[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3759-3760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01431]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Medical Exception Request Form

AGENCY: Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (DOC), as part of its commitment to 
support the President's Executive Order

[[Page 3760]]

14043 of September 9, 2021, Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 
Vaccination for Federal Employees and the Safer Federal Workforce Task 
Force guidance, is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a 
full clearance of a previous emergency approval that allowed the 
Department of Commerce (DOC) to collect information from individuals 
applying for medical exemption to the COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccinations 
as specified in the Agency Medical Exemption Form, Part 2. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we invite 
the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, 
and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the 
impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the 
public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 
60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to 
OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before March 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
the Department of Commerce, PRA Clearance Officer at 
[email protected]. All comments received are part of the public 
record. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to the Attn: Zack Schwartz, Chief of Staff to the 
Acting CFO and Assistant Secretary for Administration, Commerce 
Headquarters, at (202) 577-1769; or via email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Executive Order (E.O.) 14043, titled, ``Requiring Coronavirus 
Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees,'' requires all Federal 
employees, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2105, to be vaccinated against COVID-
19, with exceptions only as required by law. Requests for ``medical 
accommodation'' or ``medical exceptions'' will be treated as requests 
for a disability accommodation and evaluated and decided under 
applicable Rehabilitation Act standards for reasonable accommodation 
absent undue hardship to the agency. The agency will be required to 
keep confidential any medical information provided, subject to the 
applicable Rehabilitation Act standards. This medical exemption form is 
necessary for Commerce to determine legal exemptions to the vaccine 
requirement under the Rehabilitation Act. The Form ``Request for a 
Medical Exception to the COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement'' will be 
completed by employees who seek a medical exception to the Federal 
employee vaccine mandate, and by their personal medical providers.
    To request a medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination 
requirement, an employee must complete Part 1 of the medical exemption 
form and their medical provider must complete Part 2. The Bureau's 
Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators would receive this form from the 
requester and use it to make a recommendation to the supervisor based 
on the medical information provided in the form.
    The request for this collection of information is essential to 
continue the Department of Commerce's health and safety measures 
regarding the Federal Employee medical exemptions to the COVID-19 
mandatory vaccinations.

II. Method of Collection

    The Department of Commerce will collect this information by 
electronically, when possible, as well as by mail, fax, telephone, 
technical discussions; and customer experience activities such as 
feedback surveys, focus groups, user testing, and in-person interviews. 
Department of Commerce may also utilize observational techniques to 
collect this information.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0690-0036.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission; Extension of an already 
approved collection.
    Affected Public: Federal employees and medical providers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 167.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $9321.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Executive Order (E.O.) 14043.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-01431 Filed 1-24-22; 8:45 am]
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