[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31551-31552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11188]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; IRAP 
Program and Performance Reports for Standards Recognition Entities

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor's (DOL or Department) Employment and 
Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a 
proposed authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) 
titled, ``IRAP Program and Performance Reports for Standards 
Recognition Entities.'' 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).

DATES: Consideration will be given to all written comments received by 
July 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ETA-2020-0003. 
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 of charge 
from http://www.regulations.gov. Individuals with hearing or speech 
impairments may access the telephone number above via TTY by calling 
the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/
TDD).
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will become 
a matter of public record and will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the final 
ICR. In addition, comments regardless of the delivery method will be 
posted without change on the http://www.regulations.gov website; 
consequently, the Department recommends commenters not include personal 
information such as a Social Security Number, personal address, 
telephone number, email address, or confidential business information 
that they do not want made public. It is the responsibility of the 
commenter to determine what to include in the public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Stephen Sage by telephone at 
(202)693-3221 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected].

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


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOL, as part of continuing efforts to reduce 
paperwork and respondent burden, 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 can be 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.
    This information collection is authorized under the National 
Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50). This data collection includes two 
reports for Standards Recognition Entities (SREs): (1) A program report 
which is required within 30 days of recognizing a new program or 
changing the status of a current program; and (2) a performance report 
which is required on an annual basis for each Industry-Recognized 
Apprenticeship Program (IRAP) they recognize. The information collected 
in these reports is aligned with the amendments to 29 CFR part 29, as 
set forth in subpart B. Pursuant to Sec.  29.22(h), SREs are required 
to report data that will reflect the outcomes of the IRAPs it has 
recognized. Section 29.22(h) also requires SREs to make publicly 
available certain data about IRAPs and performance outcomes, which it 
must submit to the Department.
    The Department's Office of Apprenticeship (OA) will use this 
information for quality assurance, data collection, and performance 
assessment of SREs to evaluate whether an SRE complies with the 
Departmental regulations and standards. Specifically, OA will use the 
information gathered to gauge the qualifications, plans, and processes 
of an SRE seeking re-recognition to determine whether it meets the 
standards described in subpart B. Among the required data are the 
industry-recognized credentials attained by apprentices for each IRAP.

[[Page 31552]]

These program and performance reporting requirements help to 
demonstrate that the Department is promoting high-quality standards of 
apprenticeship, consistent with the directions in the National 
Apprenticeship Act, by requiring accountability from SREs. By enhancing 
oversight and accountability of SREs, these measures help the 
Department ensure that SREs are recognizing apprenticeship programs 
that adhere to the standards of high-quality apprenticeship required by 
the rule. The Department views these program and performance reports as 
ensuring SRE's compliance with Sec.  29.22(a)(4), as required by Sec.  
29.21(b)(2) and accountability to the quality-control relationship. 
Additionally, Sec.  29.22(j) requires an SRE to make publicly available 
the aggregated number of complaints pertaining to each IRAP in a format 
and with the frequency prescribed by the Administrator. Further, Sec.  
29.24 requires the publication of SREs and IRAPs and that the 
Administrator will make publicly available a list of recognized, 
suspended, and derecognized SREs and IRAPs. The Department views these 
program and performance reports as ensuring overall compliance with 
these rules.
    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 written 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 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.
    Type of Review: New.
    Title of Collection: IRAP Program and Performance Reports for 
Standards Recognition Entities.
    Reports:

 IRAP Program Report for Standards Recognition Entities
 Annual Performance Report for Standards Recognition Entities

    OMB Control Number: 1205-0NEW.
    Affected Public: State and Local Governments; Private Sector--
businesses or other for-profits and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,794.
    Frequency: Annually and 30 days upon recognizing, derecognizing or 
suspending an IRAP Sponsor.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 12,447.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: The Department estimates that 
it will take an SRE 6 hours and 3.75 minutes to provide the 
Administrator with information on its IRAP Sponsors. The Department 
estimates that it will take an IRAP 25 hours to provide performance 
information to its SRE, so the total burden is estimated at 89,525 
hours (= 3,581 IRAPs x 25 hours).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 111,118 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Cost Burden: $0.

John Pallasch,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2020-11188 Filed 5-22-20; 8:45 am]
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