[Federal Register: November 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 220)]
[Notices]
[Page 64219-64221]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15no07-67]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information collection--new: Demographic Information
on Applicants for Federal Employment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.
L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (Commission or EEOC) announces that it intends to submit to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to approve a new
information collection as described below.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before
January 14, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to Stephen Llewellyn,
Executive Officer, Executive Secretariat, Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, 10th Floor, 1801 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20507. As a
convenience to commentators, the Executive Secretariat will accept
comments transmitted by facsimile (``FAX'') machine. The telephone
number of the FAX receiver is (202) 663-4114. (This is not a toll-free
number.) Only comments of six or fewer pages will be accepted via FAX
transmittal. This limitation is necessary to assure access to the
equipment. 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) 663-4070 (voice) or (202) 663-4074
(TTD). (These are not toll-free telephone numbers.) You may also submit
comments and attachments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov,
which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online
for submitting comments. Copies of comments submitted by the public
will be available to review at the Commission's library, Room 6502,
1801 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20507 between the hours of 9:30 a.m.
and 5 p.m. or can be reviewed at http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heidi Schandler, Affirmative
Employment Division, Federal Sector Programs, Office of Federal
Operations, 1801 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20507, (202) 663-4416
(voice); (202) 663-7208 (TTD). This notice is available in the
following formats: Braille, audio tape, and electronic file on computer
disk. Requests for this notice in an alternative format should be made
to the Publications Center at 1-800-699-3362.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the
Rehabilitation Act and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Pursuant to its authority under those statutes, EEOC issued Equal
Employment Opportunity Management Directive 715 (MD-715) to provide
policy guidance and standards for establishing and maintaining
effective affirmative programs of equal employment opportunity under
Section 717 of Title VII and effective affirmative action programs
under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. MD-715 applies to all
executive agencies and military departments (except uniformed members)
as defined in Sections 102 and 105 of Title 5 U.S.C. (including those
with employees and applicants for employment who are paid from
nonappropriated funds), the United States Postal Service, the Postal
Rate Commission, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Smithsonian
Institution, and those units of the judicial branch of the federal
government having positions in the competitive service.
The overriding objective of MD-715 is to ensure that all employees
and applicants for employment enjoy equality of opportunity in the
federal workplace regardless of race, color, sex, age, national origin,
religion or disability. In order to ensure that agencies proactively
prevent potential discrimination before it occurs and establish systems
to monitor compliance with Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act, MD-715
requires agencies to evaluate their employment practices by collecting
and analyzing data on the race, national origin, sex and disability
status of applicants for both permanent and temporary employment. See
also 29 CFR Part 1607 (Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
Procedures). This notice concerns an optional form for the use of
federal agencies in gathering data on the race, national origin, sex
and disability status of applicants, which constitutes a collection of
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter
35, and OMB regulation 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), the Commission solicits
public comment on its proposed optional form for use by federal
agencies in gathering demographic information on applicants for federal
employment. Comments are particularly invited on whether this
collection of information will enable the Commission and federal
agencies to:
Evaluate whether the proposed data collection tool will
have practical utility by enabling a federal agency to determine
whether recruitment activities are effectively reaching all segments of
the relevant labor pool in compliance with the laws enforced by the
Commission and whether the agency's selection procedures allow all
applicants to compete on a level playing field regardless of race,
national origin, sex or disability status;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
applicants for federal employment who choose 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.
The remainder of this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section provides
the public with information it will need to comment on the EEOC
proposal. It contains an overview of the information collection and the
proposed form that
[[Page 64220]]
agencies can use to collect the demographic information on persons who
apply for federal employment.
The Demographic Information on Applicants form is designed to
enable federal agencies to evaluate their employment practices by
collecting and analyzing data on the race, national origin, sex and
disability status of applicants for both permanent and temporary
employment. Use of the form is not required. Federal agencies may or
may not elect to use the form. Applicants for federal employment may or
may not elect to complete the form.
Background: Under the provisions of Title VII and the
Rehabilitation Act, the Commission is charged with ensuring that
federal agencies proactively prevent potential discrimination before it
occurs. Pursuant to such oversight responsibilities, the Commission has
established systems to monitor compliance with Title VII and the
Rehabilitation Act by requiring federal agencies to evaluate their
employment practices through the collection and analysis of data on the
race, national origin, sex and disability status of applicants for both
permanent and temporary employment.
While several federal agencies (or components of such agencies)
have obtained OMB approval for the use of forms collecting data on the
race, national origin, sex and disability status of applicants, it is
not an efficient use of government resources for each federal agency to
separately seek OMB approval. Accordingly, in order to avoid
unnecessary duplication of effort and a proliferation of forms, the
EEOC seeks approval of a form which can be used by any agency which so
desires. Use of the proposed form is optional; an agency is free to
develop and seek OMB approval of an agency-specific form should the
agency so desire.
Response by applicants is optional. The information obtained will
be used by federal agencies only for evaluating whether an agency's
recruitment activities are effectively reaching all segments of the
relevant labor pool and whether the agency's selection procedures allow
all applicants to compete on a level playing field regardless of race,
national origin, sex or disability status. The voluntary responses are
treated in a highly confidential manner and play no part in the
selection of who is hired. The information is not provided to any panel
rating the applications, to selecting officials, to anyone who can
affect the application or to the public. Rather, the information is
used in summary form to determine trends over many selections within a
given occupational or organization area. No information from the form
is entered into an official personnel file.
Burden Statement: In August 2005, the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) announced that it had submitted a revised ``Optional
Application for Federal Employment OF 612'' to OMB to collect applicant
qualifications information associated with vacancy announcements for
federal positions and the specifications of the improved resume builder
in the USAJOBS Web site. See 70 FR 44699 (August 3, 2005). Noting the
``dramatic upsurge in responses * * * in the Federal application
process and the advancement of technology to provide for online
application, [and the] increased interest by job seekers in Federal
employment,'' OPM estimated the number of respondents for the OF 612 at
245,000 and estimated the number of respondents for the resume builder
at 3,510,600.
According to the OPM, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, Government-wide,
there was a total of 237,525 new hires by federal agencies (excluding
agencies not included in the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF), such
as the United States Postal Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority)
and a total of 12,013 employees who transferred to other federal
agencies. See OPM's FedScope tool for Human Resources Data at: http://www.fedscope.opm.gov/accessions.asp
.
Because no federal agency is required to use this form and because
responses by applicants are optional, it is not possible to accurately
forecast the number of responses and the public reporting burden for
the collection of the data. For purposes of this submission, the EEOC
has chosen to calculate its initial estimate of the burden hours based
upon the highest feasible number based upon OPM's estimated number of
respondents utilizing the USAJOBS Federal employment information
system.
Because of the increasing use of online application systems, which
require only pointing and clicking on the selected responses, and
because the form requests only six questions regarding basic
information, the EEOC estimates that an applicant can complete the form
in approximately 3 minutes.
Overview of This Information Collection
Collection Title: Demographic Information on Applicants.
OMB Control No.: None.
Description of Affected Public: Individuals submitting applications
for federal employment.
Number of Responses: 3,510,600.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 3 minutes.
Total Burden Hours: 175,530 [(3,510,600 x 3)/60].
Federal Cost: None.
Form--DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS
Vacancy Announcement No.:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Position Title and Grade:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Name (Last, First, Middle Initial):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Privacy Is Protected
This information is used to determine if our recruitment efforts
are reaching all segments of the population, consistent with Federal
equal employment opportunity laws. Your voluntary responses are treated
in a highly confidential manner. Your responses are not released to the
panel rating the applications, to the selecting official, to anyone
else who can affect your application, or to the public. No information
taken from this form is ever placed in your Personnel file. This is
vital information not available from any other source. We can only get
it directly from you. Thank you for helping us to provide better
service.
1. How did you learn about this position? (Check One):
1. Agency Internet Site recruitment.
2. Private Employment Web Site.
3. Other Internet Site.
4. Poster.
5. Newspaper.
6. Magazine.
7. TV/Radio.
8. Student association.
9. Private Employment Office.
10. State Employment Office.
11. Federal, state, or local Job Information Center.
12. Agency Human Resources Department (bulletin board or other
announcement).
13. Agency or other Federal government on campus.
14. Religious organization.
15. School or college counselor or other official.
16. Job Fair (give location: --------).
17. Friend or relative working for this agency.
18. State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.
19. Professional organization or publication.
20. Other.
2. Sex (Check One):
[[Page 64221]]
1. Male
2. Female
3. Ethnicity (Check One):
1. Hispanic or Latino--a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican,
South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin,
regardless of race.
2. Not Hispanic or Latino
4. Race (Check all that apply):
1. American Indian or Alaskan Native--a person having origins in
any of the original peoples of North or South America (including
Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community
attachment.
2. Asian--a person having origins in any of the original peoples of
the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including,
for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan,
the Philippine Islands, Thailand, or Vietnam.
3. Black or African American--a person having origins in any of the
black racial groups of Africa.
4. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander--a person having
origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other
Pacific islands.
5. White--a person having origins in any of the original peoples of
Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Under the Rehabilitation Act (Act), information on your disability
status is used solely in connection with affirmative action obligations
or efforts. Self-identification of your disability status is voluntary.
The information will be kept confidential in accordance with the Act
provisions and the information will be used only in accordance with the
Act. A refusal to provide the information will not subject you to any
adverse treatment.
5. Do you have any physical or mental disabilities?
1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Do not wish to respond.
If yes, do you have a targeted disability? Check all that apply:*
1. Deaf (Total deafness in both ears, with or without
understandable speech).
2. Blind (Inability to read ordinary size print, not correctable by
glasses or no useable vision beyond light perception).
3. Missing extremities (Missing one arm or leg or missing two or
more hands, arms, feet, or legs).
4. Partial paralysis (Loss of ability to move or use a part of the
body, including hands, arms, legs, and/or trunk).
5. Complete paralysis.
6. Seizure/convulsive disorder (e.g., epilepsy).
7. Intellectual Disorder/Mental retardation (A chronic and lifetime
condition certifiable under Schedule A).
8. Psychiatric Disorder or a history of treatment for mental or
emotional illness.
9. Severe distortion of limbs and/or spine (e.g., dwarfism;
kyphosis, etc.).
*Descriptions based on Standard Form 256.
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
Privacy Act Information: This information is provided pursuant to
Public Law 93-579 (``Privacy Act of 1974''), for individuals completing
Federal records and forms that solicit personal information. The
authority is Title 5 of the U.S. Code, sections 1302, 3301, 3304, and
7201. Purpose and Routine Uses: No individual data is ever provided to
selecting officials. This form will only be seen by HR Personnel and
Equal Employment Opportunity officials. Data summarizing all applicants
for a position will be used to determine if we are effectively
recruiting from all segments of the population, in conformance with the
requirements of Federal equal employment opportunity laws. Only summary
data is reported, and only in a format which can not be broken out by
individual applicants. Effects of Nondisclosure: Providing this
information is voluntary. No individual personnel selections are made
based on this information.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: The Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.,) requires us to inform you that this
information is being collected for planning and assessing affirmative
employment program initiatives. Response to this request is voluntary.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently
valid OMB Control Number. The estimated burden of completing this form
is three (3) minutes, including the time for reviewing instructions.
Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of
this form to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Affirmative
Employment Division, Federal Sector Programs, 1801 L St., NW.,
Washington, DC 20507 and to the Office of Management and Budget, Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503.
Dated: November 5, 2007.
For the Commission.
Naomi C. Earp,
Chair.
[FR Doc. E7-22242 Filed 11-14-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6570-01-P