[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5725-5726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01768]


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OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL

[OMB Control No. 3255-0005]


Submission for Review: OSC Form-14

AGENCY: Office of Special Counsel (OSC)

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: OSC is providing 30 additional days for individuals to comment 
on OSC Form-14, the form used to file complaints and disclosures with 
OSC.

[[Page 5726]]


DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until March 2, 
2020.

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, 725 17th Street 
NW, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of 
Special Counsel or sent via electronic mail to 
[email protected] or faxed to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this ICR, with applicable 
supporting documentation, may be obtained by contacting the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Office of Special Counsel or sent via electronic mail to 
[email protected] or faxed to (202) 395-6974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. 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 offers the general public and other Federal agencies the 
opportunity to comment on an existing information collection request 
(ICR) Reference Number 201907-3255-002. As required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), OSC is 
soliciting comments for this collection. In particular, OSC and the 
Office of Management and Budget are interested in comments on this 
information collection request 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 submissions of responses.
    This information collection was previously published in the Federal 
Register at 84 FR 55188 allowing for a 60-day public comment period. 
One (1) commenter responded to the notice and provided two (2) 
suggestions. One suggestion was to add capability for additional 
interactive ``platforms'' complainants could use to submit OSC Form-14. 
OSC's technical team considered the comment but decided not to add 
platforms because implementing new capabilities at this time would take 
additional time, resources, and budget. The current platform is a 
dynamic fillable Adobe PDF form which allows users to file without 
having to log into a system and gives them the ability to keep a copy 
of the file they submitted. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software is the 
free global standard for reliably viewing, printing, and commenting on 
PDF documents. OSC will continue to consider updating capabilities in 
the future. The other suggestion was to combine retaliation claims 
alleging unlawful reprisal for engaging in whistleblowing or engaging 
in protected activity under 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8) and (b)(9), arguing 
that the separate boxes would be ``confusing'' to pro se complainants. 
OSC does not adopt the proposed suggestion, first, because the separate 
categories are precisely defined at the beginning of the document, and 
also because the second category, protected activity, includes a more 
expansive list of protected activities such as pursuing an appeals 
process or refusing to obey an order that the employee reasonably 
believes is contrary to law, rule, or regulation, that may not involve 
whistleblowing. Because the legal ramifications for whistleblower 
retaliation claims are different from most of the claims alleging 
retaliation for engaging in protected activity, OSC needs to maintain 
two distinct allegation boxes.

Analysis

    Agency: U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
    Title: OSC Form-14: Electronic Submission of Allegations and 
Disclosures.
    OMB Control No.: 3255-0005.
    Frequency of Use of Updated OSC Form-14: Daily.
    Affected Public: Current and former Federal employees, applicants 
for Federal employment, state and local government employees, and their 
representatives, and the general public.
    Number of Respondents: 6000 (estimate based on a review of recent 
OSC Annual Reports and Congressional Budget Justifications, and 
trends).
    Estimated Average Amount of Time for a Person to Respond Using OSC 
Form-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 OSC Form-14: 6917.5 hours.
    Abstract: 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 to file 
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.

    Dated: January 27, 2020.
Travis Millsaps,
Deputy Special Counsel for Public Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020-01768 Filed 1-30-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7405-01-P