[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 230 (Friday, November 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65845-65847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25832]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2012-0026]


Regulations Containing Procedures for Handling of Retaliation 
Complaints; Revision of Approved Information Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Approval

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to 
extend and revise the collection of information currently approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for handling of retaliation 
complaints filed with OSHA under various whistleblower protection 
statutes and the procedural regulations described in this notice. These 
regulations contain procedures employees must use to file a complaint 
with OSHA alleging that their employer violated a whistleblower 
protection provision contained in certain statutes that generally 
prohibit retaliatory action by employers against employees who engage 
in activities protected by the statutes. This collection of information 
includes revisions to the electronic form for employees to submit 
retaliation complaints to OSHA.

[[Page 65846]]


DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
January 28, 2020.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit your comments and attachments 
to the OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2012-0026, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
Room N-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. Due to 
security procedures, there may be delays in receiving materials that 
are sent by regular mail. For more information about security 
procedures concerning the delivery of materials by express delivery, 
hand delivery, and messenger or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office. The hours of operation for the OSHA Docket Office 
are 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2012-0026) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). All comments, including any personal information you provide, 
such as social security numbers and dates of birth, are placed in the 
public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments 
see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the section of this notice 
titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the above address. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download from the website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact the Directorate 
of Whistleblower Protection Programs at the below phone number to 
obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Rosa, Acting Director, 
Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs, OSHA, U.S. Department 
of Labor; telephone: (202) 693-2199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of a continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (e.g., an employee filing a retaliation 
complaint) burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to 
provide the public with an opportunity to comment on proposed and 
continuing collection of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures 
that information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and 
costs) is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and 
OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate.
    The agency is responsible for investigating alleged violations of 
whistleblower provisions contained in a number of statutes. These 
whistleblower provisions generally prohibit retaliation by employers 
against employees who report alleged violations of certain laws or 
regulations. Accordingly, these provisions prohibit an employer from 
discharging or taking any other retaliatory action against an employee 
because the employee engages in any of the protected activities 
specified by the whistleblower provisions of the statutes. These 
statutes are covered under the following regulations: 29 CFR part 24, 
Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints under the 
Employee Protection Provisions of Six Environmental Statutes and 
Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as Amended (29 
CFR part 24 covers the: Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300j-9(i); 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. 1367; Toxic Substances 
Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 2622; Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6971; 
Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7622; Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, 42 
U.S.C. 5851; and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and 
Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9610); 29 CFR part 1977, Discrimination 
Against Employees Exercising Rights under the Williams-Steiger 
Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 CFR part 1977 covers the: 
Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29 U.S.C. 660; Asbestos Hazard 
Emergency Response Act, 15 U.S.C. 2651; and International Safe 
Container Act, 46 U.S.C. 80507); 29 CFR part 1978, Procedures for the 
Handling of Retaliation Complaints under the Employee Protection 
Provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982; 29 CFR 
part 1979, Procedures for Handling Discrimination Complaints Under the 
Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st 
Century; 29 CFR part 1980, Procedures for Handling of Discrimination 
Complaints Under Section 806 of the Corporate and Criminal Fraud 
Accountability Act of 2002 (Title VIII of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 
2002); 29 CFR part 1981, Procedures for the Handling of Discrimination 
Complaints under Section 6 of the Pipeline Safety and Improvement Act 
of 2002; 29 CFR part 1982, Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation 
Complaints Under the National Transit Systems Security Act and the 
Federal Railroad Safety Act; 29 CFR part 1983, Procedures for the 
Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under Section 219 of the Consumer 
Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008; 29 CFR part 1984, Procedures 
for Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under Section 1558 of the 
Affordable Care Act; 29 CFR part 1985, Procedures for Handling 
Retaliation Complaints Under the Employee Protection Provision of the 
Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010; 29 CFR part 1986, Procedures 
for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under the Employee 
Protection Provision of the Seaman's Protection Act (SPA), as Amended; 
and 29 CFR part 1987, Procedures for Handling Retaliation Complaints 
Under Section 402 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and 29 CFR 
part 1988 Procedures for Handling Retaliation Complaints Under Section 
31307 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century.
    In addition, OSHA investigates complaints of retaliation filed 
under the recently-enacted whistleblower provision Section 7623 of the 
Taxpayer First Act. Collection of information contained in future 
regulations promulgated by the agency with respect to a whistleblower 
provision of any other Federal law, except those that are assigned to 
another DOL agency, will be added to this information collection.
    OSHA's whistleblower regulations specify the procedures that an 
employee must use to file a complaint alleging that their employer 
violated a whistleblower provision for which the agency has 
investigative responsibility. Any employee who believes that such a 
violation occurred may file a complaint, or have the complaint filed on 
their behalf. Two of these regulations, 29 CFR parts 1979 and 1981, 
state that complaints must be filed in writing and should include a 
full statement of the

[[Page 65847]]

acts and omissions, with pertinent dates, that the employee believes 
constitute the violation. The other regulations, 29 CFR parts 24, 1977, 
1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1986, 1987, and 1988 require no 
particular form of filing for complaints. However, it is OSHA's policy 
to accept complaints in any form (i.e., orally or in writing) under all 
statutes. This policy helps ensure that employees of all circumstances 
and education levels will have equal access to the complaint filing 
process.
    The agency currently utilizes the OSHA Online Whistleblower 
Complaint Form, which includes interactive features to aid employees 
seeking to understand the process and requirements for filing a 
retaliation complaint with OSHA. The web-based form enables employees 
to submit whistleblower complaints directly to OSHA 24-hours a day. The 
electronic form also provides information about employee protections 
enforced by other agencies, in order to better direct complainants to 
the proper investigative agencies.
    OSHA proposes to revise this ICR to include revisions to the 
electronic complaint form to make the following changes and technical 
updates. On the landing page, before the electronic complaint form, the 
user will have the opportunity to click a hyperlink which will direct 
them to a map that identifies the OSHA regions and their respective 
contact information. Once in the electronic form, ``pop-ups'' will 
appear whenever the user attempts to click away from a required field 
without making an entry. Lastly, the character count for two optional 
text boxes will increase from 500 to 1,000 characters. This allows the 
users to explain their case to OSHA. A mark-up of the proposed changes 
to the form is available in the docket.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on individuals who must 
comply; for example, by using automated or other technological 
information collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB approve the proposed extension and 
revision of the collection of information contained in OSHA's statutory 
authorities and the regulations containing procedures for handling 
retaliation complaints at 29 CFR parts 24, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988.\1\ Specifically, this 
revision contains a revised information collection instrument, a form, 
which employees may use to file complaints. In addition, OSHA is 
requesting an adjustment increase in burden hours from 7,566 burden 
hours to 10,126 burden hours (a total increase of 2,560 hours). The 
updated data shows an increase in the annual number of complaints 
filed. The agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to 
this notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB.
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    \1\ Several of these regulations use the term ``discrimination'' 
or ``discrimination complaints'' titles. These terms are synonymous 
with ``retaliation'' and ``retaliation complaints,'' respectively.
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    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Regulations Containing Procedures for Handling Retaliation 
Complaints.
    OMB Number: 1218-0236.
    Affected Public: Individuals.
    Number of Respondents: 10,126.
    Frequency of Response: Once per complaint.
    Average Time per Response: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 10,126.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2012-0026). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger or courier service, please contact the OSHA 
Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627). Comments and 
submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about submitting personal 
information such as social security numbers and dates of birth. 
Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov 
index, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download through this website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and access the docket is 
available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA Docket 
Office for information about materials not available through the 
website, and for assistance in using the internet to locate docket 
submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this 
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 
(77 FR 3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on November 22, 2019.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2019-25832 Filed 11-27-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-26-P