[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13004-13005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04864]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Request for a Medical or Religious Exception 
or Delay to the COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and 
Management, Labor.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the DOL is soliciting public comments regarding the proposed revision 
of this Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and 
Management (OASAM)-sponsored information collection for the authority 
to continue and revise the information collection request (ICR) titled, 
``Request for a Medical Exception or Delay to the COVID-19 Vaccination 
Requirement,'' currently approved under OMB Control Number 1225-0092.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all written comments received by 
May 9, 2022.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation, 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden, may be obtained free by 
contacting RARC Info at [email protected].
    Electronic submission: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at [email protected], identified by OMB Control 
Number 1225-0092.
    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: Mara Blumenthal by telephone at 202-
693-8538, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Consistent with guidance from the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), guidance from the Safer 
Federal Workforce Task Force established pursuant to Executive Order 
13991 of January 20, 2021, Protecting the Federal Workforce and 
Requiring Mask-Wearing, and Executive Order 14043 of September 9, 2021, 
Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees, 
the request for this collection of information is essential to 
implement DOL's health and safety measures regarding federal employee 
medical exemptions to the COVID-19 mandatory vaccinations. The 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, requires Federal Agencies to 
provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with 
disabilities unless that reasonable accommodation would impose an undue 
hardship on the employee's Agency. See 29 U.S.C. 791; 29 CFR part 1614; 
see also 20 CFR part 1630 and Executive Order 13164 of July 26, 2000, 
Requiring Federal Agencies to Establish Procedures to Facilitate the 
Provision of Reasonable Accommodation. Section 2 of E.O. 14043 mandates 
that each agency ``implement, to the extent consistent with applicable 
law, a program to require COVID-19 vaccination for all of its Federal 
employees, with exceptions only as required by law.'' This medical 
exemption form is necessary for DOL to determine legal exemptions to 
the vaccine requirement under the Rehabilitation Act.
    The Department of Labor is proposing to revise this ICR, which was 
approved in November 2021 under the Emergency Processing provisions of 
the PRA. The Department is requesting the same amount of burden in the 
currently approved ICR: 250 respondents, 10 minutes per response for a 
total of 42 hours. Additionally, the Department of Labor is proposing 
that student volunteers requesting a medical exception or delay to the 
COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement be required to complete this form. DOL 
estimates that there may be 100 student volunteers with the Department 
beginning this summer. While 40 volunteers are expected through the 
Secretary's formal program, many offices bring on volunteers through a 
variety of other methods. DOL is estimating that 10% may request a 
medical accommodation, for a total of 10 respondents.
    The estimated time burden for a student volunteer to complete the 
form is 15 minutes. This is more burden than is placed on respondents 
in the currently approved collection that is limited to medical 
professionals providing information. Because the definition of `person' 
under the PRA

[[Page 13005]]

excludes Federal employees operating within their professional 
capacity, it was only necessary in the currently approved collection to 
account for the time it takes the medical professional completing Part 
II of the form in assessing the burden when seeking the emergency PRA 
clearance. However, since student volunteers are not Federal employees, 
the time it takes student volunteers to complete the entire form must 
be accounted for in the burden assessment and requires approval by OMB. 
As a result, the Department of Labor is requesting approval for an 
additional 10 respondents, with an equal number of responses, and an 
additional 2.5 hours of time burden, for respective totals of 160 
respondents with an equal number of responses and 44.5 annual burden 
hours for this form.
    The Department of Labor is also proposing to add a new instrument 
to this ICR. DOL is proposing to add the form Request for a Religious 
Exception or Delay to the COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement. This 
religious exemption form is necessary for DOL to determine legal 
exemptions to the vaccine requirement from student volunteers under 
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As with the medical 
exemption noted above, the collection of this form from Federal 
employees does not require OMB approval. As student volunteers are not 
considered to be Federal employees, the Department must also account 
for the burden to complete the form to obtain approval from OMB in 
order to collect this information from student volunteers. Of the 
estimated 100 student volunteers the Department is anticipating this 
summer, DOL is estimating that 10% may request a religious 
accommodation, for a total of 10 respondents. The Department estimates 
that it will take respondents 15 minutes to fill out the form. 
Therefore, the Department of Labor is requesting approval for 10 
respondents, with an equal number of responses, and 2.5 hours of time 
burden, for this form. Accordingly, the total estimated burden for this 
ICR is 270 respondents, with an equal number of responses, and 47 
burden hours.

A Notice Regarding Injunctions

    The vaccination requirement issued pursuant to E.O. 14043, is 
currently the subject of a nationwide preliminary injunction. While 
that injunction remains in place, DOL will not process requests for a 
medical or religious exceptions from the COVID-19 vaccination 
requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043. DOL will also not request the 
submission of any medical or religious information related to a request 
for an exception from the vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 
14043 while the injunction remains in place. But DOL may nevertheless 
receive information regarding a medical exception. That is because, if 
DOL were to receive a request for an exception from the COVID-19 
vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 during the pendency of 
the injunction, DOL will accept the request, hold it in abeyance, and 
notify the volunteer who submitted the request that implementation and 
enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 
14043 is currently enjoined and that an exception therefore is not 
necessary so long as the injunction is in place. In other words, during 
the pendency of the injunction, any information collection related to 
requests for medical or religious exceptions from the COVID-19 
vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 will not be undertaken 
to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
    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-OASAM.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Title of Collection: Request for a Medical or Religious Exception 
or Delay to the COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement.
    OMB Control Number: 1225-0092.
    Forms: Request for a Medical Exception or Delay to the COVID-19 
Vaccination Requirement; Request for a Religious Exception or Delay to 
the COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 270.
    Frequency: Once.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 270.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: Varies.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 47 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A))

    Dated: March 1, 2022.
Milton Stewart,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2022-04864 Filed 3-7-22; 8:45 am]
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