[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 248 (Friday, December 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67359-67360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28310]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; The Study of the Great Recession and the 
Unemployment Insurance (UI) System in the 21st Century, New Collection

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation 
Office, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance 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). This program helps to ensure that 
required 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. Currently, DOL is soliciting 
comments concerning the collection of information for the Study of the 
Great Recession and the Unemployment Insurance (UI) System in the 21st 
Century. A copy of the proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) 
can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addressee 
section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before February 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods: Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: 
Jennifer Daley, Chief Evaluation Office, OASP, U.S. Department of 
Labor, Room S-2312, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. 
Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only one 
method. All submissions received must include the agency name and OMB 
Control Number identified for this information collection. Comments, 
including any personal information provided, become a matter of public 
record. They will also be summarized and/or included in the request for 
OMB approval of the information collection request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Daley by email at 
[email protected] or by phone at (202) 693-5913.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Background: The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) is sponsoring a 
study on lessons learned regarding the Unemployment Insurance (UI) 
system in response to the Great Recession that began in 2007, the 
economic recovery that followed the Great Recession, and issues 
relevant to future UI policy and future economic downturns.
    The main goal of the study is to identify, analyze, and report on 
the problems that state UI programs faced during the Great Recession 
and how they responded to those challenges, and lessons learned. The 
study will focus on the challenges and adjustments states made with 
respect to staffing, data, administrative processes and procedures, 
trigger mechanisms, and trust funds. It will also highlight structural 
issues that predate the Great Recession and lessons learned from the 
recession so that state UI programs are better prepared for future 
recessions and a changing labor market.
    This Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on 
the proposed data collection instruments that will be used in the 
study: a survey of UI directors in all 50 states and the District of 
Columbia, and semi-structured interviews.
    1. Online survey. The online survey of state UI directors will 
collect information on challenges faced by the states during the Great 
Recession, as well as the current state of administrative, financial, 
and programmatic features (if not available in other sources of 
reported data) that have been identified in previous research as 
presenting challenges to states during the previous recession.
    2. Semi-structured interviews. The State UI staff, including UI 
directors, financial staff, Chief of Benefits staff, appeals staff, 
benefits determination staff, Human Resources (HR) staff, and 
Information Technology (IT) staff, in approximately 6 states will be 
interviewed during site visits. The semi-structured interviews will 
gather detailed information on challenges and lessons learned from a 
range of perspectives and will include respondents who were and were 
not working in UI agencies at the time of the Great Recession.
    II. Desired Focus of Comments: Currently, DOL is soliciting 
comments concerning the above data collection for the Study of the 
Great Recession and the Unemployment Insurance (UI) System in the 21st 
Century. DOL is particularly interested in comments that do the 
following:
    [cir] Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary

[[Page 67360]]

for the proper performance of the functions of the agency related to UI 
program oversight, including whether the information will have 
practical utility;
    [cir] Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the ICR 
burden to survey and interview respondents, including the validity of 
the study approach and assumptions;
    [cir] Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    [cir] Minimize the burden of the information collection on 
respondents, including 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).
    III. Current Actions: At this time, DOL is requesting clearance for 
the survey instrument and semi-structured interview protocols.
    Type of review: New information collection request.
    OMB Control Number: 1290-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Individuals working in state UI agencies.
    Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval; they will also become a matter of public record.

                                          Estimated Annual Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average
     Information collection          Number of       Number of     Total number     burden per       Estimated
           instrument               respondents   responses  per   of responses      response         burden
                                                     respondent                       (hours)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Survey-- State UI Director......              17               1              17            0.75              13
Interview Protocol--UI Directors               6               1               6               1               6
Interview Protocol--Financial                  6               1               6               1               6
 Staff..........................
Interview Protocol--Chief of                   6               1               6               1               6
 Benefits.......................
Interview Protocol--Appeals                    6               1               6               1               6
 Staff..........................
Interview Protocol--Benefits                   6               1               6               1               6
 Determination Staff............
Interview Protocol--HR Staff....               6               1               6               1               6
Interview Protocol--IT Staff....               6               1               6               1               6
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................              59  ..............              59  ..............              55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Molly Irwin,
Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2018-28310 Filed 12-27-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P