[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24349-24350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08671]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment 
Request; Medical Exception Request

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of request for extension of OMB approval of information 
collection.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting 
that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, without 
change, under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), of a collection of 
information for its employees to request a medical exception to the 
COVID-19 vaccination requirement.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by May 25, 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.
    A copy of the request will be posted on PBGC's website at https://www.pbgc.gov/prac/laws-and-regulation/federal-register-notices-open-for-comment. It may also be obtained without charge by writing to the 
Disclosure Division of the Office of the General Counsel of PBGC, 1200 
K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026; or, calling 202-229-4040 during 
normal business hours. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay 
services.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Rifkin 
([email protected]), Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, 
Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026; 202-229-6563. If you are 
deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 
to access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Executive Order 14043, every Federal 
agency must ``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.'' In following this 
directive, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) imposed a 
requirement that its employees must receive and submit proof of a 
COVID-19 vaccination. As required by 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. and 29 CFR 
part 1630, PBGC allows an exception from the vaccination requirement 
for employees who demonstrate medical reasons or disabilities that 
would make the COVID-19 vaccine unsafe for them. To obtain this 
exception, employees must complete the Request for Medical Exception to 
COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement form. PBGC uses the information on 
this form to verify employees' assertions that they are entitled to an 
exception to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement because of their 
medical or disability statuses.
    The medical exception request collection of information has been 
approved by OMB under control number 1212-0075 (expires May 31, 2022). 
On February 14, 2022, PBGC published in the Federal Register (at 87 FR 
8303) a notice informing the public of its intent to request an 
extension of this collection of information. PBGC received one comment, 
and the commenter expressed support for the exemption, noting that some 
employees may have disabling conditions. PBGC is requesting that OMB 
extend approval of the collection for 3 years. An agency may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.
    PBGC estimates that an average of 2 employees each year will submit 
Request for Medical Exception to COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement 
forms. The total estimated annual burden of the collection of 
information is 0.5 hours and $0.

A Notice Regarding Injunctions

    As of the date that PBGC submitted this notice to the Federal 
Register, the vaccination requirement issued pursuant to E.O. 14043 is 
currently the subject of a nationwide injunction. While that injunction 
remains in place, PBGC will not process requests for a medical 
exception from the COVID-19

[[Page 24350]]

vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043. PBGC 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 PBGC may nevertheless 
receive information regarding a medical exception. That is because, if 
PBGC 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, PBGC 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Hilary Duke,
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2022-08671 Filed 4-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P