[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 56 (Monday, March 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16058-16059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06376]


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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 test of the ``Occupational Requirements 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 May 23, 2014.

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 Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) is a nationwide test 
survey that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will conduct at the 
request of the Social Security Administration (SSA).
    BLS will evaluate ORS survey processes and operations in a 
production environment. Data collection and capture will run for 
approximately six months and will conclude in FY 2015. A full 
evaluation of the data elements captured for this test will be followed 
by an evaluation of the processes, survey design, and other test 
program elements.
    Estimates produced from the test data collected by this ORS Test 
will be used by the SSA to determine how to use updated requirements 
data in administering the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) 
program but will not be used to resolve any determination cases.
    The Social Security Administration, Members of Congress, and 
representatives of the disability community have all identified 
collection of updated information on the requirements of work in 
today's economy as crucial to the equitable and efficient operation of 
the SSDI program. The information currently available is more than 20 
years old.
    The ORS will collect data from a sample of employers. These 
requirements of work data will consist of information about the duties, 
responsibilities, job tasks and earnings for a sample of occupations 
for each sampled employer.
    This is a one-time ORS test for sampled establishments.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
Occupational Requirements Survey Test.
    The following data will be collected in this ORS test as defined by 
the SSA's disability program and is data that the National Compensation 
Survey (NCS) does not currently collect:
    (1) An indicator of ``time to proficiency,'' defined as the amount 
of time required by a typical worker to learn the techniques, acquire 
the information, and develop the facility

[[Page 16059]]

needed for average job performance, comparable to the Specific 
Vocational Preparation (SVP) used in the Dictionary of Occupational 
Titles (DOT).
    (2) Physical Demand characteristics/factors of occupations, 
measured in such a way to support SSA disability determination needs, 
comparable to measures in Appendix C of the Selected Characteristics of 
Occupations (SCO).
    (3) Environmental Conditions, measured in such a way to support SSA 
disability determination needs, comparable to measures in Appendix D of 
the SCO.
    (4) Data elements that describe the mental and cognitive demands of 
work.
    (5) Occupational Task lists data as identified in the Employment 
and Training Administration's (ETA's) O*Net Program in order to 
validate the key tasks common across establishments and identify other 
tasks commonly performed.
    Some data needed for ORS are currently collected by BLS's NCS. The 
ORS data will be collected with the same methodology as data collected 
for NCS. The general establishment data collected on establishments in 
the survey samples will be the same for ORS and NCS. The Probability 
Selection of Occupations (PSO) methodology--a disaggregating technique 
for selecting individual items from a large number of items--will also 
be used by both ORS and NCS. For ORS and NCS, these items are 
employees, occupations, divisions, or sub-units depending upon the 
application of the sampling procedure being used. Wages (earnings) are 
elements of the ORS data already collected by the NCS. The work level 
of jobs data (factor evaluation method with four factors to evaluate 
the work level) methodology will also be used in the ORS survey, as it 
is currently in NCS.
    The ORS Test Time Schedule calls for data collection to go from 
September 2014 to March 2015.
    BLS will disseminate the ORS test results in September 2015. The 
ORS Test will have 8 collection forms (having unique private industry 
and government collection forms). For those sampled establishments that 
are in the current NCS, the ORS survey will use NCS data and forms for 
those data elements that overlap.

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: New Collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: Occupational Requirements Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-XXXX.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; and State, local, and tribal government.
    Total Respondents: 2550.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    All figures below are for the anticipated respondent collection 
burden by forms for FY 2014 and FY 2015 for this test survey.

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                                                                                      Average
                                       Total                                        minutes for
              Form                  respondents      Frequency     Total annual         the         Total hours
                                     per form                        responses      predominant
                                                                                     form use
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Establishment collection form                256               1             256              19              81
 (ORS Form 1 PP-1G )............
Establishment collection form               1452               1            1452              19             460
 (ORS Form 1 PP-1P).............
Earnings form (ORS Form 2 PP-2G)             256               1             256              20              85
Earnings form (ORS Form 2 PP-2P)            1452               1            1452              20             484
Work Level (ORS Form 3 PP-3G)...             256               1             256              25             107
Work Level (ORS Form 3 PP3-3P)..            1452               1            1452              25             605
Occupation requirements (ORS                 382               1             382              76             484
 Form 4 PPD-4G).................
Occupation requirements (ORS                2168               1            2168              76            2746
 Form 4 PPD-4P).................
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    Totals......................            7674  ..............            7674  ..............            5052
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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 10th day of March 2014.
Eric Molina,
Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2014-06376 Filed 3-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P