[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65065-65067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23419]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking 
public comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years 
the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for information 
collection requirements contained in the FTC's Consumer Product 
Warranty Rule (Warranty Rule or Rule). The current clearance expires on 
February 28, 2023.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 27, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Paperwork Reduction 
Act Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment, and file your 
comment online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment 
on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Basford, Attorney, Division of 
Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 
326-2343.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Rule Concerning Disclosure of Written Consumer Product 
Warranty Terms and Conditions.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0111.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The Warranty Rule is one of three rules \1\ that the FTC 
implemented pursuant to requirements of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 
15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq. (Warranty Act or Act).\2\ The Warranty Rule 
specifies the information that must appear in a written warranty on a 
consumer product \3\ costing more than $15. The Rule tracks Section 
102(a) of the Warranty Act,\4\ specifying information that must appear 
in the written warranty and, for certain disclosures, mandates the 
exact language that must be used.\5\ Neither the Warranty Rule nor the 
Act requires that a manufacturer or retailer warrant a consumer product 
in writing, but if they choose to do so, the warranty must comply with 
the Rule.
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    \1\ The other two rules relate to the pre-sale availability of 
warranty terms and minimum standards for informal dispute settlement 
mechanisms that are incorporated into a written warranty.
    \2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
    \3\ The definition of consumer product excludes products 
purchased solely for commercial or industrial use. 16 CFR 701.1(b).
    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 2302(a).
    \5\ 40 FR 60168, 60169-60170.
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    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 216,752 hours.
    Estimated Annual Labor Cost Burden: $29,652,215.
    As required by Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the 
information collection requirements contained in the Warranty Rule.
    Burden Statement:
    Total annual hours burden: 216,752 hours.
    In its 2019 submission to OMB, the FTC estimated that the 
information

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collection burden of including the disclosures required by the Warranty 
Rule was 242,296 hours per year. Although the Rule's information 
collection requirements have not changed, the current estimate 
decreases the number of manufacturers subject to the Rule based on 
recent Census data.\6\ Further, because most warrantors likely would 
continue to disclose the information required by the Rule, even if 
there were no statute or rule requiring them to do so, staff's 
estimates likely overstate the PRA-related burden attributable to the 
Rule. Moreover, the Warranty Rule has been in effect since 1976, and 
warrantors have long since modified their warranties to include the 
information the Rule requires.
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    \6\ The Number of Firms and Establishments, Employment, and 
Annual Payroll by State, Industry, and Enterprise Employment Size: 
2019, release date: 2/11/2022, available at http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/susb/technical-documentation/methodology.html.
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    Based on conversations with various warrantors' representatives 
over the years, staff has concluded that eight hours per year is a 
reasonable estimate of warrantors' PRA-related burden attributable to 
the Warranty Rule. This estimate includes the number of hours 
warrantors may need to ensure new warranties and any changes to 
existing warranties comply with the Rule. Based on recent Census data, 
staff now estimates that there are 27,094 manufacturers covered by the 
Rule.\7\ This results in an annual burden estimate of approximately 
216,752 hours (27,094 manufacturers x 8 hours of burden per year).
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    \7\ Because some manufacturers likely make products that are not 
priced above $15 or not intended for household use--and thus would 
not be subject to the Rule--this figure is likely an overstatement.
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    Total annual labor costs: $29,652,215.
    Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures 
to the burden hours described above. The work required to comply with 
the Warranty Rule--ensuring that new warranties and changes to existing 
warranties comply with the Rule--requires a mix of legal analysis 
(50%), legal support (paralegals) (25%) and clerical help (25%). Staff 
estimates that half of the total burden hours (108,376 hours) requires 
legal analysis at an average hourly wage of $250 for legal 
professionals,\8\ resulting in a labor cost of $27,094,000. Assuming 
that 25% of the total burden hours requires legal support at the 
average hourly wage of $28.46, and that the remaining 25% requires 
clerical work at an average hourly wage of $18.75; the resulting labor 
cost is approximately $2,558,215 ($1,542,190 + $1,016,025). Thus, the 
total annual labor cost is approximately $29,652,215 ($27,094,000 for 
legal professionals + $1,542,190 for legal support + $1,016,025 for 
clerical workers).
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    \8\ Staff has derived an hourly wage rate for legal 
professionals based upon industry knowledge. The hourly wage rates 
for legal support workers and for clerical support are based on mean 
hourly wages available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm (``Occupational Employment and Wages-May 2021,'' U.S. 
Department of Labor, released March 31, 2022, Table 1 (``National 
employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics 
survey by occupation, May 2021'').
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Total Capital and Start-Up Costs

    The Rule imposes no appreciable current capital or start-up costs 
that businesses do not already spend in the normal course of business. 
To comply with the Warranty Rule, warrantors need only the ordinary 
office equipment to draft new warranties and to change the wording of 
existing warranties to include the required disclosures. Thus, 
compliance requires no capital equipment or special technology apart 
from what the manufacturer or seller would already be using as part of 
the normal course of business, such as computer or other word 
processing equipment, and photocopying equipment. Similarly, 
distribution of the warranty does not impose any special capital costs 
apart from the packaging and printing equipment already in use by the 
business. It is not possible to state with any precision what fraction 
of the cost of that equipment could be attributed to distributing the 
warranty.

Total Operation/Maintenance/Purchase of Services Costs

    The only ongoing costs involved with compliance are those costs 
associated with maintenance and repair of computer word processing and 
photocopying equipment used to generate the warranty document that 
contains the required disclosures. These are costs that the seller or 
manufacturer already bears in the normal cost of business; it is 
unlikely that Warranty Rule compliance would impose significant 
incremental costs. Likewise, the cost of distributing warranty 
information involves such things as the purchase of supplies (such as 
paper), the maintenance of equipment, or the purchase of services to 
print, package, and distribute the warranty. These are costs that would 
be already built into the packaging and distribution of the product 
itself and which are already assumed as part of the normal course of 
business.

Request for Comments

    Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites 
comments on: (1) whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize 
the burden of maintaining records and providing disclosures to 
consumers. All comments must be received on or before December 27, 
2022.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before December 27, 2022. Write 
``Paperwork Reduction Act Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your 
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Due to the public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 
outbreak and the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail 
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We encourage you 
to submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov 
website.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment and on 
the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580; or deliver your comment 
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 
5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper 
comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will become publicly available at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure that 
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social 
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign

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country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or 
credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making 
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health 
information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable 
health information. In addition, your comment should not include any 
``trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . . 
is privileged or confidential'' --as provided by Section 6(f) of the 
FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--
including in particular competitively sensitive information such as 
costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, 
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, 
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the 
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and 
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has 
been posted publicly at www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove 
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the 
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General 
Counsel grants that request.
    The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit 
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before December 27, 
2022. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-23419 Filed 10-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P