[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 112 (Monday, June 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38047-38049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12412]


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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Renewal Without Change 
of Existing Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.


ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) 
announces that it intends to submit to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) a request for a three-year extension without change of the 
existing information collection described below. The Commission is 
seeking comment on the proposed renewal.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before 
August 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods--
please use only one method:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions on the website for submitting comments.
    Mail: Comments may be submitted by mail to Raymond Windmiller, 
Executive Officer, Executive Secretariat, Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, 131 M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507.
    Fax: Comments totaling six or fewer pages can be sent by facsimile 
(``fax'') machine to (202) 663-4114 (this is not a toll-free number). 
Receipt of fax transmittals will not be acknowledged, except that the 
sender may request confirmation of receipt by calling the Executive 
Secretariat staff at (202) 921-2815 (voice) (this is not a toll-free 
number) or 800-669-6820 (TTY).
    Instructions: All comments received must include the agency name 
and docket number. All comments received will be posted without change 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. However, the EEOC reserves the right to refrain from posting 
libelous or otherwise inappropriate comments, including those that 
contain obscene, indecent, or profane language; that contain threats or 
defamatory statements; that contain hate speech directed at race, 
color, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, or genetic 
information; or that promote or endorse services or products.
    Copies of comments received are also available for review at the 
Commission's library. Copies of comments received in response to this 
notice will be made available for viewing by appointment only at 131 M 
Street NE, Suite 4NW08R, Washington, DC 20507. Members of the public 
may schedule an appointment by sending an email to the following 
address: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Oram, Assistant Legal 
Counsel, (202) 921-2665 and [email protected], or Ashley T. Adams, 
General Attorney, (202) 921-2697 and [email protected], Office of 
Legal Counsel, 131 M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507. Requests for this 
notice in an alternative format should be made to the Office of 
Communications and Legislative Affairs at (202) 663-4191 (voice) or 
(202) 663-4494 (TTY).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act 
(ADEA) allows for individuals to waive rights and claims protected 
under the Act, provided certain circumstances are met; particularly 
that the waiver is knowing and voluntary. In order for an individual's 
waiver in connection with a program to be considered knowing and 
voluntary, the employer must inform the individual in writing in a 
manner calculated to be understood by the average individual eligible 
to participate, as to (i) any class, unit, or group of individuals 
covered by such program, any eligibility factors for such program, and 
any time limits applicable to such program; and (ii) the job titles and 
ages of all individuals eligible or selected for the program, and the 
ages of all individuals in the same job classification or 
organizational unit who are not eligible or selected for the program. 
The EEOC's regulations clarify that the relevant section of the ADEA 
addresses two principal issues: to whom information must be provided, 
and what information must be disclosed to such individuals. The purpose 
of the informational requirements is to provide an employee with enough 
information regarding the program to allow an employee to make an 
informed choice whether or not to sign a waiver agreement. The employer 
does not provide this information to the EEOC; the ADEA and the EEOC's 
regulation solely require that the employer provide this information to 
any employee it would apply to, and not to the Federal government.
    The EEOC, in accordance with the PRA and OMB regulation 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)(1), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections 
of information. This helps the EEOC to assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public to understand the EEOC's information 
collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired 
format. The EEOC is soliciting comments on the information collection 
that is described below. The EEOC is especially interested in public 
comment that will assist the EEOC in the following: (1) Evaluating 
whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the Commission's functions, including whether the 
collection has practical utility; (2) Evaluating the accuracy of the 
Commission's estimate of the burden of the collection of information, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) 
Enhancing the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (4) Minimizing the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses. Please note that written 
comments received in response to this notice will be considered public 
records.

[[Page 38048]]

Overview of This Information Collection

    Collection title: Waivers of Rights and Claims Under the ADEA; 
Informational Requirements.
    OMB number: 3046-0042.
    Type of Respondent: Business, state or local governments, not for 
profit institutions.
    Description of affected public: Any employer with 20 or more 
employees that seeks waiver agreements in connection with exit 
incentive or other employment termination program.
    Number of respondents: 1,489.
    Burden Hours per Respondent: 16.19.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 24,1067.
    Number of forms: 0.
    Abstract: The EEOC enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment 
Act (ADEA), which prohibits discrimination against employees and 
applicants for employment who are age 40 or older. The OWBPA, enacted 
in 1990, amended the ADEA to require employers to disclose certain 
information to employees (but not to EEOC) in writing when they ask 
employees to waive their rights under the ADEA in connection with an 
exit incentive program or other employment termination program. The 
regulation at 29 CFR 1625.22 reiterates those disclosure requirements. 
The EEOC seeks an extension without change for the third-party 
disclosure requirements contained in this regulation.
    Burden statement: In 2016, the EEOC conducted a limited survey as 
the foundation for estimating the burden hours per Respondent. The 
estimated burden hours per Respondent are a combination of the 
estimated hours to create an ADEA waiver and the estimated hours to 
distribute an ADEA waiver to employees as part of an exit incentive 
program or other employment termination program. The goal of the 2016 
survey was to identify the actual costs of creating and distributing 
ADEA waivers and to better understand what type of employees were 
involved in this process. The EEOC learned that the human resource 
managers (both senior and junior) and legal counsel and staff (both 
internal and external counsel) carry most of the paperwork and human 
capital burden for drafting and distributing the waivers to employees.
    In sum, the burden hours for the creation of the ADEA waiver are 
estimated to be 8.25 per Respondent (i.e., employer), while burden 
hours for the distribution of the ADEA waiver are estimated to be 7.94 
per Respondent (i.e., employer). Thus, the total burden hours per 
Respondent (i.e., employer) is 16.19.
    The total annual burden hours for this information collection is 
calculated by multiplying the number of Respondents (i.e., employers) 
by the total burden hours per Respondent. Thus, the total burden hours 
for this information collection is 24,107 hours [1,489 Respondents x 
16.19 hours per Respondent].
    Per Table 1 and 2 below, EEOC found that the approximate cost of 
preparing the ADEA waiver notice is $384.36 per Respondent (i.e., 
employer), and the approximate cost of distributing the ADEA waiver 
notice is $390.88 per Respondent (i.e., employer). Thus, the total cost 
per Respondent is $775.24. For all 1,489 Respondents (i.e., employers) 
who are projected to have reductions in force and request waiver 
notices, the total preparation cost is $572,312.78, and the total 
distribution cost is $582,022.70. Thus, the total cost for all 1,489 
Respondents (i.e., employers) is $1,154,334.70 [$572,312.78 + 
$582,022.70]. Table 1 reflects the calculation of the costs of creating 
the ADEA waiver and Table 2 reflects the calculation of the costs of 
distribution of the ADEA waiver.

              Table 1--Computations Related to Preparing and Drafting ADEA Waiver Burden Estimate *
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                                                    Median wage      Projected
                                                    rate (hour)      hours per     Cost per firm    Total cost
                                                        \1\          employer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Respondents: 1489.....................
CLERICAL STAFF..................................          $19.08            0.11           $2.10       $3,125.11
SENIOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS..................           60.69            0.26           15.78       23,495.53
INTERNALCORPORATE LEGAL COUNSEL.................           61.54            2.23          137.23      204,341.72
EXTERNAL CORPORATE LEGAL COUNSEL................           61.54            2.00          123.08      183,266.12
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS........................           47.59            0.12            5.71        8,503.38
COMPUTER SPECIALIST (IT PROFESSIONAL)...........           27.84            0.42           11.69       17,410.58
HUMAN RESOURCE SPECIALIST.......................           29.95            1.61           48.22       71,798.84
PARALEGAL.......................................           27.03            1.50           40.55       60,371.51
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    SUB TOTAL...................................          335.26            8.25          384.36      572,312.78
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* Totals may not sum due to rounding.
\1\ Wage hour rates are based on 2021 Median Pay, the most recent year available, for the occupation indicated.
  They were obtained online from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook
  Handbook, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Accessed April 4, 2023.


                   Table 2--Computations Related to Distributing ADEA Waiver Burden Estimate *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Median wage      Projected
                                                    rate (hour)      hours per     Cost per firm    Total cost
                                                        \1\          employer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Respondents: 1489.....................
HUMAN RESOURCE SPECIALIST.......................          $29.95            0.27           $8.09      $12,040.80
CLERICAL STAFF..................................           19.08            0.50            9.54       14,205.06
SENIOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS..................           60.69            0.85           51.59       76,812.30
INTERNALCORPORATE LEGAL COUNSEL.................           61.54            2.08          128.00      190,596.76
EXT CORPORATE LEGAL COUNSEL.....................           61.54            2.00          123.08      183,266.12
PARALEGAL.......................................           27.03            1.50           40.55       60,371.51
PAYROLL SPECIALIST..............................           21.52            0.20            4.30        6,408.66
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES MANAGER.................           47.73            0.27           12.89       19,188.89
DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE............................           47.59            0.27           12.85       19,132.61
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 38049]]

 
    SUB TOTAL...................................          376.67            7.94          390.88      582,022.70
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Totals may not sum due to rounding.
\1\ Wage hour rates are based on 2021 Median Pay, the most recent year available, for the occupation indicated.
  They were obtained online from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook
  Handbook, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Accessed April 4, 2023.


    For the Commission.

    Dated: June 5, 2023.
Charlotte A. Burrows,
Chair, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-12412 Filed 6-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6570-01-P