[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53346-53347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21617]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Submission for OMB Emergency Review: Comment Request

August 24, 2010.
    The Department of Labor has submitted the following (see below) 
information collection request (ICR), utilizing emergency review 
procedures, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA95) (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) and 5 CFR 1320.13. OMB 
approval has been requested by September 16, 2010. A copy of this ICR, 
with applicable supporting documentation, including among other things 
a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of 
responses, and estimated total burden may be obtained from the 
RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or by 
contacting Linda Watts-Thomas on 202-693-4223 (this is not a toll-free 
number)/e-mail: [email protected]. Interested parties are 
encouraged to send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Department of Labor--BLS, 
Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, 
Telephone: 202-395-7314/Fax: 202-395-6974 (these are not toll-free 
numbers), e-mail: [email protected]. Comments and questions 
about the ICR listed below should be received 5 days

[[Page 53347]]

prior to the requested OMB approval date.
    The OMB 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, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Type of Review: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Title of Collection: National Compensation Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1220-0164.
    Affected Public: Private sector establishments and State and local 
governments.

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average
                                    Total          Frequency       Total  annual    minutes per    Burden  hours
                                 respondents                         responses       response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sector...............          34,929  Annual...........          63,508           46.58          49,303
State and Local Governments..           4,974  Annual...........          10,312           34.92           6,002
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals to NCS Program....          39,904  .................          73,820  ..............          55,305
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Burden Cost: (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost: (operating/maintenance): $0.
    Description: The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is an ongoing 
survey of earnings and benefits among private firms, State, and local 
government. 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. 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. The data consist of 
information about the duties, responsibilities, and compensation 
(earnings and benefits) for a sample of occupations for each sampled 
employer.
    The NCS is proposing to add two questions on domestic partner 
benefits. This collection timeline will allow data on domestic partner 
benefits to be published in 2011. These questions will only be asked of 
wage and benefits sample members who offer defined benefit (DB) and/or 
health benefits to their employees. Currently in private industry DB 
plans are offered in 11% of establishments and health benefits to 63%. 
In State and local governments DB access is 84% and health benefits 
access is 88%. These two questions will add approximately 180 hours 
annually to private industry sample respondent burden hours (14,614 
total sample of private establishments). For the government sample 
these two questions will add approximately 62 hours annually to 
government respondent burden hours (2,164 total sample of State and 
local government establishments).
    Why are we requesting Emergency Processing? Emergency clearance is 
being sought for the National Compensation Survey for the purpose of 
the addition of two questions on domestic partner benefits to the 
existing ``Other Benefits'' questions. The Department of Labor's LGBT 
(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) roundtable and recent 
Congressional actions on the proposed Domestic Partnership Benefits and 
Obligations Act (HR 2517) have greatly increased the need for 
information on domestic partner benefits in both private industry and 
State and local governments. In order for BLS to produce data in 2011, 
NCS data collection of these questions must begin in September 2010 
during the NCS collection quarter (which starts September 16, 2010).
    The BLS will submit an ICR immediately following this approval, as 
the current NCS package expires in January 2011. This ICR will be 
submitted to OMB under the standard clearance process and will give the 
public a second opportunity chance to comment on this collection in 
accordance with PRA95 (44 USC 3506).

Linda Watts-Thomas,
Acting, Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-21617 Filed 8-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P