[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 6, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38305-38306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16696]
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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Notice of Submission for Approval: Declaration for Federal
Employment (OF 306)
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: 30-day notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Suitability
Executive Agent Programs, is notifying the general public and other
Federal agencies that OPM is seeking Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) renewal of a previously approved information collection,
Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306).
DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until September 5,
2019. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on
the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget by the following
method: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments. All submissions received must include the agency
name and docket number for this document. The general policy for
comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make
these submissions available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any
personal identifiers or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this information collection,
with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by contacting
Office of Personnel Management, Suitability Executive Agent Programs,
1900 E Street NW, Suite 1435, Washington, DC 20415 or by electronic
mail at [email protected]. Please contact Colleen Crowley at 202-606-2245
if you have questions.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1), OPM is providing an additional 30 days
for public comments. OPM previously solicited comments for this
collection, with a 60-day public comment period, at 84 FR 5733
(February 22, 2019). 2,748 comments were received. This notice
announces that OPM has submitted to OMB a request to renew with no
changes a previously approved information collection, OMB number 3206-
0182, Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306). The public has an
additional 30-day opportunity to comment.
The Declaration for Federal Employment Optional Form (OF) 306 is
completed by applicants who are under consideration for Federal or
Federal contract employment. It collects information about an
applicant's selective service registration, military service, and
general background. The information collected on this form is mainly
used to determine a person's acceptability for Federal and Federal
contract employment, and his or her retirement status and life
insurance enrollment. However, if necessary, and usually in conjunction
with another form or forms, the information on this form may be used in
conducting an investigation to determine a person's suitability or
ability to hold a security clearance, and it may be disclosed to
authorized officials making similar, subsequent determinations. The OF
306 permits applicants to disclose and explain their personal history
in advance of the background investigation, consistent with a Privacy
Act requirement to ``collect information to the greatest extent
practicable directly from the subject individual when the information
may result in adverse determinations about an individual's rights,
benefits, and privileges under Federal programs.'' See 5 U.S.C.
552a(3)(2).
The OF 306 requests that the applicant provide personal identifying
data, including past convictions, imprisonments, probations, paroles or
military court martial, delinquency on a Federal debt, Selective
Service Registration, United States military service, Federal civilian
or military retirement benefits received or applied for, and life
insurance enrollment. To be clear, providing information regarding past
criminal conduct does not in itself impact an individual's eligibility
for most positions in the federal government. Renewal of the form is
not changing any current policies.
In the February 22, 2019 Federal Register Notice, OPM proposed to
change the form to provide clarification for respondents who may have
completed pretrial diversionary programs.
OPM has decided to renew the form in its current state, without the
modifications proposed in the February 22, 2019 Federal Register
Notice. This will permit OPM time to carefully evaluate and consider
the 2,748 comments submitted during the comment period by members of
the public and other stakeholders. We will take these comments into
consideration to evaluate the best way forward to allow for both
continuing to support second chance hiring initiatives and providing
federal agencies with the ability to make informed hiring and vetting
decisions.
OPM supports efforts by the Administration and Congress to take
steps to reform the criminal justice system and improve second chance
hiring employment opportunities. For most federal jobs, questions
regarding criminal history do not appear on initial job applications,
and agencies do consider people with criminal records when filling most
government positions if they are the best candidates and can comply
with existing requirements.
[[Page 38306]]
Later in the process, generally after there has been a conditional
offer of employment, individuals seeking admission to the civil service
are asked to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306) and
undergo an investigation to establish ``suitability'' or fitness for
employment. See 5 CFR 330.1300.
Past criminal conduct does not prohibit a person from being hired
into the vast majority of federal jobs, and each decision is determined
on a case by case basis.
Analysis
Agency: Office of Personnel Management, Suitability Executive Agent
Programs.
Title: Declaration for Federal Employment, Optional Form (OF) 306.
OMB Number: 3206-0182.
Affected Public: Individuals.
Number of Respondents: 315,478.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 15 minutes.
Total Burden Hours: 78,870.
Office of Personnel Management.
Steve Hickman,
Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2019-16696 Filed 8-5-19; 8:45 am]
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