[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22180-22181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06759]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0028]


Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for General Industry 
Standard; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to 
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for the 
information collection requirements specified in its Personal 
Protective Equipment (PPE) for General Industry Standard.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
May 28, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are 
listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through the website. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY 
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number OSHA-2009-0028 for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal 
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal 
information such as social security numbers and birthdates.
    For further information on submitting comments, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of the continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, the collection instruments are clearly understood, and 
OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et 
seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing 
information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational 
injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also 
requires that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon 
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce 
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of effort in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    Subpart I specify several paperwork requirements. The following 
sections describe who uses the information collected under each 
requirement, as well as how they use it.

Hazard Assessment and Verification

(Section 1910.132(d) & (g))
    Paragraph 1910.132(d)(1) and the Personal Fall Protection standard 
require that employers perform a hazard assessment of the workplace to 
determine whether hazards are present, or likely to be present, that 
make the use

[[Page 22181]]

of PPE necessary.\1\ Where such hazards are present, employers must 
select and have each affected worker use PPE that protects them from 
the identified hazards (section 1910.132(d)(1)(i)), and communicate PPE 
selection decisions to each affected worker (section 
1910.132(d)(1)(ii)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Section 1910.132 (g) specifies that the hazard assessment 
(29 CFR 1910.132(d)) requirements only apply to PPE for the eyes, 
face, head, feet, and hands. The final rule revised (29 CFR 1910.132 
(g)) to also apply the hazard assessment requirements to personal 
fall protection systems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Paragraph 1910.132(d)(2) requires that employers certify in writing 
they have performed the required hazard assessment. The certification 
must include the date, the name of the person certifying that the 
hazard assessment was conducted, and identification of the workplace 
evaluated (area or location). The Personal Fall Protection standard 
expands the hazard assessment requirement to personal fall protection 
systems (section 1910.132(g)).
    Conducting a PPE hazard assessment ensures that potential workplace 
hazards necessitating PPE use have been identified and that the PPE 
selected is appropriate for those hazards and the affected workers. 
Communicating information on PPE selection decisions to affected 
workers ensures they are aware that the PPE selected will protect them 
from the hazards that the assessment identified. The certification of 
the hazard assessment verifies that employers have conducted the 
required assessment.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions to 
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection, and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend the approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment 
(PPE) for General Industry standard. The agency is requesting a 
decrease in burden hours from 3,778,003 to 3,683,262, a difference of 
94,741 hours. The changes in the number of establishments using fall 
protection accounts for the net decrease in burden hours.
    OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for General Industry 
Standard.
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0205.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 2,421,683.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 2,347,415.
    Average Time per Response: Varies.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,683,262.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); if your comments, including 
attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA 
Docket Office at 202-693-1648. All comments, attachments, and other 
material must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket number for 
the ICR (OSHA-2009-0028). You may supplement electronic submissions by 
uploading document files electronically.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this 
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link.
    Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-
5627) for information about materials not available from the website, 
and for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this 
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 
(85 FR 58393).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 18, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-06759 Filed 3-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P