[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 97 (Friday, May 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43435-43436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10806]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Furnishing Documents to the Secretary of Labor 
on Request Under Employee Retirement Income Security Act

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

[[Page 43436]]


DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency 
receives on or before June 17, 2024.

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: Michael Howell by telephone at 202-
693-6782, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior to the enactment of the Taxpayer 
Relief Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-34, August 5, 1997) (TRA '97), section 
104(a) of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) required 
administrators of employee benefit plans automatically to file the 
plan's summary plan description (SPD) and any summaries of material 
modification (SMMs) with the Secretary of the Department of Labor (the 
Department). TRA '97 eliminated the requirement that these documents be 
filed automatically with the Department, but added ERISA section 
104(a)(6), requiring a plan administrator to furnish documents related 
to an employee benefit plan to the Department upon request. The 
requirement that administrators furnish the Department requested plan 
documents other than SPDs and SMMs was part of section 104(a) prior to 
enactment of TRA '97; that requirement was moved by TRA '97 to section 
104(a)(6) and consolidated with the new furnishing requirement 
pertaining to SPDs and SMMs.
    Pursuant to the regulation, the Department requests documents under 
section 104(a)(6) when a participant or beneficiary has previously 
requested the documents directly from the plan administrator and the 
administrator has failed or refused to provide them. The Department 
therefore uses the requested information to respond to participants' 
requests to the Department for documents that the participants were 
unable to obtain from their plan administrators. For additional 
substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice 
published in the Federal Register on August 25, 2023 (88 FR 58312).
    Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid 
OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions 
of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to 
comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid 
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for 
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than 
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive 
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Furnishing Documents to the Secretary of Labor 
on Request Under Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 
104(a)(6).
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0112.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,181.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 1,181.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 53 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $826.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))

Michael Howell,
Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2024-10806 Filed 5-16-24; 8:45 am]
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