[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36853-36854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15730]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Comment Request for Information Collection for the National 
Agricultural Workers Survey: Extension With Revisions (OMB 1205-0453)

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the 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 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)] (PRA). The PRA helps ensure that 
respondents can provide requested data in the desired format with 
minimal reporting burden (time and financial resources), collection 
instruments are clearly understood and the impact of collection 
requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.
    Currently, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the information 
collection request (ICR) to continue administering the National 
Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), with new questions on education and 
training, digital literacy, housing, and health. Proposed changes also 
include question deletions and modifications.
    Interested parties are encouraged to provide comments to the 
contact shown in the ADDRESSES section. Comments must be written to 
receive consideration, and they will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the final 
information collection request (ICR). In order to help ensure 
appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB CONTROL NUMBER 
1205-0453.

DATES: Submit written comments to the office listed in the addresses 
section below on or before August 25, 2015.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free by 
contacting Mr. Daniel Carroll, Office of Policy Development and 
Research, Room N-5641, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 
Telephone number: 202-693-2795 (this is not a toll-free number). 
Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone 
number above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD). Fax: 202-693-2766. Email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Wayne Gordon, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The NAWS is an employment-based, annual survey of the demographic, 
employment, and health characteristics of hired crop farm workers, 
including workers brought to farms by labor intermediaries. The survey 
began in 1988. Each year, between 1,500 and 3,500 workers are randomly 
chosen for an interview. Interviews are conducted three times per year 
to account for the seasonality of agricultural employment. Several 
Federal agencies utilize the NAWS to collect information on the 
population of hired crop farm workers.
    ETA is seeking approval to add new questions to the NAWS on farm 
workers' participation in education and training programs, access to 
and use of digital information devices, utilization of acute, 
preventive, and dental health care, location of living quarters in 
relation to production agriculture, and type of housing. Proposed 
changes also include: (1) Temporarily discontinuing questions on 
occupational injuries, musculoskeletal problems, and potential exposure 
to pesticides, all of which were administered for two years and have 
fulfilled the current information needs of the sponsoring Federal 
agencies; (2) deleting 17 other questions that either had too few 
responses to be useful for analysis, will be redundant with the 
addition of proposed questions, or are no longer valid; and (3) 
modifying the stem and/or response options of six questions to make 
them more useful.

II. Review Focus

    The Department 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.

III. Current Actions

    [ssquf] Agency: DOL-ETA.
    [ssquf] Type of Review: Extension with Changes.
    [ssquf] Title of Collection: National Agricultural Workers Survey.
    [ssquf] Form: Primary Questionnaire.
    [ssquf] OMB Control Number: 1205-0453.
    [ssquf] Affected Public: Individuals, Farms.
    [ssquf] Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,216.
    [ssquf] Frequency: Annual.
    [ssquf] Total Estimated Annual Responses: 7,890.
    [ssquf] Estimated Average Time per Response: 60 minutes.
    [ssquf] Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,927 hours.
    [ssquf] Total Estimated Annual Other Cost Burden: $0.
    We will summarize and/or include in the request for OMB approval of 
the ICR, the comments received in response

[[Page 36854]]

to this comment request; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

Portia Wu,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2015-15730 Filed 6-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P