[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 57 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16719-16721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06333]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; COVID-19 Vaccine Supplemental Medical Provider Statement
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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[[Page 16720]]
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on
the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651-
0087 (COVID-19 Vaccine Supplemental Medical Provider Statement). The
purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding
submission of the information collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before May 23, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by
any of the following methods. Do not submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0087 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Request for additional information
should be directed to Naveen Paul, Office of Equal Employment
Opportunity and Diversity, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by telephone at 571-270-5395;
or by email at [email protected] with ``0651-0087 comment'' in the
subject line. Additional information about this information collection
is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information
Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
Consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force
established pursuant to E.O. 13991 of January 20, 2021, Protecting the
Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing, and E.O. 14043 of
September 9, 2021, Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for
Federal Employees, the request for this collection of information is
essential to implement the USPTO health and safety measures regarding
the 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 E.O.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
COVID-19 Vaccine Supplemental Medical Provider Statement is necessary
for USPTO to determine legal exemptions to the vaccine requirement
under the Rehabilitation Act.
The vaccination requirement issued pursuant to E.O. 14043, is
currently the subject of a nationwide injunction. While that injunction
remains in place, USPTO will not process requests for a medical
exception from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O.
14043. USPTO will also not request the submission of any medical
information related to a request for an exception from the vaccination
requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 while the injunction remains in
place. But USPTO may nevertheless receive information regarding a
medical exception. That is because, if USPTO 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, USPTO will accept the
request, hold it in abeyance, and notify the employee 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 exception from
the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 is not
undertaken to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination
requirement.
II. Method of Collection
USPTO utilizes its USPTO Accommodation Point for employees to
request accommodations. The individual responder/medical service
provider will fill out the required fields of the form and submit the
completed form to the appropriate USPTO personnel/employee requesting
the accommodation. A link to this form or a PDF version may be emailed
to respondents who will then print it out to complete it manually or
complete it electronically. USPTO will continue to explore options to
use technology to reduce the burden on respondents.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0651-0087.
Forms:
USPTO-OEEOD Form 303 (COVID-19 Vaccine Supplemental
Medical Provider Statement)
Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved
information collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 150 respondents.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 150 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses
in this information collection will take the public approximately 10
minutes (0.167 hours) to complete. This includes the time to gather the
necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed
request to the USPTO.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 25 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Hourly Cost Burden: $2,557.
[[Page 16721]]
Table 1--Total Burden Hours and Hourly Costs to Respondents
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Estimated
Estimated Estimated Estimated Estimated time for Estimated Rate ($/ Annual
Item No. Item annual responses per annual response (hour) burden (hour/ hour) respondent
respondents respondent responses year) cost burden
(a) (b) (a) x (b) = (d)................ (c) x (d) = (f) (e) x (f) =
(c) (e) (g)
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1................... COVID-19 Vaccine 150 1 150 0.167 (10 minutes). 25 $103.06 $2,577
Supplemental
Medical Provider
Statement.
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Totals........ 150 .............. 150 ................... 25 .......... 2,577
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Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $0. There
are no capital start-up, maintenance costs, recordkeeping costs, filing
fees, or postage costs associated with this information collection.
IV. Request for Comments
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility;
(b) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of
the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through 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.
All comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. USPTO will include or summarize each comment in the
request to OMB to approve this information collection. Before including
an address, phone number, email address, or other personally
identifiable information (PII) in a comment, be aware that the entire
comment-- including PII--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask in your comment to withhold PII from public view,
USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
Kimberly Hardy,
Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative
Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-06333 Filed 3-23-22; 8:45 am]
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