80 FR 75471 - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management; Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision; Comment Request; DOL Generic Solution for “Touch-Base” Activities

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 231 (December 2, 2015)

The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the DOL Generic Solution for ``Touch-Base'' Activities information collection request (ICR), as part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 231 (Wednesday, December 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75471-75472]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30529]



[[Page 75471]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision; Comment 
Request; DOL Generic Solution for ``Touch-Base'' Activities

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments 
concerning the proposed extension of the DOL Generic Solution for 
``Touch-Base'' Activities information collection request (ICR), as part 
of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

DATES: Submit written comments on or before February 1, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is 
not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected] to 
request additional information, including requesting a copy of this 
ICR. Submit comments regarding this ICR, including suggestions for 
reducing the burden, by sending an email to [email protected]. 
Comments may also be sent to Michel Smyth, Departmental Clearance 
Officer, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-1301, Washington, DC 
20210.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOL has a need periodically to collect 
information from the public that help assess Departmental policies, 
products, and services and lead to improvements in areas deemed 
necessary. This information collection activity provides a means to 
garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 
timely manner. By qualitative feedback the DOL means information that 
provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but does not 
entail statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be 
generalized to the population of study. This feedback will provide 
insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and 
expectations, provide an early warning of issues interest, or focus 
attention on areas where communication, training, or changes in 
operations might improve delivery of products or services. These 
collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative, and actionable 
communications between the DOL and its customers and stakeholders. It 
will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of 
program management. This information collection is subject to the PRA.
    More specifically, the DOL will only submit a collection for 
approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following 
conditions:
     The collection is voluntary;
     The collection is low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and is low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government;
     The collection may focus on high-level stakeholder views 
regarding emerging topics of pressing policy interest or on operational 
issues and DOL products and services that may not be suitable for 
clearance under the DOL generic solution for qualitative feedback on 
service delivery;
     The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the program or issues under 
consideration;
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collection will not be designed or be expected to yield 
statistically reliable results or be used as though the results are 
generalizable to the population of study.
    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 it is approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under the PRA 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 if the collection of 
information does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 
1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information 
collection under Control Number 1225-0059. This ICR would revise the 
collection to clarify that it may be used for policy choices, and would 
be similar to an ICR approved specifically for the Employment and 
Training Administration that is designed to get quick feedback on 
issues of interest to that agency.
    The DOL, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to 
provide the general public and Federal agencies an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information before 
they are submitted to the OMB. This program helps to ensure 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 can be properly 
assessed. Interested parties are encouraged to provide comments to the 
individual listed in the ADDRESSES section above. Comments must be 
written to receive consideration, and they will be summarized and may 
be included in the request for OMB approval of the final ICR. The 
comments will become a matter of public record.
    The DOL is particularly interested in comments that:
     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 submission of responses.
    Agency: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and 
Management.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Title of Collection: DOL Generic Solution for ``Touch-Base'' 
Activities.
    OMB Control Number: 1225-0059.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Private Sector--
businesses or other for-profits, farms, and not for-profit 
institutions; and State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 375,000.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 375,000.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: 6 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 37,500 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $0.


[[Page 75472]]


     Dated: November 25, 2015.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-30529 Filed 12-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-04-P