[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53346-53347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21617]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Submission for OMB Emergency Review: Comment Request
August 24, 2010.
The Department of Labor has submitted the following (see below)
information collection request (ICR), utilizing emergency review
procedures, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and
clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA95) (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) and 5 CFR 1320.13. OMB
approval has been requested by September 16, 2010. A copy of this ICR,
with applicable supporting documentation, including among other things
a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of
responses, and estimated total burden may be obtained from the
RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or by
contacting Linda Watts-Thomas on 202-693-4223 (this is not a toll-free
number)/e-mail: [email protected]. Interested parties are
encouraged to send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Department of Labor--BLS,
Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503,
Telephone: 202-395-7314/Fax: 202-395-6974 (these are not toll-free
numbers), e-mail: [email protected]. Comments and questions
about the ICR listed below should be received 5 days
[[Page 53347]]
prior to the requested OMB approval date.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
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
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 submissions of responses.
Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Type of Review: Revision of currently approved collection.
Title of Collection: National Compensation Survey.
OMB Control Number: 1220-0164.
Affected Public: Private sector establishments and State and local
governments.
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Average
Total Frequency Total annual minutes per Burden hours
respondents responses response
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Private Sector............... 34,929 Annual........... 63,508 46.58 49,303
State and Local Governments.. 4,974 Annual........... 10,312 34.92 6,002
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Totals to NCS Program.... 39,904 ................. 73,820 .............. 55,305
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Total Burden Cost: (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost: (operating/maintenance): $0.
Description: The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is an ongoing
survey of earnings and benefits among private firms, State, and local
government. NCS is the integration of the sampling, collection, and
processing for the Employment Cost Index (ECI), the Employee Benefits
Survey (EBS), and the Locality Pay Surveys (LPS) into a single, unified
program of compensation statistics. This integration improves data for
policymakers and researchers, reduces respondent burden, improves the
utilization of BLS resources, and enhances the published measures of
compensation. Data from the integrated program include estimates of
wages by job levels covering broad groups of related occupations, and
data that directly links benefit plan costs with detailed plan
provisions. The integrated program's single sample also produces both
time-series indexes and cost levels for industry and occupational
groups, thereby increasing the analytical potential of the data.
Benefits of the integrated sample include: improved measures of trends;
better integration of benefit costs and plan provisions; data for
narrow occupations; and broad regional and occupational coverage. NCS
employs probability methods for selection of occupations. This ensures
that sampled occupations represent all occupations in the workforce,
while minimizing the reporting burden on respondents. Data from the NCS
are critical for setting Federal white-collar salaries, determining
monetary policy (as a Principal Federal Economic Indicator), and for
compensation administrators and researchers in the private sector. The
survey collects data from a sample of employers. The data consist of
information about the duties, responsibilities, and compensation
(earnings and benefits) for a sample of occupations for each sampled
employer.
The NCS is proposing to add two questions on domestic partner
benefits. This collection timeline will allow data on domestic partner
benefits to be published in 2011. These questions will only be asked of
wage and benefits sample members who offer defined benefit (DB) and/or
health benefits to their employees. Currently in private industry DB
plans are offered in 11% of establishments and health benefits to 63%.
In State and local governments DB access is 84% and health benefits
access is 88%. These two questions will add approximately 180 hours
annually to private industry sample respondent burden hours (14,614
total sample of private establishments). For the government sample
these two questions will add approximately 62 hours annually to
government respondent burden hours (2,164 total sample of State and
local government establishments).
Why are we requesting Emergency Processing? Emergency clearance is
being sought for the National Compensation Survey for the purpose of
the addition of two questions on domestic partner benefits to the
existing ``Other Benefits'' questions. The Department of Labor's LGBT
(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) roundtable and recent
Congressional actions on the proposed Domestic Partnership Benefits and
Obligations Act (HR 2517) have greatly increased the need for
information on domestic partner benefits in both private industry and
State and local governments. In order for BLS to produce data in 2011,
NCS data collection of these questions must begin in September 2010
during the NCS collection quarter (which starts September 16, 2010).
The BLS will submit an ICR immediately following this approval, as
the current NCS package expires in January 2011. This ICR will be
submitted to OMB under the standard clearance process and will give the
public a second opportunity chance to comment on this collection in
accordance with PRA95 (44 USC 3506).
Linda Watts-Thomas,
Acting, Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-21617 Filed 8-30-10; 8:45 am]
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