[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 116 (Thursday, June 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28955-28956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14337]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Comment Request for Information Collection for Petition and 
Investigative Forms To Assess Group Eligibility for Trade Adjustment 
Assistance (OMB Control No. 1205-0342), Extension

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration.

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 preclearance 
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 [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. In response to 
Section 221(a) of Title II, Chapter 2 of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the 
Employment and Training Administration is soliciting comments 
concerning the extension of the Petition and Investigative Forms to 
Assess Group Eligibility for Trade Adjustment Assistance, OMB Control 
No. 1205-0342, which expires November 30, 2009. This notice utilizes 
standard clearance procedures in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 CFR 1320.12. This information collection 
follows an emergency review that was conducted in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 CFR 1320.13. The submission for 
OMB emergency review was published in the Federal Register on April 29, 
2009, see 74 FR 19602. OMB approved the emergency clearance under OMB 
control number 1205-0342 on May 15, 2009. A copy of this ICR can be 
obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee's section below on or before August 17, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Susan Worden, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and 
Training Administration, Room C-5428, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Phone: 202-693-3517, Fax: 202-693-3584, E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Background: On February 17, 2009, the President signed into law 
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Section 221(a) of 
Title II, Chapter 2 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended by ARRA (19 
U.S.C. 2271), authorizes the Secretary of Labor and the Governor of 
each State to accept petitions for certification of eligibility to 
apply for adjustment assistance. ARRA amended Section 222 of the Trade 
Act of 1974 to provide for new eligibility criteria designed to expand 
the number of petitioning worker groups assessed as adversely affected 
by trade and therefore determined eligible to apply for Trade 
Adjustment Assistance. To solicit the data needed to address the new 
eligibility criteria, ETA significantly expanded the petition and 
investigation forms under OMB No. 1205-0342.
    The Forms ETA-9042 Petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance and its 
Spanish translation, and ETA-9042a Solicitud De Asistencia Para Ajuste, 
established a format for filing such petitions. The Department's 
regulations regarding petitions for worker adjustment assistance may be 
found at 29 CFR 90. Investigative forms designed to assess eligibility 
are undertaken in accordance with sections 222, 223 and 249 of the 
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C., 2272 and 2273), are used by 
the Secretary of Labor to certify groups of workers as eligible to 
apply for worker trade adjustment assistance. The Forms include: ETA-
9043a--Business Confidential Data Request Firms that Produce an Article 
(CDR-A); ETA-9043b--Business Confidential Data Request Firms that 
Supply a Service (CDR-S); ETA-9043c--Business Confidential Data Request 
Firms Who Work on a Contractual Basis; ETA-8562a--Business Confidential 
Customer Survey; ETA-8562a--Business Confidential Customer Survey; ETA-
8562a--Business Confidential Customer Survey First Tier Purchases of 
Articles; ETA-8562a-1--Business Confidential Customer Survey Second 
Tier Purchases of Articles; ETA-8562b--Business Confidential Customer 
Survey Services; ETA-8562c--Business Confidential Customer Survey Firms 
who Work on a Contractual Basis; ETA-8562d--Business Confidential 
Customer Survey; and ETA-9118--Business Confidential Information 
Request.

II. Review Focus:

    The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
which:
    * 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,

[[Page 28956]]

e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses.

III. Current Actions:

    Type of Review: Extension.
    Title: Investigative Data Collection Requirements for the Trade Act 
of 1974 as amended by the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance 
Act of 2009.
    OMB Number: 1205-0432.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other for 
profits; and State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Forms: ETA-9042, 9042a, 9043a, 9043b, 9043c, 9118, 8562a, 8562b, 
8562c, 8562d.
    Total Respondents: 6916.
    Frequency: Once.
    Total Responses: 85675.
    Average Time per Response: 2.22 Hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 18642.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): $0.

Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and 
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: June 10, 2009.
Erin FitzGerald,
Program Manager, Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance, Office of 
National Response, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-14337 Filed 6-17-09; 8:45 am]
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