[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61175-61176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25903]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT


Submission for Review: Reinstatement of a Previously Approved 
Information Collection With Revision, Office of Personnel Management 
(OPM) Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran 
Preference, OMB No. 3206-0001

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)'s Talent Acquisition 
and Workforce Shaping Center offers the general public and other 
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a request for 
reinstatement of a revised information collection for the Standard Form 
(SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference. As required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as amended by the Clinger-Cohen 
Act, OPM is soliciting comments for this collection. The information 
collection was previously published in the Federal Register on November 
21, 2017, allowing for a 60-day public comment period. Two comments 
were received for this information collection. The purpose of this 
notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until December 28, 
2018. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
the revised information collection to Kimberly A. Holden, Deputy 
Associate Director for Talent Acquisition and Workforce Shaping, 
Employee Services, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Room 6351D, 
1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20415-9700; email [email protected]; or 
fax (202) 606-2329; and to OMB Designee, OPM Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
New Executive Office Building NW, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503; 
email [email protected]; or fax (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
A copy of this information collection request, with applicable 
supporting documentation, may be obtained by contacting the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management Budget, 725 
17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the 
Office of Personnel Management or sent via email to

[[Page 61176]]

[email protected] or faxed to (202) 395-6974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget is 
particularly interested in comments that:
    1. 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;
    2. 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;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. 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.
    The SF 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, is used by 
veterans as both a request for preference and a guide to determine the 
appropriate documentation to submit to support their claims of 10-point 
veterans' preference when applying for Federal employment. The SF 15, 
and the accompanying documentation, is used by agencies, OPM examining 
offices, and agency appointing officials to adjudicate individuals' 
claims for veterans' preference in accordance with the Veterans' 
Preference Act of 1944, as amended. The proposed revisions to the SF 15 
are necessary to update language as a result of the enactment of the 
Gold Star Fathers Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114-62), derived veterans' 
preference for parents, and to make additional corrections on the form, 
as follows:
     Page 1, Item 9 is revised to reflect derived veterans' 
preference for parents.
     Page 2, Item A, 4th bullet is corrected to read that 
certification is of an expected discharge or release from active duty 
service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 
120 days after the date the certification is submitted.
     Page 2, Items C and F are corrected to reflect derived 
veterans' preference for parents.
     Several punctuation errors are corrected.

Comments

    OPM received comments from two Federal agencies. One agency 
commented that the form has practical utility and is needed to properly 
adjudicate veterans' preference in case exam announcements. The same 
agency agreed with OPM's analysis and commented that the changes in the 
form are likely to provide small increases in the quality, utility and 
clarity of the information to be collected. This agency made three 
suggestions on the content of the form. First, on Page 2, Item F, the 
agency suggested changing ``physician'' to ``health care provider'' to 
be more in line with current regulations and to recognize that patients 
may be treated by someone other than a physician. OPM agrees and is 
changing ``physician'' to ``licensed medical professional.''
    Second, the agency asked to have the veteran's signature block 
added back on the form to certify that the applicant has read, 
understood, and is providing accurate information. OPM is not adopting 
this suggestion. Many veterans and other applicants claiming 10-point 
veterans' preference complete an electronic version of the SF 15 which 
can make signing the form difficult. After an offer of employment is 
made and/or at the time of appointment, an applicant signs the Optional 
Form (OF) 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, certifying that all 
application material submitted is true, correct, complete, and made in 
good faith. This covers the SF 15 submitted at the time of application 
and, therefore, it is unnecessary for the applicant to sign the SF 15 
separately.
    Third, the agency suggested adding web links to the general veteran 
information from OPM to assist applicants. OPM is adopting this 
suggestion and adding the OPM web address in the instructions section 
on the form.
    To minimize the burden of collection of information on veterans, 
another agency suggested adding a statement on page 2 to indicate that 
questions 1-7 only need to be answered if the person claiming 
preference is not the veteran. OPM is adopting this suggestion. This 
same agency suggested adding clarity to item C on page 2 to state that 
``all of the following'' must be included in the documentation provided 
by spouses and parents. OPM is adopting this suggestion.
    The SF 15 will continue to be available as a PDF fillable form for 
applicant use. The only acceptable version of this form will be as 
stated above, but consistent with current practice, the form may be 
submitted electronically or in hard copy. The SF 15 will be obtainable 
on the OPM website at https://www.opm.gov/forms/standard-forms/.

Analysis

    Agency: Talent Acquisition and Workforce Shaping, Office of 
Personnel Management.
    Title: SF 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference.
    OMB Number: 3206-0001.
    Affected Public: Disabled Veterans.
    Number of Respondents: 18,418.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 33.5 minutes.
    Total Burden Hours: 10,283 hours.

Office of Personnel Management.
Alexys Stanley,
Regulatory Affairs Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2018-25903 Filed 11-27-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6325-39-P