[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13720-13722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05307]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Required Elements of an Unemployment Insurance (UI) Reemployment 
Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Grant State Plan

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor's (DOL's), Employment and Training 
Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed 
information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Required Elements of an 
Unemployment Insurance (UI) Reemployment Services and Eligibility 
Assessment (RESEA) Grant State Plan.'' This comment request is part of 
continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).

[[Page 13721]]


DATES: Consideration will be given to all written comments received by 
June 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation, 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden, may be obtained free by 
contacting Lawrence Burns by telephone at 202-693-3141 (this is not a 
toll-free number), TTY 1-877-889-5627 (this is not a toll-free number), 
or by email at [email protected].
    Submit written comments about, or requests for a copy, of this ICR 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and 
Training Administration, Office of Unemployment Insurance Room S-4520, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: Lawrence 
Burns, by email at [email protected], or by Fax at 202-693-3975.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of continuing efforts to reduce 
paperwork and respondent burden, DOL conducts a pre-clearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of 
information before submitting them to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for final approval. This program helps to ensure requested 
data is provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and 
financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly 
understood, and the impact of collection requirements can be properly 
assessed.
    The federal-state UI program is a required partner in the 
comprehensive, integrated workforce system. Individuals who have lost 
employment due to lack of suitable work and have earned sufficient wage 
credits may receive UI benefits if they meet initial and continuing 
eligibility requirements. Since fiscal year 2005, DOL and participating 
state UI agencies have been addressing individual reemployment needs of 
UI claimants and working to prevent and detect UI improper payments 
through the voluntary UI Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) 
program and, beginning in fiscal year 2015, through the voluntary RESEA 
program. Because there is strong evidence that these programs and 
service delivery strategies work, they have been a high priority for 
ETA.
    On February 9, 2018, the President signed the Bipartisan Budget Act 
of 2018, Public Law 115-123 (BBA), which included amendments to the 
Social Security Act (SSA) that create a permanent authorization for the 
RESEA program. The RESEA provisions are contained in Section 30206 of 
the BBA, enacting new Section 306 of the SSA. The recently enacted 
Section 306, SSA, introduced several new program requirements, 
including the requirement that states must submit a state plan to be 
eligible for funding. Section 306(e), SSA, provides the authorization 
and specific requirements of the state plan including:
     Assurances and a description of how the state's program 
will provide proper notification to participating individuals of the 
program's eligibility conditions, requirements, and benefits;
     Assurance and a description of how the state's program 
will provide reasonable scheduling accommodations to maximize 
participation for eligible individuals;
     Assurances and a description of how the state's program 
will conform with the purposes of RESEA that include: improving 
employment outcome and reducing duration of receipt of unemployment 
compensation through employment; strengthening program integrity and 
reducing improper payments, promoting alignment with the vision of the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; and establishing RESEA as an 
entry point to other workforce system partners;
     Assurances and a description of how the state's program 
will satisfy the requirement to use evidence-based standards including: 
a description of the evidence-based interventions the State plans to 
use to speed reemployment; an explanation of how such interventions are 
appropriate to the population served; and, if applicable, a description 
of the evaluation structure the state plans to use for interventions 
that do not meet evidence-based standards; and
     Information about reemployment activities and evaluations 
that the state conducted in the prior fiscal year including any data 
collected on characteristics of program participants, the number of 
weeks for which program participants receive unemployment compensation, 
and employment and other outcomes.
    In addition to the statutorily required elements listed above, the 
requested ICR includes routine administrative and logistical elements 
that ETA identified as necessary for the grant review and approval 
process. These elements were previously collected under the ICR titled, 
``DOL Generic Solution for Solicitations for Grant Applications,'' OMB 
Control No. 1225-0086, expiration date 05/31/2019. The consolidation of 
this information into the proposed annual plan reduced burden and 
streamlined the application process for states requesting RESEA 
funding. Section 306(e), SSA, authorizes this information collection.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. 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 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.
    Interested parties are encouraged to provide comments to the 
contact shown in the ADDRESSES section. Comments must be in writing to 
receive consideration, and they will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval of the final ICR. In order to help ensure 
appropriate consideration, comments should mention Required Elements of 
an Unemployment Insurance (UI) Reemployment Services and Eligibility 
Assessment (RESEA) Grant State Plan, OMB Control Number 1205-0NEW.
    Submitted comments will also be a matter of public record for this 
ICR and posted on the internet, without redaction. DOL encourages 
commenters not to include personally identifiable information, 
confidential business data, or other sensitive statements/information 
in any comments.
    DOL is 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.
    Agency: DOL-ETA.

[[Page 13722]]

    Type of Review: New.
    Title of Collection: Required Elements of an Unemployment Insurance 
(UI) Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Grant 
State Plan.
    Form: RESEA Annual Report.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0NEW.
    Affected Public: State Workforce Agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 53.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 53.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 40 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,120 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Cost Burden: $0.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

Molly E. Conway,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2019-05307 Filed 4-4-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FW-P