[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 38 (Monday, March 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12036-12037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04101]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; National Compensation Survey

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Bureau of 
Labor Statistics (BLS)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before March 31, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) if the information will be processed and used in a timely 
manner; (3) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (4) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (5) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony May by telephone at 202-693-
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is an 
ongoing survey of earnings and benefits among private firms, State, and 
local government. Data from the NCS program include estimates of wages 
covering broad groups of related occupations, and data that directly 
links benefit plan costs with detailed plan provisions. The NCS is used 
to produce the Employment Cost Trends, including the Employment Cost 
Index (ECI) and

[[Page 12037]]

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), employee benefits data 
(on coverage, cost, and provisions), and data used by the President's 
Pay Agent. This data is used by compensation administrators and 
researchers in the public and private sectors. Data from the NCS are 
used to help in determining monetary policy (as a Principal Federal 
Economic Indicator). The integrated program's single sample produces 
both time-series indexes and cost levels for industry and occupational 
groups, thereby increasing the analytical potential of the data.
    The NCS employs probability methods for selection of occupations. 
This ensures that sampled occupations represent all occupations in the 
workforce, while minimizing the reporting burden on respondents. The 
survey collects data from a sample of employers. These data will 
consist of information about the duties, responsibilities, and 
compensation (earnings and benefits) for a sample of occupations for 
each sampled employer. Data will be updated on a quarterly basis. The 
updates will allow for production of data on change in earnings and 
total compensation.
    This survey was revised to temporarily add questions to the 
National Compensation Survey to cover sick leave policy changes due to 
the coronavirus pandemic. These questions were collected primarily 
through email in June and July of 2020. These data were approved for 
collection under Emergency OMB Clearance Package 1220-0195, but they 
were discontinued on November 13, 2020. Respondents will electronically 
complete and submit responses through a simple fillable form. The 
additional sick leave policy questions are not intended to be collected 
beyond the July timeframe. At this time, BLS has discontinued in person 
data collection in response to the coronavirus pandemic. NCS will 
return to using in person interviews as a method of collection once 
restrictions are lifted. During this time, the NCS is relying heavily 
on telephone, email, and mail for current collection. Video interview 
collection is also available in response to the pandemic and is being 
considered as a standard collection method.
    The NCS collects earnings and work level data on occupations for 
the nation. The NCS also collects information on the cost, provisions, 
and incidence of major employee benefits through its benefit cost and 
benefit provision programs and publications. BLS has for a number of 
years been using a revised approach to the Locality Pay Survey (LPS) 
component of the NCS; this uses data from two current BLS programs--the 
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey and the ECI program. 
This approach uses OES data to provide wage data by occupation and by 
area, while ECI data are used to specify grade level effects. This 
approach is also being used to extend the estimation of pay gaps to 
areas that were not included in the prior Locality Pay Survey sample, 
and these data have been delivered to the Pay Agent (in 2019, data for 
95 areas were delivered).
    For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the 
related notice published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2020 (85 
FR 35667).
    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 the OMB approves it 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 
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for 
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than 
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive 
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
    Agency: DOL-BLS.
    Title of Collection: National Compensation Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1220-0164.
    Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses or other for-profits; 
not-for-profit institutions; State, local, and tribal governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 15,863.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 49,717.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 43,978 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))

    Dated: February 23, 2021.
Anthony May,
Management and Program Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2021-04101 Filed 2-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P