[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24304-24305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08754]


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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS


Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection 
Renewal; Comment Request for OGE Form 319 Request for a Medical 
Exception to the Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: After publication of this second round notice, the Office of 
Government Ethics (OGE) plans to request that the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) renew its approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
for an existing information collection, entitled the OGE Form 319 
Request for a Medical Exception to the Covid-19 Vaccination 
Requirement. The form was originally granted emergency clearance on 
November 19, 2021.

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: Jennifer Matis at the U.S. Office of 
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9216; TTY: 800-877-8339; Email: 
[email protected]. A copy of the form may be obtained, without charge, by 
contacting Jennifer Matis.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Request for a Medical Exception to the Covid-19 Vaccination 
Requirement.
    Agency Form Number: OGE Form 319.
    Abstract: The OGE Form 319 collects information necessary to 
document the consideration, decision, and implementation of OGE 
employee requests for reasonable accommodation from the COVID 
vaccination requirement set forth in Executive Order 14043, Requiring 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees (Sept. 9, 
2021).
    OMB Control Number: 3209-0011.
    Type of Information Collection: Extension of a currently approved 
collection.
    Type of Review Request: Regular.
    Affected public: Medical providers who are asked to provide 
documentation in support of an employee's request for a medical 
exception to the requirement for COVID-19 vaccination.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 1 (based on an estimate of 
five respondents over a ten year period, rounded up).
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden (in dollars): 17.
    A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on this information collection was published on February 10, 
2022 (87 FR 7838). OGE received one response to that notice. The 
comment did not address the substance of information collection; it 
opposed it on the basis of the outstanding injunction against 
implementation of the vaccination requirement issued pursuant to E.O. 
14043. As noted in the first notice and again below, OGE will not 
process requests for a medical exception or request the submission of 
any medical information related to a request for an exception pursuant 
to E.O. 14043 while the injunction remains in place. But OGE may 
nevertheless receive information regarding a medical exception. 
Therefore, clearance of the information collection is necessary.
    Request for Comments: OGE is publishing this second round notice of 
its intent to request paperwork clearance renewal for the OGE Form 319. 
Public comment is invited specifically on the need for and practical 
utility of this information collection, the accuracy of OGE's burden 
estimate, the enhancement of quality, utility and clarity of the 
information collected, and the minimization of burden (including the 
use of information technology). Comments received in response will 
become a matter of public record.
    A Notice Regarding Injunctions: The vaccination requirement issued 
pursuant to E.O. 14043 is currently the subject of a nationwide 
injunction. While that injunction remains in place, OGE will not 
process requests for a medical exception from the COVID-19 vaccination 
requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043. OGE 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 OGE may nevertheless receive 
information regarding a medical exception. That is because, if OGE 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, OGE 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

[[Page 24305]]

undertaken to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination 
requirement.

    Approved: April 20, 2022.
Emory Rounds,
Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2022-08754 Filed 4-22-22; 8:45 am]
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