[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12443-12445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04305]


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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activity: Comment Request; Generic 
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 
Delivery

AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the U.S. Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) is submitting a request for 
a three-year approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
of a revision to the current Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) previously approved. This collection is 
part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to 
seek feedback from the public on service delivery.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before 
April 2, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For EEOC Office of Field Programs: Michelle Crew, 
[email protected], (216) 306-1130;
    For EEOC Office of Federal Operations: Patricia St. Clair, 
[email protected], (202) 663-4922.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    Abstract: The information collection activity will garner 
qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, in accordance with the government's commitment to improving 
service delivery. By qualitative feedback we mean information that 
provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but not 
statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be 
generalized to the population of study. This feedback will provide 
insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and 
expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or focus 
attention on areas where communication, training, or changes in 
operations might improve delivery of products or services. These 
collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative, and actionable 
communications between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. 
It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement 
of program management.

[[Page 12444]]

    The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: Timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, course materials, course 
instructor, courtesy, efficiency of service delivery, and resolution of 
issues with service delivery. Responses will be assessed to plan and 
inform efforts to improve or maintain the quality of service offered to 
the public. If this information is not collected, vital feedback from 
customers and stakeholders on the Agency's services will be 
unavailable.
    The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collections are voluntary;
     The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government;
     The collections are the only way to collect information; 
there are no alternative existing sources.
     The collections are noncontroversial and do not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
     Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have 
experience with the program;
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
     Information gathered will be used only internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for release outside of the agency;
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically 
reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the 
population of study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative 
information will not be used for quantitative information collections 
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as 
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such 
data uses require more rigorous designs that address: The target 
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, 
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the 
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed 
sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing 
potential nonresponse bias, the protocols for data collection, and any 
testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding 
the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely 
to have, such collections may still be eligible for submission for 
other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative 
results.
    As a general matter, information collections will not result in any 
new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Pursuant to the PRA and OMB regulation 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), the EEOC 
has solicited public comment on its intent to seek a three-year 
approval of this revised collection: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the EEOC's functions, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the EEOC's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) Enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including 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.
    One comment was received from the public in response to the 60-day 
notice published in the Federal Register of November 18, 2020 (85 FR 
73479). The comment raised concerns regarding prospective employers 
requesting a transgender person's previous name(s) prior to their 
gender transition. Information regarding a person's previous name(s) is 
not requested as part of the EEOC's information collections of customer 
and stakeholder feedback on Agency service delivery. Accordingly, no 
changes have been made to the Generic Clearance based upon this 
comment.
    In addition to clearance hours for the previously approved customer 
feedback forms, the EEOC requested an additional 39,716 clearance 
hours. Most of these requested hours-39,116-are for a randomly-
generated, pop-up form that will solicit feedback from a sample of 
visitors to the EEOC website on the contents and performance of the web 
pages. The 39,116 hours burden estimate is based on the number of web 
page views in a year. The remaining 600 hours represent a reserve to 
cover any additional feedback forms that may be developed over the next 
three years for new trainings offered by the EEOC. The EEOC anticipates 
any new potential feedback forms will be similar in length and content 
to existing feedback forms. The EEOC is seeking clearance for the 
additional hours so the EEOC can use the existing clearance number if 
the need arises for additional training and feedback forms.

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                                                                   Number of                         Response
        Type of survey            Respondent       Number of       responses/     Participation     burden  (in
                                                  respondents      respondent          time           hours)
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Questionnaire--FEPA Training   State and local             550  1..............  2 minutes per                18
 Conference Feedback.           government                                        response.
                                employees.
Questionnaire--Technical       Private                   4,500  1..............  2 minutes per               150
 Assistance Program Feedback.   employers,                                        response.
                                state and
                                local
                                government
                                employees.
Questionnaire--EXCEL Customer  Private                     250  1..............  10 minutes per               42
 Feedback.                      employers,                                        response.
                                state and
                                local
                                government
                                employees.
Questionnaire--Respectful      Private                  15,900  2 (survey        10 minutes per            5,300
 Workplace Training Feedback.   employers,                       delivered        response.
                                state and                        twice to same
                                local                            respondents).
                                government
                                employees.
Questionnaire--Federal Course  Participants in           9,180  1..............  2 minutes per               306
 Evaluation Form.               federal                                           response.
                                courses and in
                                customer
                                specific
                                trainings.

[[Page 12445]]

 
Future Training Assessments..  Training Center           7,200  1..............  5 minutes per               600
                                Attendees.                                        response.
EEOC website feedback forms..  Individuals or        1,173,472  1..............  2 minutes per            39,116
                                Households.                                       response.
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Overview of Information Collection

    OMB Number: 3046-0048.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households; businesses and 
organizations; State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 6 known, up to 2 more 
anticipated.
    Respondents: 1,211,052.
    Annual Responses: 1,226,952.
    Frequency of Response: Twice per respondent for one activity, and 
once for all other activities.
    Average Minutes per Response: 2.2.
    Burden Hours: 45,532.

    For the Commission.
Charlotte A. Burrows,
Chair.
[FR Doc. 2021-04305 Filed 3-2-21; 8:45 am]
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