[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49771-49772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19755]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted 
for Public Comment

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This 
helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection 
requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps 
the public understand the information collection requirements and 
provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the 
Department is soliciting comments on the information collection 
requests (ICRs) described in this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before October 15, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments regarding the information 
collection request and burden estimates to G. Christopher Cosby, Office 
of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5647, 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745. 
These are not toll-free numbers. Comments may also be submitted 
electronically to the following Internet email address: 
[email protected]. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained free of charge by 
contacting G. Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and Research, 
Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. 
Telephone: (202) 693-8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745, email: 
[email protected]. These are not toll-free numbers. The ICRs also are 
available at refinfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice seeks public comment on the 
requests for extension of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval of ICRs described in this notice. The Department is not 
proposing any changes to the existing ICRs at this time. An agency may 
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an 
information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A 
summary of the ICRs and their current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Notice to Employees of Coverage Options under Fair Labor 
Standards Act Section 18B.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0149.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 6,160,461.
    Responses: 72,484,292.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 374,502.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$12,229,992.
    Description: Many provisions of the Patient Protection and 
Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) that become effective 
beginning in 2014 are designed to expand access to affordable health 
coverage. These include provisions for coverage to be offered through a 
Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace), premium tax credits to 
assist individuals in purchasing such coverage, employer notice to 
employees of coverage options available through the Marketplace, and 
other related provisions. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
Services (HHS), and the Treasury are working together to develop 
coordinated regulations and other administrative guidance to assist 
stakeholders with implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
    Beginning January 1, 2014, individuals and employees of small 
businesses will have access to affordable coverage through a new 
competitive private health insurance market--the Health Insurance 
Marketplace. The Marketplace offers one-stop shopping to find and 
compare private health insurance options. Open enrollment for health 
insurance coverage through the Marketplace begins October 1, 2013.
    Section 1512 of the Affordable Care Act creates a new Fair Labor 
Standards Act (FLSA) section 18B requiring a notice to employees of 
coverage options available through the Marketplace. On May 8, 2013, the 
Department issued Technical Release 2013-2, which provides temporary 
guidance regarding the notice requirement under FLSA section 18B and 
announces the availability of the Model Notice to Employees of Coverage 
Options.
    On May 10, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved 
the model notice under OMB Control Number 1210-0149 pursuant to the 
emergency procedures for review and clearance in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) 
and 5 CFR 1320.13. OMB approval of the revision currently is scheduled 
to expire on November 30, 2013.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Annual Funding Notice for Defined Benefit Plans.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0126.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 27,534.
    Responses: 77,989,123.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 977,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$26,845,755.
    Description: On July 6, 2012, President Barrack Obama signed the 
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The new law 
provides funding interest-rate stabilization for single employer 
defined benefit (DB) plans, effective for plan years beginning on and 
after January 1, 2012. To counter the current low interest rates that 
are triggering significantly larger pension contributions for many plan 
sponsors, the MAP-21 sets a floor (or ceiling) for the interest rates 
that single employer

[[Page 49772]]

DB plan administrators generally are required to use to calculate 
contributions. Under the new rules, the generally required interest 
rates are limited to rates that are within a specified range, or 
corridor, above or below a 25-year average for the rates.
    Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) section 
101(f) sets forth the requirements for plan administrators of most 
single-employer DB plans to furnish annual funding notices to the PBGC, 
plan participants and beneficiaries, and each labor organization 
representing such participants or beneficiaries. MAP-21 section 
40211(b)(2)(A) has amended ERISA section 101(f)(2), by adding a new 
subparagraph (D), to require single-employer DB plan administrators to 
disclose additional information in the annual funding notice for a plan 
year beginning after December 31, 2011, and before January 1, 2015, 
regarding the effect of the MAP-21 segment rate stabilization rules on 
plan liabilities and the plan sponsor's minimum required contributions 
to the plan. MAP-21 section 40211(b)(2)(B) requires the Department to 
modify the model annual funding notice required under Pension 
Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) section 501(c) to include, prominently, 
the supplemental information required under new ERISA section 
101(f)(2)(D).
    On March 8, 2013, the Department released EBSA Field Assistance 
Bulletin (FAB) 2013-01 concerning the new disclosure requirements 
mandated the MAP-21. The FAB addresses a need for interim guidance 
pending the adoption of regulations or other guidance under ERISA 
section 101(f), as amended by the MAP-21. The FAB sets forth technical 
questions and answers and provides a model supplement that plan 
administrators may use to discharge their MAP-21 disclosure obligations 
and provides that, pending further guidance and as a matter of 
enforcement policy, the Department will treat a single employer DB plan 
administrator as satisfying MAP-21 requirements if the plan 
administrator complies with the guidance in the memorandum and 
otherwise acts in accordance with a good faith and reasonable 
interpretation of those requirements.
    On April 19, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approved the model supplement as a revision to OMB Control Number 1210-
0126 under the emergency procedures for review and clearance in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35) and 5 CFR 1320.13. OMB approval of the revision 
currently is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2013.

Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department 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., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the extension of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: August 8, 2013.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-19755 Filed 8-14-13; 8:45 am]
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