[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46236-46237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21499]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Labor-Management Standards


Proposed Information Collection Requirements

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. 
Currently, the Office of Labor-Management Standards is soliciting 
comments concerning its request for Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval of the Information Collection: Notification of Employee 
Rights Under Federal Labor Laws 1215-ONEW (1215-AB70). A copy of the 
proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting 
the office listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this Notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
address section below on or before November 9, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Mr. Steven D. Lawrence, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Ave., NW., Room S-3201, Washington, DC 20210, telephone 
(202) 693-0292, fax (202) 693-1451, E-mail [email protected]. 
Please use only one method of transmission for comments (mail, fax, or 
E-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Background: President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13496 
(E.O. 13496) on January 30, 2009, requiring certain Government 
contractors and subcontractors to post notices informing their 
employees of their rights as employees under Federal labor laws. The 
Order also provides the text of contractual provisions that Federal 
Government contracting departments and agencies must include in every 
Government contract, except for collective bargaining agreements and 
contracts for purchases under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.
    E.O. 13496 advances the Administration's goal of promoting economy 
and efficiency of Federal Government procurement by ensuring that 
workers employed in the private sector as a result of Federal 
Government contracts are informed of their rights to engage in union 
activity and collective bargaining. Knowledge of such basic statutory 
rights promotes stable labor-management, thus reducing costs to the 
Federal Government.
    The contractual provisions require contractors and subcontractors 
to post a notice, created by the Secretary of Labor, informing 
employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The 
notice also provides a statement of the policy of the United States to 
encourage collective bargaining, as well as a list of activities that 
are illegal under the Act. The notice concludes with a general 
description of the remedies to which employees may be entitled if these 
rights have been violated and contact information for further 
information about those rights and remedies, as well as enforcement 
procedures.
    The clause also requires contractors to include the same clause in 
their nonexempt subcontracts and purchase orders, and describes 
generally the sanctions, penalties, and remedies that may be imposed if 
the contractor fails to satisfy its obligations under the Order and the 
clause.
    The proposed regulatory provisions implementing E.O. 13496 (29 CFR 
part 471) include the language of the required notices, and they 
explain posting and contractual requirements, the complaint process, 
the investigatory process, and sanctions, penalties, and remedies that 
may be imposed if the contractor or subcontractor fails to comply with 
its obligations under the Order. Specifically, proposed 29 CFR part 
471.11(c) sets forth the procedures that the Department must use when 
accepting written complaints alleging that a contractor doing business 
with the Federal Government has failed to post the notice required by 
the Executive Order.
    In accordance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), 
the Notice to Employees poster will be available for downloading at 
http://www.olms.dol.gov or by sending a request to [email protected] 
upon OMB approval. The Office of Labor-Management Standards submitted 
the Notice of Proposed Rule-Making 1215-AB70 (NPRM), that's associated 
with this proposed collection to OMB for comments. The NPRM for 1215-
AB70 was published on August 3, 2009. Complaints must be submitted to 
the Department in writing.
    The proposed part 471 requires contractors and subcontractors to 
post notices and cooperate with any investigation into a failure to 
comply with the requirements of proposed part 471 as the result of a 
complaint or a compliance evaluation. It also permits employees to file 
complaints with the Department alleging that a contractor or 
subcontractor has failed to comply with those requirements. The burden 
hours for this collection of information were determined by estimating 
the time required to perform the filing of complaints under the 
proposed regulation. Specifically, the Department based its estimates 
on the experience of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs 
(OFCCP) administering other laws applicable to Federal contractors, 
which determined that it will take an average of 1.28 hours for such a 
complainant to compose a complaint containing the necessary information 
and to send that complaint to the Department. This number is also 
consistent with the burden estimate for filing a complaint under E.O. 
13201 and the now-revoked part 470 regulations.
    The Department has estimated it would receive a total of 50 
employee complaints in any given year, which is

[[Page 46237]]

significantly larger than the estimate contained its most recent PRA 
submission for E.O. 13201. In that submission, the Department estimated 
it would receive 20 employee complaints. This number itself had been 
revised downwards because the Department never received any employee 
complaints pursuant to the now-revoked 29 CFR part 470 regulations. 
Because the applicability of the proposed rule and E.O. 13496 is 
greater in scope than the now-revoked part 470 and E.O. 13201 in terms 
of geography (the now-revoked part 470 regulations only applied to 
states without right-to-work laws, whereas the proposed rule applies 
nationwide), the Department has revised upwards its estimate of 
employee complaints under the proposed rule from 20 to 50. In addition, 
E.O. 13201 required the posting of a notice containing information of 
interest to only a few--employees who may have objected to paying union 
dues or fees for non-representational activities--while the information 
in the poster required by this regulation should be of interest to all 
employees.
    The Department is seeking a three year approval for this 
information collection in order to implement the complaint procedures 
of proposed 29 CFR part 471.
    II. Review Focus: The Department of Labor 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; 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, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    III. Current Actions: The DOL seeks the approval of this 
information collection in order to ensure that employees of Federal 
contractors and subcontractors can properly submit complaints pursuant 
to proposed 29 CFR 471.
    Type of Review: Information Collection Request.
    Agency: The Office of Labor-Management Standards.
    Title: Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws.
    OMB Number: 1215-ONEW (1215-AB70).
    Affected Public: Employees of Federal Contractors and 
Subcontractors.
    Total Respondents: 50.
    Total Annual Responses: 50.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 64.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.28 hours.
    Frequency: On occasion of employee of a Federal contractor or 
subcontractor filing a complaint alleging a violation of proposed 29 
CFR part 471.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    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 will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: September 2, 2009.
Steven D. Lawrence,
Acting Chief, Branch of Management Review and Internal Control, 
Division of Financial Management, Office of Management, Administration 
and Planning.
[FR Doc. E9-21499 Filed 9-4-09; 8:45 am]
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