[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 189 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56615-56616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22705]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2008-0023]


Telecommunications; 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 proposal to extend OMB 
approval of the information collection requirement contained in the 
Standard on Telecommunications (29 CFR 1910.268). The purpose of this 
requirement is to ensure that employees have been trained as required 
by the Standard to prevent risk of death or serious injury.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
November 28, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments 
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2008-0023, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier 
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket 
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2008-0023). All comments, including any 
personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket 
without change, and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments see 
the ``Public Participation'' heading in the section of this notice 
titled ``SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.''
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at 
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. 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 accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH 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

[[Page 56616]]

occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The 
OSH Act also requires that OSHA obtain such information with minimum 
burden upon employers, especially those operating small businesses, and 
to reduce to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of 
efforts in obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    Under the paperwork requirement specified by paragraph (c) of the 
Standard, employers must certify that his or her employees have been 
trained as specified by the performance-language training provision of 
the Standard. Specifically, employers must prepare a certification 
record which includes the identity of the person trained, the signature 
of the employer or the person who conducted the training, and the date 
the training was completed. The certification record shall be prepared 
at the completion of training and shall be maintained on file for the 
duration of the employee's employment. The information collected would 
be used by employers as well as compliance officers to determine 
whether employees have been trained according to the requirements set 
forth in 29 CFR 1910.268(c).

II. 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 OSHA'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.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the information 
collection requirement contained in the Standard on Telecommunications 
(29 CFR 1910.268). In the existing ICR, the Agency calculated burden 
hours and cost for the training certification record for all employees 
working in the telecommunications industry. After further research, the 
Agency has found that this is not the case; only a percentage of 
employees in telecommunications customer service and all 
telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, and line 
installers and repairers are subject to the training requirement of the 
Standard. Therefore, OSHA is proposing to decrease the existing burden 
hour estimate for the collection of information requirement specified 
by the Standard from 4,202 hours to 1,507 hours, for a total decrease 
of 2,695 hours. The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in 
response to this notice and will include this summary in the request to 
OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Telecommunications (29 CFR 1910.268).
    OMB Number: 1218-0225.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
organizations; Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 668.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Three (3) minutes for an establishment 
to disclose training records and 3 minutes for the training record to 
be generated.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,507.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2008-0023). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627).
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this 
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are 
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. 
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit 
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User 
Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about 
materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in 
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., 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 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR 
31159).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on September 22nd, 2008.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E8-22705 Filed 9-26-08; 8:45 am]
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