[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5107-5108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02647]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Labor-Management Standards


Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, 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 requested 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, the Office of Labor-Management 
Standards (OLMS) of the Department of Labor (Department) is soliciting 
comments concerning the proposed extension of the collection of 
information requirements implementing Executive Order (E.O.) 13496: 
Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws. A copy of the 
proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting 
the office listed below in the addresses section of this Notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addresses section below on or before April 22, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Andrew R. Davis, Chief of the Division of Interpretations 
and Standards, Office of Labor-Management Standards, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5609, Washington, DC 20210, 
[email protected], (202) 693-0123 (this is not a toll-free number), 
(800) 877-8339 (TTY/TDD).
    Please use only one method of transmission for comments (mail or 
Email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Background: President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13496 
(E.O. 13496) on January 30, 2009, requiring certain Government 
contractors and subcontractors to post notices informing their 
employees of their rights as employees under Federal labor laws. The 
Order also provides the text of contractual provisions that Federal 
Government contracting departments and agencies must include in every 
Government contract, except for collective bargaining agreements and 
contracts for purchases under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.
    OLMS administers the enforcement provisions of Executive Order 
13496, while the compliance evaluation and investigatory provisions are 
handled by the Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance 
Programs (OFCCP), pursuant to the Order's implementing regulatory 
provisions (29 CFR part 471). Complaints can be filed with both 
agencies.
    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: The Department seeks extension of the current 
approval to collect this information. An extension is necessary because 
if this information collection is not conducted, E.O. 13496 could not 
be enforced through the complaint procedure.

[[Page 5108]]

    E.O. 13496 advances the Administration's goal of promoting economy 
and efficiency of Federal government procurement by ensuring that 
workers employed in the private sector as a result of Federal 
government contracts are informed of their rights to engage in union 
activity and collective bargaining. Knowledge of such basic statutory 
rights promotes stable labor-management relations, thus reducing costs 
to the Federal government.
    The contractual provisions require contractors and subcontractors 
to post a notice, created by the Secretary of Labor, informing 
employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The 
notice also provides a statement of the policy of the United States to 
encourage collective bargaining, as well as a list of activities that 
are illegal under the Act. The notice concludes with a general 
description of the remedies to which employees may be entitled if these 
rights have been violated and contact information for further 
information about those rights and remedies, as well as enforcement 
procedures.
    The clause also requires contractors to include the same clause in 
their nonexempt subcontracts and purchase orders, and describes 
generally the sanctions, penalties, and remedies that may be imposed if 
the contractor fails to satisfy its obligations under the Order and the 
clause.
    The regulatory provisions implementing E.O. 13496 (29 CFR part 471) 
include the language of the required notices, and they explain posting 
and contractual requirements, the complaint process, the investigatory 
process, and sanctions, penalties, and remedies that may be imposed if 
the contractor or subcontractor fails to comply with its obligations 
under the Order. Specifically, 29 CFR part 471.11(c) sets forth the 
procedures that the Department must use when accepting written 
complaints alleging that a contractor doing business with the Federal 
government has failed to post the notice required by the Executive 
Order.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Agency: Office of Labor-Management Standards.
    OMB Number: 1245-0004.
    Affected Public: Employees of Federal Contractors and 
Subcontractors.
    Total Respondents: 10.
    Total Annual Responses: 10.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 12.80.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.28 hours.
    Frequency: On occasion of employee of a Federal contractor or 
subcontractor filing a complaint alleging a violation of proposed 29 
CFR part 471.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $5.90 ($0.59 per response x 10 
respondents).
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    Employee Complaints Cost: $351.70 ($35.17 per response x 10 
respondents).
    Total Annual Burden Cost: $357.60 ($5.90 + $351.70).
    Total respondent and responses estimates are based upon the 
estimate of 10 in the previous E.O. 13496 extension of information 
collection, in 2016. See 81 FR 7376. Since 2016, the Department has 
received 0 complaints. The Department maintains the estimate of 10 
complaints for purposes of this renewal request.
    The Department has not adjusted its total employee complaint hour 
estimate of 1.28 hours, which it estimated in the E.O. 13496 final 
rule. 75 FR 28368.
    Based on the average seasonally-adjusted hourly earnings on private 
non-farm payrolls for all workers of $27.48, we estimate that an 
employee will incur a cost of approximately $35.17 for the 1.28 hours 
involved ($27.48 x 1.28) in preparing a complaint. The total hourly 
cost for all employees is therefore $351.70. Additionally, employees 
will incur costs of $0.59 per complaint in capital/start-up costs 
($0.55 for postage + $0.03 for an envelope + $0.01 for paper) for a 
total cost of $5.90. (Although employees will submit many if not all 
complaints via email, the Department assumes, conservatively, that it 
will receive all via mail.) The total cost for the estimated 10 
complaints is therefore $357.60 ($351.70 + $5.90). There are no ongoing 
operation/maintenance costs associated with this information 
collection.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: February 8, 2019.
Andrew R. Davis,
Chief of the Division of Interpretations and Standards, Office of 
Labor-Management Standards, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2019-02647 Filed 2-19-19; 8:45 am]
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