[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 87 (Friday, May 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36774-36775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09705]



[[Page 36774]]

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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, 
and Approvals

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or 
Severely Disabled operates as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission 
(Commission). This notice announces the Commission's intent to submit 
the Information Collection Request (``ICR'') described below to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval under applicable 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice provides an 
opportunity to interested members of the public and affected agencies 
to comment on a proposed Individual Employee Information form.

DATES: Submit comments on or before July 1, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments through www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Stewart, Compliance and 
Enforcement Attorney, Office of General Counsel, U.S. AbilityOne 
Commission, 355 E Street SW, Suite 325, Washington, DC 20024; 
telephone: (703) 254-6172; email: [email protected]. If you are 
deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access 
telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Overview of ICR: This notice pertains to an ICR the Commission 
intends to submit to OMB for approval of a form that an AbilityOne 
participating nonprofit agency employer will fill out to document 
relevant information for each of its employees whose work on an 
AbilityOne Procurement List contract is counted by the NPA as direct 
labor hours. These individuals are called ``Participating Employees.''
    This ICR is consistent with OMB regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, 
which implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These regulations require the Commission to 
provide an opportunity to interested members of the public and affected 
agencies to comment on information collection and recordkeeping 
activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)) such as those proposed to be 
implemented through this form.
    The Commission is responsible for implementing the Javits-Wagner-
O'Day (JWOD) Act, 41 U.S.C. 8501-8506. In doing so, the Commission 
oversees the AbilityOne Program, an employment program in which 
individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities provide 
products and services to Federal agencies, thereby creating employment 
opportunities for such individuals. The Commission maintains a 
Procurement List of mandatory source products and services provided by 
approximately 413 qualified nonprofit agencies (NPAs).
    This Participating Employee Information (PEI) form will collect 
data from qualified NPAs regarding Participating Employees in order to 
ensure the integrity and further the mission of the AbilityOne Program. 
This form will provide data on matters such as employee wages, the 
nature of Participating Employees' disabilities, what job supports and 
accommodations the Participating Employees are receiving, and a 
description of employee career development activities that are 
available to Participating Employees, if an NPA is currently providing 
such activities.
    The form described in this ICR is the second of three forms 
designed to modernize the Commission's information gathering efforts 
and align it with the Commission's Strategic Plan for FY2022 to FY2026, 
as well as with Commission regulations, including, inter alia, 41 CFR 
51-4.3.
    The Commission is also developing a new Policy 51.405 which will 
set forth an NPA's responsibility to provide Participating Employees 
with employee career development activities such as job 
individualizations and employee career plans. Although the requirements 
of Policy 51.405 will be implemented over time, this form will allow 
those NPAs that are already providing such employee career development 
activities to provide data on what they offer.
    A draft version of the PEI form is available at www.abilityone.gov.
    The PEI form will be filled out and submitted annually for each 
Participating Employee through an electronic system that will be 
established by the Central Nonprofit Agency for the use of the NPAs.
    The Commission estimates that it will take 45 minutes to complete 
the form. Information regarding employee wages and hours worked is 
currently maintained by each NPA in their payroll system. Information 
on the accommodations and job supports an individual employee is 
receiving is currently required by the predecessor form that is 
currently completed by the NPA for each direct labor employee who is 
blind or has a significant disability. The additional information 
regarding whether third parties have paid for or reimbursed the NPA for 
the provision of accommodations or job supports, or career development 
support, was not previously collected. However, information regarding 
the third-party provision of services and/or third party provision of 
funding for an individual should accessible from the employee's 
records, which the preparer will review to complete this form. In 
addition, the listing of multiple-choice text boxes on the proposed 
form is expected to streamline the process for providing this 
information.
    To calculate the burden for completion of the form in units of 
hours, the Commission multiplied the estimated total number of annual 
responses by 0.75. NPAs can assess the burden to their particular 
organization by multiplying the time by their total number of 
Participating Employees.
    The cost burden is based upon national average pay data from the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, using the May 2022 National 
Occupational Employment and Wage Estimate of $30.88 as the median 
hourly wage for a Human Resources Specialist (OC 13-1070). (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#11-0000) The table below represents 
the time and cost burden the Commission estimates this form will 
necessitate. The Commission believes that collecting this critical data 
will further the Program's mission and ultimately result in an 
expansion in opportunities for the individuals employed through the 
AbilityOne Program.

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                                                                                           Annual form burden
                          Number of NPAs                             Annual responses      (minutes/employee)      Total time burden   Annual form cost
                                                                       for this form             (hour)            for all employees   burden (dollars)
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413...............................................................             36,377                       .75           27,282.75         $842,491.32
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[[Page 36775]]

    With respect to this collection of information via the proposed 
form, the Commission welcomes comments on the following:
     The necessity to collect this information to support the 
Commission's mission and oversight responsibilities.
     Methodology to improve the accuracy of the estimated time 
burden, i.e., specific year-over-year employee turnover rates for NPAs 
or number of additional employee hires above turnovers, expressed as a 
percentage of the NPAs' total number of Participating Employees;
     Suggestions or methods to minimize the burdens associated 
with collecting the information described in this ICR.
    The proposed form is viewable at www.abilityone.gov.

Michael R. Jurkowski,
Director, Business Operations.
[FR Doc. 2024-09705 Filed 5-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P