[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42549-42551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16974]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0042]


Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Form; Extension of the Office 
of Management and Budget's Approval of Information Collection 
(Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to 
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements contained in the proposed Conflict 
of Interest (COI) and Disclosure Form which will be used to determine 
whether or not a conflict of interest exists for a potential peer 
review panel member.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
September 16, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer

[[Page 42550]]

than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and 
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2009-0042, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 
Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are 
accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal 
business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2009-0042) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). All comments, including any personal information you provide, 
are placed in the public docket without change, and may be made 
available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information 
on submitting comments see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the 
section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download from the Web site. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at 
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collection requirements in accord with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 
et seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing 
information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational 
injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also 
requires OSHA to obtain such information with minimum burden upon 
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce 
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    OSHA conducts peer reviews to review a draft product for quality by 
specialists in the field who were not involved in producing the draft. 
The selection of participants in a peer review is based on expertise, 
with due consideration of independence. The Office of Management and 
Budget published the ``Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer 
Review'' on December 15, 2004. The Bulletin states ``. . . the agency 
must address reviewers' potential conflicts of interest (including 
those stemming from ties to regulated businesses and other 
stakeholders) and independence from the agency.'' The Bulletin requires 
agencies to adopt or adapt the committee selection policies employed by 
the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) when selecting peer reviewers 
who are not government employees. To fulfill this requirement, OSHA has 
developed a Conflict of Interest (COI) and Disclosure Form, based on 
NAS' Conflict of Interest Disclosure form. This form will be used to 
determine whether or not a conflict exists for a potential peer review 
panel member.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA proposes to extend OMB's approval of the COI form, retaining 
OSHA's current burden hour estimate of 27 hours. The Agency will 
summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will 
include this summary in its request to OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: OSHA's Conflict of Interest (COI) and Disclosure Form.
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0255.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households.
    Number of Respondents: 36.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 36.
    Average Time per Response: OSHA estimates it will take 30 minutes 
(.5 hour) to complete the COI short form, and one (1) hour to complete 
the COI long form.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 27.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2009-0042). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627). Comments 
and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA

[[Page 42551]]

cautions commenters about submitting personal information such as 
Social Security numbers and dates of birth. Although all submissions 
are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information 
(e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or 
download through this Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted 
material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket 
Office. Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to 
submit comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's 
``User Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information 
about materials not available through the Web site and for assistance 
in using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this 
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 
(77 FR 3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on July 9, 2013.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-16974 Filed 7-15-13; 8:45 am]
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