[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 69 (Monday, April 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 21107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07703]



[[Page 21107]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DoD-2022-OS-0010]


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
Readiness (OUSD(P&R)), Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: 30-Day information collection notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance 
the following proposal for collection of information under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by May 11, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Duncan, 571-372-7574, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Armed Forces Workplace and 
Equal Opportunity Survey; OMB Control Number 0704-WEOS.
    Type of Request: Regular.
    Number of Respondents: 62,100.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 62,100.
    Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 31,050 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The statutory requirements direct the DoD to 
conduct surveys to solicit information on racial and ethnic issues, 
including issues relating to harassment, discrimination, and the 
climate in the Armed Forces for forming professional relationships 
among members of various racial and ethnic groups. Specifically, 
surveys conducted under Title 10 U.S.C. 481 shall be conducted to 
solicit information on the following:
     Indicators of positive and negative trends for 
professional and personal relationships among members of all racial and 
ethnic groups.
     The effectiveness of DoD policies designed to improve 
relationships among all racial and ethnic groups.
     The effectiveness of current processes for complaints on, 
and investigations into, racial and ethnic discrimination.
    Moreover, in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as 
modified by the 2021 NDAA, the DoD was further directed to conduct a 
survey to assess whether or not military members witnessed or 
experienced extremism in their workplace, as well as whether or not 
those experiences were reported. To reduce survey burden, the 
Department identified the Workplace and Equal Opportunity (WEO) survey 
as the most appropriate existing survey vehicle to collect this 
information. As such, the 2022 WEO survey will be the first survey to 
collect and report on this new statutory requirement. Prior to 
including the new exposure to extremism metric on the 2022 WEO, the 
Department engaged in a year-long robust metric development and 
validation study to ensure results are collected consistently, and also 
to ensure results accurately measure the experiences required by law 
and IAW DoDI 1325.06 which define prohibited extremist activities for 
military members. The statutory and policy requirements for the WEO can 
be found in the following:

 FY03 NDAA
 FY20 NDAA, Section 593
 FY21 NDAA, Section 553
 10 U.S.C., Section 481
 10 U.S.C., Section 136
 10 U.S.C., Section 1782
 10 U.S.C., Section 2358
 DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1100.13, ``Surveys of DoD Personnel''
 DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1350.02, ``DoD Military Equal 
Opportunity Program''
 Immediate Actions to Improve Diversity & Inclusion (Esper, 
2020)

    Overall, the results of the survey will assess progress, identify 
shortfalls, and revise policies and programs as needed, related to 
issues directly affecting military members. Data from this survey will 
be presented to the OUSD(P&R), Congress, and DoD policy and program 
offices to assess and improve policies, programs, practices, and 
training related to racial/ethnic relations in the Armed Forces 
informed by current and statistically reliable information. Analysis 
will include the Office of People Analytics' standard products: An 
executive report highlighting key findings, a trends/tabulations report 
(a set of relative frequency distributions of each question, and cross-
tabulations of survey questions by key stratifying variables), briefing 
slides, and a statistical methodology report. Ad hoc analyses requested 
by the policy office sponsors and other approved organizations may be 
conducted and published as needed and based on available staff.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Biennially.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Jasmeet Seehra.
    You may also submit comments and recommendations, identified by 
Docket ID number and title, by the following method:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, Docket ID number, and title for this Federal Register document. 
The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of 
the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on 
the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.
    DoD Clearance Officer: Ms. Angela Duncan.
    Requests for copies of the information collection proposal should 
be sent to Ms. Duncan at [email protected].

    Dated: April 4, 2022.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2022-07703 Filed 4-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P