[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38747-38748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16590]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Weekly 
Claims and Extended Benefits Data and Weekly Initial and Continued 
Weeks Claimed

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, 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, provides 
this notice to the public and Federal agencies to provide 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 collection process for unemployment insurance 
(UI), Extended Benefits, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The NPRM 
is titled, Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Program; 
Implementing the Total Unemployment Rate as an Extended Benefits 
Indicator and Amending for Technical Corrections; Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (RIN 1205-AB62).

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing on or before September 8, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Regulatory 
Information Number (RIN) 1205-AB62, by only one of the following 
methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Submit comments to Adele 
Gagliardi, Administrator, Office of Policy Development and Research 
(OPDR), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training 
Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N- 5641, Washington, 
DC 20210. Because of security-related concerns, there may be a 
significant delay in the receipt of submissions by United States Mail. 
You must take this into consideration when preparing to meet the 
deadline for submitting comments. The Department will post all comments 
received on http://www.regulations.gov without making any changes to 
the comments or redacting any information, including any personal 
information provided. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is the 
Federal e-rulemaking portal and all comments posted there are available 
and accessible to the public. The Department recommends that commenters 
not include personal information such as Social Security Numbers, 
personal addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses that they do 
not want made public in their comments as such submitted information 
will be available to the public via the http://www.regulations.gov Web 
site. Comments submitted through http://www.regulations.gov will not 
include the email address of the commenter unless the commenter chooses 
to include that information as part of his or her comment. It is the 
responsibility of the commenter to safeguard personal information.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and the OMB Control Number for this PRA. Please submit your comments by 
only one method.
    Docket: All comments will be available for public inspection and 
copying during normal business hours by contacting OPDR at (202) 693-
3700. You may also contact OPDR at the address listed above. As noted 
above, the Department also will post all comments it receives on http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adele Gagliardi, Administrator, OPDR, 
Employment and Training Administration, (202) 693-3700 (this is not a 
toll-free number) or 1-877-889-5627 (TTY). Individuals with hearing or 
speech impairments may access the telephone number above via TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department published an NPRM on October 
27, 2014, in the Federal Register (79 FR 63859). The NPRM proposes to 
amend 20 CFR 615, Extended Benefits, by implementing the Total 
Unemployment Rate (TUR) indicator, an optional calculation methodology 
for triggering on Extended Benefits, in regulations. The NPRM also 
proposes to revise the regulatory requirements at Sec.  615.15, 
pertaining to records and reports State agencies must submit. More 
specifically, paragraphs (a) and (b) are proposed to be revised for 
clarity by deleting unnecessary language regarding the Secretary's 
authority to request Extended Benefit Program reports and to appoint 
audit officials for those reports. Furthermore, we propose to delete 
paragraphs (c) and (d). The reporting instructions for the proper and 
timely submission of data are provided in ET Handbook No. 401, which 
governs Unemployment Compensation required reporting.
    The ET Handbook is a more effective way to communicate reporting 
requirements, because codifying the reporting requirements in 
paragraphs (c) and (d) of the regulation prevents the Department from 
adapting reporting instructions to changing conditions or needs. The ET 
Handbook requires the weekly submission of Forms ETA-538 and ETA-539. 
These forms have been

[[Page 38748]]

computerized and contain information on initial Unemployment Insurance 
claims and continued weeks claimed. These figures are important 
economic indicators. Form ETA-538 provides information allowing release 
of advance unemployment claims information to the public five days 
after the close of the reference period. Form ETA-539 contains more 
detailed weekly claims information and the State's 13-week IUR that is 
used to determine eligibility for the Extended Benefits program. The 
reporting requirements in paragraphs (c) and (d) of the old regulation 
are included in the ET Handbook and elimination of the requirements in 
regulation allow for ease in making future modifications by simply 
updating the ET Handbook.
    Furthermore, paragraph (d) existed during the implementation phase 
of the insured unemployment rate (IUR) indicator and required States to 
submit the method used to identify and select the weeks used for EB 
trigger purposes to ensure that States were consistent and comparable 
in their methods. With 30 years of experience, as well as numerous data 
validation and data quality programs in effect, it is unnecessary to 
compel State administrators to provide this information. Current 
reporting guidelines contained in the ET Handbook are clear enough that 
States continue to have clear standards about which claims are used for 
constructing totals used to compute trigger values, thus permitting the 
deletion of this paragraph. The NPRM does not change the existing 
reporting requirements for Forms ETA-538 or ETA-539.
    The preamble to the NPRM stated that the Department had determined 
the proposed rule did not contain new information collections. However, 
to ensure transparency and full opportunities for public participation 
under all appropriate authorities, the Department has decided to submit 
an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) to revise the PRA approval for the information collections 
to reflect this rulemaking. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(B); 5 CFR 1320.11. 
As part of that process, we seek public comments on the removal of 
specific information collection requirements in the NPRM and on the 
general Extended Benefit reporting requirements in Handbook 401 and 
Forms ETA 538 and 539 in light of specific areas of interest to 
minimize so-called ``paperwork'' burdens on the public.
    A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection 
of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to 
an information collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the 
PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, 
notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally 
be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of 
information that does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 
1320.5(a) and 1320.6. We obtain OMB approval for this information 
collection under Control Number 1205-0028. This notice is to provide 
the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to the 
information collections in the rule, in preparation for an ICR to 
revise the current PRA approval to reflect the changes in the rule.
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the address 
shown in the ADDRESSES section within sixty (60) days of publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure 
appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 
1205-0028. We are 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., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    This information collection is summarized as follows:
    Agency: DOL-ETA.
    Action: ICR Revision.
    Title of Collection: Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Data and 
Weekly Initial and Continued Weeks Claimed.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0028.
    Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 53.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 5,512.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 3,675 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

Portia Wu,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2015-16590 Filed 7-6-15; 8:45 am]
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