[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72430-72431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19860]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
[OMB Control No. 1240-0001]
Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Statement of
Recovery
AGENCY: Division of Federal Employees' Longshore and Harbor Workers'
Compensation (OWCP/DFELHWC), Office of Workers' Compensation Programs,
Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance
request for comment to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed collections of information
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This request
helps to ensure that: requested data can be provided in the desired
format; reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized;
collection instruments are clearly understood; and the impact of
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Division of
Federal Employees' Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation, (OWCP/
DFELHWC) is soliciting comments on the information collection for the
Statement of Recovery, CA-1122 Short form, and for the Statement of
Recovery, CA-1108 Long Form.
DATES: All comments must be received on or before November 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comment as follows. Please note that late,
untimely filed comments will not be considered.
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments in the following
way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket, with no changes.
Because your comment will be made public, you are responsible for
ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential
information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such
as your or anyone else's Social Security number or confidential
business information.
If your comment includes confidential information that you
do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a
written/paper submission.
Written/Paper Submissions: Submit written/paper submissions in the
following way:
Mail/Hand Delivery: Mail or visit DOL-OWCP/DFELHWC, Office
of Workers' Compensation Programs, Division of Federal Employees'
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation, U.S. Department of Labor,
200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room S-3323, Washington, DC 20210.
OWCP/DFELHWC will post your comment as well as any
attachments, except for information submitted and marked as
confidential, in the docket at https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anjanette Suggs, Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs, Division of Federal Employees' Longshore, and
Harbor Workers' Compensation, OWCP/DFELHWC, at [email protected]
@dol.gov (email); (202) 354-9660.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Division of Federal Employees', Longshore and Harbor Workers'
Compensation (DFELHWC) administers the Federal Employees' Compensation
Act (FECA). A Federal employee who sustains a work-related injury is
entitled to receive compensation under the FECA. If that injury is
caused under circumstances that create a legal liability in a third
party to pay damages,
[[Page 72431]]
the FECA authorizes the Secretary of Labor to require the employee to
assign his or her right of action to the United States or prosecute the
action in his or her own name. See 5 U.S.C. 8131.
After identifying third-party claims through the claims process,
OWCP refers them to the Solicitor of Labor (SOL). SOL initiates Forms
CA-1108 and CA-1122 to determine the amount of the refund due to the
United States out of the proceeds of an action asserted by an injured
Federal employee against a liable third party for a compensable injury.
An injured federal employee who receives money or property from a
judgment or a settlement of the action must reimburse the United States
for past compensation payments. See 5 U.S.C. 8132. The formula in
section 8132 of the FECA must be used to calculate the reimbursement.
Section 8132 states that ``the beneficiary, after deducting therefrom
the costs of suit and a reasonable attorney's fee, shall refund to the
United States the amount of compensation paid by the United States and
credit any surplus on future payments of compensation payable to him
for the same injury.'' Therefore, to calculate the amount of the refund
due, employees must provide the amount of the settlement they received,
the amount of the costs of the suit, and the fees charged by the
attorney.
If the amount of the employee's recovery remaining after certain
deductions specified in the statute exceeds the amount of OWCP's
disbursements, the surplus must be credited against future payments of
compensation, because the FECA mandates that the employee ``shall
refund to the United States the amount of compensation paid by the
United States and credit any surplus on future payments of
compensation.'' 5 U.S.C. 8132.
To enforce the United States' statutory right to reimbursement, the
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) has promulgated
regulations. The regulations require a FECA beneficiary to report these
types of payments (20 CFR 10.710) and submit the detailed information
necessary to calculate the amount of the refund and surplus, if any,
according to the formula in the statute. (20 CFR 10.707(e)).
The information collected by Form CA-1108 and Form CA-1122 from the
FECA beneficiary includes this information and is necessary to
calculate the amount of the refund and surplus owed to the United
States from the FECA beneficiary's settlement or judgment, as required
in the statute and the regulations.
See: http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/regs/statutes/feca.htm#8131,
http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/regs/statutes/feca.htm#8132, https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=c131552afa82be329e42e2c9d62a41c8&rgn=div5&view=text&node=20:1.0.1.2.2&idno=20#se20.1.10_1707.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
OWCP/DFELHWC is soliciting comments concerning the proposed
information collection related to the Statement of Recovery. OWCP/
DFELHWC is particularly interested in comments that:
Evaluate whether the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency,
including whether the information has practical utility;
Evaluate the accuracy of OWCP/DFELHWC's estimate of the
burden related to the information collection, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used in the estimate;
Suggest methods to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the information collection on those
who are to respond, including through 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.
Background documents related to this information collection request
are available at https://regulations.gov and at DOL-OWCP/DFELHWC
located at 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room S-3323, Washington, DC 20210.
Questions about the information collection requirements may be directed
to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this notice.
III. Current Actions
This information collection request concerns the Statement of
Recovery, Long Form CA-1108 and Short Form CA-1122. OWCP/DFELHWC has
updated the data with respect to the number of respondents, responses,
burden hours, and burden costs supporting this information collection
request from the previous information collection request.
Type of Review: Extension, without change, of a currently approved
collection.
Agency: Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Division of
Federal Employees' Longshore, and Harbor Workers' Compensation, OWCP/
DFELHWC.
OMB Number: 1240-0001.
Affected Public: Private Sector--Business or other For-profits.
Number of Respondents: 1,392.
Frequency: On Occasion.
Number of Responses: 1,392.
Annual Burden Hours: 640 hours.
Annual Respondent or Recordkeeper Cost: $32.00.
OWCP/DFELHWC 1240-0001: OWCP/DFELHWC Statement of Recovery Forms.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized in
the request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the
proposed information collection request; they will become a matter of
public record and will be available at https://www.reginfo.gov.
Anjanette Suggs,
Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-19860 Filed 9-4-24; 8:45 am]
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