[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 241 (Monday, December 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64573-64575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27226]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to implement the New Hire Information 
Collection (FR 27; OMB No. 7100-new).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 27 by any of the 
following methods:
     Agency Website: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's website at 
http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as submitted, 
unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will 
not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public 
comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room 
3515, 1801 K Street NW (between 18th and 19th Streets NW), Washington, 
DC 20006 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security 
reasons, the Board requires that visitors make an appointment to 
inspect comments. You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon 
arrival, visitors will be required to present valid government-issued 
photo identification and to submit to security screening in order to 
inspect and photocopy comments.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by 
fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the PRA OMB submission, 
including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting 
statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public 
docket files, if approved. These documents will also be made available 
on the Board's public website at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance 
officer, whose name appears below.
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3829. Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collection of information requests and requirements conducted or 
sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the 
Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In 
determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board 
will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is being reviewed under

[[Page 64574]]

authority delegated by the OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on 
the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board 
should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Implement the Following 
Information Collection

    Report title: New Hire Information Collection.
    Agency form number: FR 27.
    OMB control number: 7100-new.
    Frequency: As needed.
    Respondents: Individuals.
    Estimated number of respondents: Regular Hires: 312; Intern Hires: 
122; Federal Transfers: 10.
    Estimated average hours per response: Regular Hires: 1; Intern 
Hires: 0.75; Federal Transfers: 1.08.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 414.3.
    General description of report: This information collection would 
provide for the electronic collection of certain personnel information 
from new hires using a secure web-based portal, the ``New Hire 
Portal,'' before the first day of employment of a new hire. In this 
way, the Board is proposing to streamline the collection of personnel 
information from new hires so that much of the information previously 
collected in hardcopy format from new employees on their first day of 
employment would be submitted electronically by new hires through the 
secure web-based New Hire Portal before they become employees of the 
Board.
    Currently, information is collected from new employees during the 
Board's New Employee Orientation (``NEO'') in order to complete certain 
employee on-boarding tasks, such as compensation, conduct security/
background checks, set-up computer log-in profiles, establish 
applicable tax withholdings, determine benefits, identify dependents, 
and related purposes. Such personnel information currently is submitted 
by new employees on hardcopy forms during or after NEO. Accordingly, 
the information collected under the Board's current process is not 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., because information is only provided to the Board after the 
respondent has become a Board employee. However, under the proposal, 
such personnel information predominantly would be collected 
electronically from new hires through the New Hire Portal before the 
new hire becomes an employee of the Board. Therefore, the requirements 
of the PRA would apply to the information collection.
    As part of the onboarding process for new hires, a Human Resources 
(``HR'') professional at the Board would identify the necessary 
information that must be collected from the new hire, which is 
dependent upon whether the person will be starting as an Intern or 
starting as a full- or part-time employee, including as a Governor or 
Board officer (hereinafter, ``Regular Employee''), and whether the 
Regular Employee is transferring from another federal agency (``Federal 
Transfer''). The new hire would then be sent an email asking him or her 
to provide the personnel information, described below, through the New 
Hire Portal prior to their official start date.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The information collected 
as part of the New Hire Information Collection is authorized pursuant 
to sections 10(3), 10(4), 11(l), and 11(q) of the Federal Reserve Act, 
which provides the Board broad authority over employment of staff and 
security of its building, as well as the authority to determine and 
prescribe the manner in which its obligations shall be incurred and its 
expenses allowed and paid (12 U.S.C. 243, 244, 248(l), and 248(q)). In 
addition, Executive Order 9397 (November 22, 1943) authorizes Federal 
agencies to use an individual's social security number to identify 
individuals in agency records.
    Providing the information collected as part of the New Hire 
Information Collection is voluntary. However, if certain information 
requested as part of the New Hire Information Collection is not 
provided, then the Board cannot complete the hiring process.
    Generally, information collected as part of the New Hire 
Information Collection will be kept confidential from the public under 
exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the extent that 
the disclosure of the information ``would constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy'' (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6)). For 
example, the release of information such as the new hire's date of 
birth, home address, home telephone number, or social security numbers 
to the public would likely constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy and be kept confidential. However, the release of 
information such as the educational history of the new hire or the 
start date of employment would not likely constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy and may be disclosed under the 
FOIA.
    Determinations regarding disclosure to third parties of any 
confidential portions of the information collection that are considered 
exempt under the FOIA will be made in accordance with the Privacy Act, 
5 U.S.C. 552a(b). Relevant Privacy Act statements are provided when a 
respondent logs in to the portal and before the respondent is asked to 
provide any information. The Board may make disclosures in accordance 
with the Privacy Act's routine use disclosure provision, 5 U.S.C. 
552a(a)(7) and (b)(3)), which permits the disclosure of a record for a 
purpose which is compatible with the purpose for which the record was 
collected. Such routine uses are listed in the specific systems of 
records notices, which apply to this information collection and which 
can be found in: (1) The System of Records Notice for BGFRS-1, FRB-
Recruiting and Placement Records, located here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-1-recruiting-and-placement-records.pdf; (2) the System of Records Notice for BGFRS-4, FRB-General 
Personnel Records, located here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-4-general-personnel-records.pdf; (3) the System of Records Notice 
for BGFRS-7, FRB--Payroll and Leave Records, located here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-7-payroll-and-leave-records.pdf; (4) 
the System of Records Notice for BGFRS-24, FRB--EEO General Files, 
located here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-24-eeo-general-files.pdf; and/or (5) the System of Records Notice for BGFRS-
34, FRB-ESS Staff Identification Card File, located here: https://
www.federalreserve.gov/files/

[[Page 64575]]

BGFRS-34-ess-staff-identification-card-file.pdf.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, December 12, 
2018.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018-27226 Filed 12-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P