[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55188-55189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22410]


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OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL

[OMB Control No. 3255-0005]


Form OSC-14

AGENCY: Office of Special Counsel.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) implementing regulations, and the 
Government Paperwork Elimination Act, the U.S. Office of Special 
Counsel (OSC) is seeking comments on renewal of OMB's approval of OSC's 
updated, dynamic electronic form used to file complaints and 
disclosures with OSC. The form, known as Form OSC-14, was approved by 
OMB in September 2017. OSC revised Form OSC-14 in July 2019 to reflect 
subsequent statutory changes and obtained emergency OMB/OIRA approval 
of the updated information collection. The final rule authorizing use 
of Form OSC-14 went into effect on August 26, 2019 and the information 
collection is currently authorized by OMB Control Number 3255-0005,

[[Page 55189]]

which expires on February 29, 2020. This information collection seeks 
to extend OSC's period for using a form to collect this information 
through 2023.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments by December 
16, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by ``Form OSC-14'' by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for sending comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Form OSC-14 Comment'' 
in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Attention: Federal 
Register Liaison, 1730 M Street NW, Suite 218, Washington, DC 20036.
    All comments received may be posted without change to OSC's 
website, including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan K. Ullman, General Counsel, U.S. 
Office of Special Counsel, by telephone at (202) 804-7000, or by email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    OSC is a permanent independent federal investigative and 
prosecutorial agency. OSC's basic authorities come from four federal 
statutes: The Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection 
Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & 
Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). OSC's primary mission is to safeguard 
the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from 
prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing, 
and to serve as a safe channel for allegations of wrongdoing.
    OSC is seeking renewal of the approval for the information 
collection for Form OSC-14. The electronic form must be used to submit 
allegations of possible prohibited personnel practices or other 
prohibited activity for investigation and possible prosecution by OSC 
and is recommended for filing disclosures of covered wrongdoing for 
review and possible referral to heads of agencies. The form may also be 
used by individuals to file complaints under the Hatch Act.

II. Request for Comments

    OSC requests that you send your comments on this collection to the 
location listed in the ADDRESSES section. Your comments should address 
the following: (a) The necessity of the information collection for OSC 
to perform its functions; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden 
(hours and cost) of the collection of information; (c) ways OSC could 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (d) ways OSC could minimize the burden of the collection 
of the information on the respondents. All comments will be available 
for review at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section during the 
hours of 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday except for 
legal holidays. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address or other personally identifiable information (PII), please be 
advised that your entire comment--including your PII--may be made 
public at any time.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number 3255-0005.
    Title of Collection: Updated Form OSC-14: Electronic Submission of 
Allegations and Disclosures.
    The updated electronic form is available on the OSC website at 
https://osc.gov/Pages/File-Complaint.aspx.
    Brief Description of Collection: Submission of this information 
allows OSC to receive complaints and disclosures.
    Type of Information Collection Request: Approval of a collection of 
information from individuals who choose to file complaints or 
disclosures with OSC. The proposed collection is the same as the 
collection that was approved on an emergency basis and replaces three 
separate forms OSC previously used to collect the information. This is 
for an extension without change of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Current and former Federal employees, applicants 
for Federal employment, state and local government employees, and their 
representatives, and the general public.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Estimated Annual Number of Form OSC-14 Respondents: 6000 (estimate 
based on a review of recent OSC Annual Reports and Congressional Budget 
Justifications, and trends).
    Frequency of Use of Updated Form OSC-14: Daily.
    Estimated Average Amount of Time for a Person to Respond Using Form 
OSC-14: For prohibited personnel practice and other prohibited 
activities allegations, one hour and 15 minutes; for whistleblower 
disclosures, one hour; and for Hatch Act allegations, 30 minutes to 
complete the form. OSC based these estimates on testing completed by 
OSC employees during the development of the collection form.
    Estimated Annual Burden for Filing Form OSC-14: 6917.5 hours.

    Dated: October 9, 2019.
Travis Millsaps,
Deputy Special Counsel for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-22410 Filed 10-11-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7405-01-P