[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18397-18398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06716]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Labor-Management Standards
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Notice of Employee Rights Under National Labor
Relations Act Complaint Process
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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AGENCY: Office of Labor-Management Standards, Labor.
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
the DOL is soliciting public comments regarding the proposed extension
of this Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)-sponsored
information collection for the authority to continue the information
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Notice of Employee Rights under
National Labor Relations Act Complaint Process,'' currently approved
under OMB Control Number 1245-0004.
DATES: Consideration will be given to all written comments received by
May 31, 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 Karen Torre at (202) 693-0123 (this is not a toll-free
number), or (800) 877-8339 (TTY/TDD).
Electronic submission: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at [email protected], identified by OMB Control Number
1245-0004.
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: Karen Torre, Chief of the Division of
Interpretations and Regulations, Office of Labor-Management Standards,
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5609,
Washington, DC 20210, by telephone at (202) 693-0123 (this is not a
toll-free number), (800) 877-8339 (TTY/TDD), or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: President Barack Obama signed Executive
Order 13496 (E.O. 13496) on January 30, 2009, requiring certain
Government contractors and subcontractors to post notices informing
their employees of their rights as employees under Federal labor laws.
The Order also provides the text of contractual provisions that Federal
Government contracting departments and agencies must include in every
Government contract, except for collective bargaining agreements and
contracts for purchases under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.
OLMS administers the enforcement provisions of Executive Order 13496,
while the compliance evaluation and investigatory provisions are
handled by the Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs (OFCCP), pursuant to the Order's implementing regulatory
provisions (29 CFR part 471). Complaints can be filed with both
agencies.
The Department seeks extension of the current approval to collect
this information. An extension is necessary because if this information
collection is not conducted, E.O. 13496 could not be enforced through
the complaint procedure.
E.O. 13496 advances the Administration's goal of promoting economy
and efficiency of Federal government procurement by ensuring that
workers employed in the private sector as a result of Federal
government contracts are informed of their rights to engage in union
activity and collective bargaining. Knowledge of such basic statutory
rights promotes stable labor-management relations, thus reducing costs
to the Federal government.
The contractual provisions require contractors and subcontractors
to post a notice, created by the Secretary of Labor, informing
employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The
notice also provides a statement of the policy of the United States to
encourage collective bargaining, as well as a list of activities that
are illegal under the Act. The notice concludes with a general
description of the remedies to which employees may be entitled if these
rights have been violated and contact information for further
information about those rights and remedies, as well as enforcement
procedures.
The clause also requires contractors to include the same clause in
their
[[Page 18398]]
nonexempt subcontracts and purchase orders, and describes generally the
sanctions, penalties, and remedies that may be imposed if the
contractor fails to satisfy its obligations under the Order and the
clause.
The regulatory provisions implementing E.O. 13496 (29 CFR part 471)
include the language of the required notices, and they explain posting
and contractual requirements, the complaint process, the investigatory
process, and sanctions, penalties, and remedies that may be imposed if
the contractor or subcontractor fails to comply with its obligations
under the Order. Specifically, 29 CFR part 471.11(c) sets forth the
procedures that the Department must use when accepting written
complaints alleging that a contractor doing business with the Federal
government has failed to post the notice required by the Executive
Order.
The Department continues to estimate a total of 10 respondents with
an equal amount of responses. Since the ICR was last approved in 2019,
the Department has received 1 complaint. The Department maintains the
estimate of 10 complaints for purposes of this renewal request. The
Department continues to estimate that it will take an employee 1.28
hours per complaint, for a total of 12.8, rounded to 13 hours.
Additionally, employees will incur costs of $0.62 per complaint in
capital/start-up costs ($0.58 for standard-sized, rectangular envelopes
postage in January 2022 \1\ + $0.03 for an envelope + $0.01 for paper)
for a total cost of $6.20. (Although employees will submit many if not
all complaints via email, the Department assumes, conservatively, that
it will receive all via mail.) The total cost for the estimated 10
complaints is therefore $6.20. There are no ongoing operation/
maintenance costs associated with this information collection.
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\1\ See: https://www.usps.com/business/prices.htm.
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Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a
matter of public record.
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-OLMS.
Type of Review: Extension.
Title of Collection: Notice of Employee Rights under National Labor
Relations Act Complaint Process.
OMB Control Number: 1245-0004.
Affected Public: Employees of Federal Contractors and
Subcontractors.
Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 10.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Estimated Number of Responses: 10.
Estimated Average Time per Response: 1.28 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 13 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $6.20.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A))
Dated: March 24, 2022.
Karen Torre,
Chief of the Division of Interpretations and Regulations.
[FR Doc. 2022-06716 Filed 3-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-86-P