[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71073-71075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29534]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection, Comment Request

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. The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the 
proposed revision of the ``National Compensation Survey.'' A copy of 
the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by 
contacting the individual listed below in the Addresses section of this 
notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before January 17, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington, DC 20212. Written comments also 
may be transmitted by fax to (202) 691-5111 (this is not a toll free 
number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
at (202) 691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (See ADDRESSES 
section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is an ongoing survey of 
earnings and benefits among private firms, State, and local government. 
The NCS is currently the integration of the sampling, collection, and 
processing for the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and the Employee 
Benefits Survey (EBS) 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 
covering broad groups of related occupations, and data that directly 
link 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. The 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 used 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. These data 
will consist of information about the duties, responsibilities, and 
compensation (earnings and benefits) for a sample of occupations for 
each sampled employer.
    Data will be updated on a quarterly basis. The updates will allow 
for production of data on change in earnings and total compensation.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
National Compensation Survey.
    The NCS collects earnings and work level data on occupations for 
the nation. The NCS also collects information on the cost, provisions, 
and incidence of all the major employee benefits through its benefit 
cost and benefit provision programs and publications.
    The Administration's final approved budget for fiscal year 2011 
called for an alternative to the Locality Pay Survey (LPS), which was 
the part of the National Compensation Survey that provides occupational 
wage data by industry and specific geographic areas. The alternative to 
the LPS uses data from two current BLS programs--the Occupational 
Employment Statistics (OES) survey and the ECI program. In this new 
approach, OES data provides wage data by occupation and by area, while 
ECI data are used to specify grade level effects. This new approach is 
also being used to extend the estimation of pay gaps to areas that were 
not included

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in the LPS and these data have been delivered to the Pay Agent.
    NCS is reverting to a national survey design in order to preserve 
the reliability of the ECI and EBS, after the loss of the LPS sample. 
This also allowed the sample size of the ECI and EBS programs to be 
reduced by about 25 percent. Starting in Fiscal Year 2013 the new NCS 
private industry sample will be on a 3 year rotational cycle, which is 
a change from the previous 5 years rotational cycle for private 
industry sample members. Sample changes are reflected in the stated 
collection and respondent burden estimates.
    The NCS data on benefit costs is used to produce the ECI and 
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. The data provided will be the 
same, and the series will be continuous.
    The NCS will continue to provide employee benefit provision and 
participation data. These data include estimates of how many workers 
receive the various employer-sponsored benefits. The data also will 
include information about the common provisions of benefit plans.
    NCS has modified our collection forms, to 14 forms (normally having 
unique private industry and government initiation and update collection 
forms and versions.) Two forms are unique for private industry and 
government sample members who report data through our Secure Sockets 
Layer (SSL) encryption Web site. For NCS update collection, the forms 
give respondents their previously reported information, the dates they 
expected change to occur to these data, and space for reporting these 
changes.
    A second generation version of a Web-based (Internet Data 
Collection Facility (IDCF)) data collection system is currently being 
field tested. This will allow survey respondents to easily further 
refine and breakout the detailed data they send NCS using this Web 
application.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics 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.
     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.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: National Compensation Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0164.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; and State, local, and tribal government.
    Total Respondents: 13,109 (three-year average).
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    All figures in the table below are based on a three-year average. 
The total respondents in the table are greater than the figure shown 
above because many respondents are asked to provide information 
relating to more than one form.

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                                                                                   Avg. minutes
                                   Total                           Total annual       for the
            Form                respondents        Frequency         responses      predominant     Total hours
                                 per form                                          form use * *
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Establishment collection                   *  ..................               *              19               *
 form (NCS Form 12-1G).
Establishment collection               3,240  At initiation.....           3,240              19           1,026
 form (NCS Form 12-1P).
Earnings form (NCS Form 12-                *  ..................               *              20               *
 2G).
Earnings form (NCS Form 12-            3,240  At initiation.....           3,240              20           1,080
 2P).
Wage Shuttle form computer             8,160  4.................          32,640              20          10,880
 generated earnings update
 form .
Work Level Form (NCS Form 12-              *  ..................               *              25               *
 3G).
Work Level Form (NCS Form 12-          3,240  At initiation.....           3,240              25           1,350
 3P).
Work Schedule Form (NCS 12-                *  ..................               *              10               *
 4G).
Work Schedule Form (NCS 12-            3,240  At initiation.....           3,240              10             540
 4P).
Benefits Collection Form                   *  ..................               *             177               *
 (NCS 12-5G).
Benefits Collection Form               3,240  At initiation.....           3,240           178.5           9,639
 (NCS 12-5P).
Summary of Benefits (Benefit           8,160  4.................          32,640           19.90          10,826
 update form SO-1003) is
 computer generated .
Collection not tied to a               1,709  1.716.............           2,933          32.485           1,588
 specific form (testing,
 Quality Assurance/Quality
 Measurement, etc.) **.
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..................          34,229  ..................          88,413  ..............          36,929
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* Most NCS Government forms (NCS 12-XG) are only used for government sample initiations, which is not currently
  planned during this Clearance cycle.
** Collection forms can have multiple uses. The table above shows the average collection times for the
  predominant uses of the forms. Record checks (for quality assurance and measurement) are done on a sub-sample
  of respondents verifying responses for pre-selected sections of the collection forms.
 Includes IDCF form time (Web based screen for SSL encryption Web site secure).


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    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 also will become a 
matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of November 2011.
Kimberley D. Hill,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2011-29534 Filed 11-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P