[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 91 (Thursday, May 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26237-26238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10089]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0187]


Electrical Standards for Construction and General Industry; 
Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of 
the Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the request for an 
extension of the information collection requirements contained in the 
Electrical Standards for Construction and for General Industry. The 
Standards address safety procedures for installation and maintenance of 
electric utilization equipment that prevent death and serious injuries 
among construction and general industry workers in the workplace caused 
by electrical hazards.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
July 12, 2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are 
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through the website. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in 
locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number for this Federal Register notice (OSHA-2011-0187). OSHA 
will place comments, including any personal information you provide, in 
the public docket, which may be available online. Therefore, OSHA 
cautions interested parties about submitting personal information such 
as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. For further information 
on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the 
section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman or Theda Kenney, 
Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 
Washington, DC; telephone (202) 693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of the continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collection requirements 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 Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes information 
collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for enforcement of 
the Act or for developing information regarding the causes and 
prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 
U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires that OSHA obtain such 
information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those 
operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent 
feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information 
(29 U.S.C. 657).
    The information collection requirements specified by the Electrical 
Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 1926, subpart K) and for 
General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S) alert workers to the 
presence and types of electrical hazards in the workplace, thereby 
preventing serious injury and death by electrocution. The information 
collection requirements in these Standards involve the following: The 
employer using electrical equipment that is marked with the 
manufacturer's name, trademark, or other descriptive markings that 
identify the producer of the equipment, and marking the equipment with 
the voltage, current, wattage, or other ratings necessary; requiring 
each disconnecting means for motors and appliances to be marked legibly 
to indicate its purpose, unless located and arranged so the purpose is 
evident; requiring the entrances to rooms and other guarded locations 
containing exposed live parts to be marked with conspicuous warning 
signs

[[Page 26238]]

forbidding unqualified persons from entering; and, for construction 
employers only, establishing and implementing the assured equipment 
grounding conductor program instead of using ground-fault circuit 
interrupters.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are 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 
cost) of the information collection requirements, 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 employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is proposing an increase adjustment to the existing burden 
hours from 194,976 hours to 200,662 for the Electrical Standards for 
Construction and for General Industry, a total increase of 5,686. The 
cost of the labels is $10.66, which increased from $4.25, a difference 
of $6.41. The cost of caution and warning signs remains $19.19. The 
total cost over a five-year period to the employer is $44,753,780 (or 
$8,950,756 per year). The agency will summarize any comments submitted 
in response to this notice, and will include this summary in the 
request to OMB to extend the approval of the information collection 
requirements contained in these Standards.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Electrical Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 1926, 
subpart K) and for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S).
    OMB Number: 1218-0130.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; State, local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 923,147.
    Frequency of Response: Occasionally.
    Total Responses: 2,822,871.
    Average Time per Response: Various.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 200,662.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $8,950,756.

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 https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. Please 
note: While OSHA's Docket Office is continuing to accept and process 
submissions by regular mail, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Docket 
Office is closed to the public and not able to receive submissions to 
the docket by hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service. All 
comments, attachments, and other materials must identify the agency 
name and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-
0187). 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.
    Due to security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the https://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 https://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 at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627) 
for information about materials not available through the website, and 
for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, Acting 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 May 6, 2021.
James S. Frederick,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-10089 Filed 5-12-21; 8:45 am]
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