnings and 
total compensation.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
National Compensation Survey.
    The NCS collects earnings and work level data on occupations for 
the nation and selected localities. The NCS also collects information 
on the cost, provisions, and incidence of all the major employee 
benefits through its benefit cost and benefit provision programs and 
publications.
    The NCS data on benefit costs is used to produce the ECI and 
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. The data

[[Page 44867]]

provided will be the same, and the series will be continuous.
    The NCS will continue to provide employee benefit provision and 
participation data. These data include estimates of how many workers 
receive the various employer-sponsored benefits. The data also will 
include information about the common provisions of benefit plans.
    The NCS is revising the update collection forms from two (one 
benefits and one wages), to six forms by having unique private industry 
and government update collection forms and versions for: Benefits only 
collection, wages only collection, and combined benefit and wage 
collection. NCS update collection forms give respondents their 
previously reported information and the dates they expected change to 
occur to these data and space for reporting these changes.

III. 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.
     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.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: National Compensation Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0164.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; and State, local, and tribal government.
    Total Respondents: 39,904 (three-year average).
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    All figures in the table below are based on a three-year average. 
The total respondents in the table are greater than the figure shown 
above because many respondents are asked to provide information 
relating to more than one form.

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                                                                                                                           Avg. minutes
                                                 Total                                                     Total annual       for the
                   Form                       respondents                     Frequency                      responses      predominant     Total hours
                                               per form                                                                    form use\**\
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Establishment collection form (NCS Form 04-            (*)  ............................................             (*)              19             (*)
 1G).
Establishment collection form (NCS Form 04-          6,065  Annual......................................           6,065              19           1,921
 1P).
Earnings form (NCS Form 04-2G)............             (*)  ............................................             (*)              20             (*)
Earnings form (NCS Form 04-2P)............           6,065  Annual......................................           6,065              20           2,022
Wage only--Government.....................           2,272  Annual or quarterly.........................           2,526              20             842
Wage only--Private Industry...............          15,042  Annual or quarterly.........................          20,486              20           6,828
Work Level Form (NCS Form 04-3G)..........             (*)  ............................................             (*)              25             (*)
Work Level Form (NCS Form 04-3P)..........           6,065  Annual......................................           6,065              25           2,527
Work Schedule Form (NCS 05-4G)............             (*)  ............................................             (*)              10             (*)
Work Schedule Form (NCS 04-4P)............           6,065  Annual......................................           6,065              10           1,011
Benefits Collection Form (NCS 04-5G)......             (*)  ............................................             (*)             177             (*)
Benefits Collection Form (NCS 04-5P)......           3,032  Annual......................................           3,032             177           8,944
Index benefits summary only--Government...             108  Quarterly...................................             362              19             115
Index benefits summary only--Private                 2,316  Quarterly...................................           7,759              19           2,457
 industry.
Index wage and benefits--Government.......           2,055  Quarterly...................................           6,884              39           4,475
Index wage and benefits--Private industry.           9,266  Quarterly...................................          31,040              39          20,176
    Collection not tied to a specific form           5,204  Unknown.....................................           6,819              38           4,319
     for private industry and government
     (testing, QA/QM, etc.).
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals................................          63,555  ............................................         103,168  ..............          55,637
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* Most NCS Government forms (NCS 04-XG), are only used for government sample initiations, but if any new metropolitan or non-metropolitan areas are
  added during collection period NCS Government initiation forms would be used. A non-substantive change request will be submitted to OMB if any new
  areas need to be added during the collection period.
** Collection forms can have multiple uses. The table above shows the average collection times for the predominant uses of the forms. Record checks (for
  quality assurance and measurement) are done on a sub-sample of respondents verifying responses for pre-selected sections of the forms.

    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 6th day of August 2007.
Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. E7-15540 Filed 8-8-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P