[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 9 (Thursday, January 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2162-2163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-595]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Disability Employment Policy


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

ACTION: Notice of proposed data collection.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance 
consultation process 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 process helps 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burdens are minimized, collection instruments are clearly 
understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents 
can be properly assessed. Currently the Office of Disability Employment 
Policy (ODEP) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed data 
collection for the following survey: 2009 NATIONAL SURVEY OF PUBLIC 
ATTITUDES TOWARD PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. A copy of the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) 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 shown in the 
ADDRESSES section below on or before March 15, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Richard Horne, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of 
Disability Employment Policy, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Suite S-
1303, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-7880. This is not a 
toll-free number. E-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Horne, telephone: (202) 693-
7880, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    This survey project is a central part of the Task Order 
DOLU8942143, entitled 2009 National Survey of Public Attitudes toward 
People with Disabilities. This Task Order is being administered by the 
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), a federal agency in the 
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the lead agency in DOL's 
implementation of the employment-related goals of the President. ODEP's 
vision is to provide national leadership to increase employment 
opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities while striving to 
eliminate barriers to their employment. Social Dynamics LLC is 
contracted to design and implement the 2009 National Survey of Public 
Attitudes toward People with Disabilities.
    This data collection is authorized pursuant to Public Law 106-554 
which direct the Office of Disability Policy to provide initiatives to 
``further the objective of eliminating employment barriers to the 
training and employment of people with disabilities.''

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments which:
    Evaluate whether the 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 
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 Action

    This proposed collection ICR covers: The Survey of Public Attitudes 
Toward People With Disabilities (PWD). The survey will build on the 
findings of previous surveys, with an emphasis on current attitudes and 
behaviors of people toward PWD. The survey will be conducted by 
telephone utilizing computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). 
The survey will also solicit free-text comments from respondents 
regarding their attitudes toward PWD in the workplace.
    Agency: Office of Disability Employment Policy.
    Titles: Survey of Public Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities.
    OMB Number: Pending.
    Frequency: One time.
    Type of Response: Reporting.
    Affected Public: People between 18 and 64 years of age.
    Number of Respondents: 1,600.

                           Exhibit A-1--Estimated Hour and Annual Cost Response Burden
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                                   Number of     Responses per      Hours per      Annual burden   Annual burden
   Data collection activity       respondents     respondent        response           hours          (cost)
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Pilot.........................               9               1  15 min..........            2.25          $41.31
National survey...............           1,600               1  15 min..........             400           7,344
Non-participants contacted....           2,847               1  5 min...........          237.25           4,356
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ..............  ..............  ................  ..............          54,270
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): $0.
    Description: Changes instituted with the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 have made workplace discrimination against 
people with disabilities illegal, while guaranteeing their right to 
special accommodations in the workplace. Still, data continue to show 
low levels of employment and pay of people with disabilities when 
compared to people without disabilities.

[[Page 2163]]

This is true even as previous survey research studies on public 
attitudes report high rates of acceptance and positive ratings of 
satisfaction regarding workers with disabilities, though quasi-
experimental and qualitative research contradict these findings. The 
connection between the general public's attitudes toward people with 
disabilities and their employment prospects as well as the impact of 
direct work contact with people with disabilities has not been explored 
with a large sample representative of the general population. More 
importantly, previous research on public attitudes toward people with 
disabilities (Harris Polls, 2003, 1998; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004; 
Siperstein et al., 2005) has used one or two-dimensional models of 
attitudinal measurement. This is a significant disadvantage to the 
development of knowledge in this area, especially with regard to the 
behavioral component of attitudes, which is not included in previous 
studies. Without a better understanding of the causal factors that 
compel an individual to act out her/his thoughts and emotions, the 
value of research on public attitudes toward people with disabilities 
is significantly diminished.
    ODEP strongly believes that the research on public attitudes toward 
people with disabilities needs a strategic and scientifically based 
approach that rigorously collects and aggregates data from a larger 
sample of the American public, a more comprehensive approach to 
attitude measurement, and a multivariate predictive analytical approach 
to the analysis of findings. Therefore, the proposed 2009 survey is 
designed to meet those needs, as follows: The survey will draw a sample 
n = 1,600, which is roughly double the size of the sample of the 2005 
National Survey of Consumer Attitudes; It will use a multidimensional 
validated scale of attitudes toward disabled people that has been 
tested in a multitude of published works since the mid-1990s; It will 
apply analytical methods that develop causal and associative 
explanations for both attitude change and development and the behavior 
of individuals.

    Signed at Washington, DC this January 11, 2010.
Kathy Martinez,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-595 Filed 1-13-10; 8:45 am]
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