[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28107-28109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11059]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, 
the New Hire Information Collection (FR 27; OMB No. 7100-0375).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 26, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 27, by any of the 
following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's website at 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as 
submitted, unless modified for technical reasons or to remove 
personally identifiable information at the commenter's request. 
Accordingly, comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or 
contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically 
or in paper in Room 146, 1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the 
Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. 
You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon arrival, visitors will be 
required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to 
submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy 
comments.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 
452-3829.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board 
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. In 
exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take 
every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to 
approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all 
comments received from the public and other agencies.
    A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, 
including the reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, 
and other documentation will be available at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, if approved. These documents will also be made 
available on the Board's public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears above.

[[Page 28108]]

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the 
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board 
should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, With 
Revision, the Following Information Collection

    Report title: New Hire Information Collection.
    Agency form number: FR 27.
    OMB control number: 7100-0375.
    Frequency: As needed.
    Respondents: The FR 27 panel comprises individuals who are new 
hires to the Board, but have not yet become employees.
    Estimated number of respondents: Regular hire: 312; intern hire: 
122; federal transfer: 10.
    Estimated average hours per response: Regular hire: 1; intern hire: 
0.75; federal transfer: 1.08.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Regular hire: 312; intern hire: 92; 
federal transfer: 11.
    General description of report: This information collection provides 
for the electronic collection of certain personnel information from new 
hires using a secure web-based portal, the ``New Hire Portal,'' before 
the first day of employment of a new hire. As part of the onboarding 
process for new hires, a Human Resources professional at the Board 
identifies the necessary information that must be collected from the 
new hire, which is dependent upon whether the person will be starting 
as a full- or part-time employee, including a Governor or Board officer 
(Regular Hire) or starting as an intern (Intern Hire), or whether the 
Regular Employee is transferring from another federal agency (Federal 
Transfer). The new hire is then sent an email asking him or her to 
provide the information described below through the New Hire Portal 
prior to their official start date.
    The New Hire Portal is broken out into different sections and each 
section corresponds to the hardcopy forms that new employees previously 
filled out and provide to the Board during or after the first day of 
new employee orientation (NEO). Thus, the information collection 
involves a new hire electronically providing this personnel information 
and filling out the applicable sections of the New Hire Portal before 
their first day of orientation. The sections of the portal that each 
new hire is asked to complete electronically depends upon the type of 
position that the new hire has been offered at the Board.
    Proposed revisions: The Board proposes to remove the Direct Deposit 
section from the New Hire Portal and ask the respondent to provide that 
information after their NEO. After NEO, the respondent will be an 
employee of the Board, and the information requested will no longer be 
subject to the PRA.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The New Hire Information 
Collection is authorized pursuant to sections 10(3), 10(4), 11(l), and 
11(q) of the Federal Reserve Act, which provide the Board broad 
authority over employment of staff and security of its building.\1\ In 
addition, Executive Order 9397 (Nov. 22, 1943) authorizes Federal 
agencies to use an individual's social security number to identify 
individuals in agency records.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 243, 244, 248(l), and 248(q).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Providing information collected as part of the New Hire Information 
Collection is voluntary. However, if certain information requested as 
part of the New Hire Information Collection is not provided by the new 
hire, the hiring process cannot be completed.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The voluntary provision of the following information is 
optional and is not required to complete the hiring process: 
education information (e.g., name of educational institution, major, 
degree, year of graduation), race, ethnicity, and the identity of 
and relationship to any relatives who are also employed at the 
Board. Although a new hire is required to provide the name and 
contact information of one ``primary'' emergency contact, providing 
a ``second'' emergency contact is optional and is not required to 
complete the hiring process. A new hire can also voluntarily provide 
an alternative mailing address, if it is different from his or her 
current address. Lastly, although not required to complete the 
hiring process, information on dependents is required to obtain 
certain benefits (such as continuing health insurance benefits for 
the child or spouse of a new employee who is transferring from 
another federal agency).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Generally, information collected as part of the New Hire 
Information Collection may be kept confidential from the public under 
exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which protects 
information that ``would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy.'' \3\ However, the release of information such as the 
educational history of the new hire or the start date of employment 
would not likely constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal 
privacy and may be disclosed under the FOIA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Determinations regarding disclosure to third parties of any 
confidential portions of the information collection that are considered 
exempt under the FOIA will be made in accordance with the Privacy 
Act.\4\ Relevant Privacy Act statements are provided when a respondent 
logs in to the portal and before the respondent is asked to provide any 
information. The Board may make disclosures in accordance with the 
Privacy Act's routine use disclosure provision, which permits the 
disclosure of a record for a purpose which is compatible with the 
purpose for which the record was collected.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ 5 U.S.C. 552a(b).
    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(7) and (b)(3)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Such routine uses are listed in specific systems of records 
notices, which apply to this information collection and which can be 
found in: (1) The System of Records Notice for BGFRS-1, FRB-Recruiting 
and Placement Records, located at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-1-recruiting-and-placement-records.pdf; (2) the System of 
Records Notice for BGFRS-4, FRB-General Personnel Records, located at: 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-4-general-personnel-records.pdf; (3) the System of Records Notice for BGFRS-7, FRB--Payroll 
and Leave Records, located at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-7-payroll-and-leave-records.pdf; (4) the System of Records Notice 
for BGFRS-24, FRB--EEO General Files, located at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/BGFRS-24-eeo-general-files.pdf; and/or (5) 
the System of Records Notice for BGFRS-34, FRB-ESS Staff Identification 
Card File, located at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/

[[Page 28109]]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BGFRS-34-ess-staff-identification-card-file.pdf.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 20, 2021.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-11059 Filed 5-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P