81 FR 81766 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 223 (November 18, 2016)

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the Agency) is seeking public comments concerning a new information collection known as ``Contractor Workforce Inclusion Good Faith Efforts.'' This information collection has not yet been assigned a control number by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year control number.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 223 (Friday, November 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81766-81768]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27821]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2016-N-11]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: 60-day notice of submission of information collection for 
approval from Office of Management and Budget.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or the 
Agency) is seeking public comments concerning a new information 
collection known as ``Contractor Workforce Inclusion Good Faith 
Efforts.'' This information collection has not yet been assigned a 
control number by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FHFA 
intends to submit the information collection to OMB for review and 
approval of a three-year control number.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before January 17, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: `Contractor Workforce Inclusion Good Faith 
Efforts, (No. 2016-N-11)' '' by any of the following methods:
     Agency Web site: www.fhfa.gov/open-for-comment-or-input.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. If you submit your 
comment to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, please also send it by email 
to FHFA at [email protected] to ensure timely receipt by the agency.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Eighth 
Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20219, ATTENTION: 
Proposed Collection; Comment Request: ``Contractor Workforce Inclusion 
Good Faith Efforts, (No. 2016-N-11)''.
    We will post all public comments we receive without change, 
including any personal information you provide, such as your name and 
address, email address, and telephone number, on the FHFA Web site at 
http://www.fhfa.gov. In addition, copies of all comments received will 
be available for examination by the public on business days between the 
hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, 
Eighth Floor, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. To make an 
appointment to inspect comments, please call the Office of General 
Counsel at (202) 649-3804.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Howard, Diversity and Inclusion 
Principal Advisor, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, 
[email protected], (202) 649-3009; Karen Lambert, Associate General 
Counsel, [email protected], (202) 649-3094; or Eric Raudenbush, 
Associate General Counsel, [email protected], (202) 649-3084 
(these are not toll-free numbers); Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. The Telecommunications Device 
for the Hearing Impaired is (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Need for and Use of the Information Collection

    Section 342(a)(1)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the Dodd-Frank Act) requires FHFA and 
certain other Federal agencies each to establish an Office of Minority 
and Women Inclusion (OMWI) responsible for all matters of the agency 
relating to diversity in management, employment, and business 
activities.\1\ Section 342(c)(1) requires the OMWI Director at each 
agency to develop and implement standards and procedures to ensure, to 
the maximum extent possible, the fair inclusion and utilization of 
minorities, women, and minority- and women-owned businesses in all 
business and activities of the agency at all levels, including 
procurement, insurance, and all types of contracts. Section 342(c)(2) 
requires that the OMWI Director include in the agency's procedures for 
evaluating contract proposals and hiring service providers a component 
that gives consideration to the diversity of an applicant, to the 
extent consistent with applicable laws. That statutory provision also 
requires that each agency's procedures include a written statement that 
a contractor shall ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the fair 
inclusion of women and minorities in the workforce of the contractor 
and, as applicable, subcontractors.
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 5452.
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    Further, section 342(c)(3)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act requires that 
each agency's standards and procedures include a procedure for 
determining whether an agency contractor or subcontractor has failed to 
make a good faith effort to include minorities and women in its 
workforce. If the OMWI Director determines that a contractor or 
subcontractor has failed to make such a good faith effort, section 
342(c)(3)(B)(i) provides that the OMWI Director shall recommend to the 
agency administrator that the contract be terminated. Section 
342(c)(3)(B)(ii) provides that, upon receipt of such a recommendation, 
the agency administrator may either terminate the contract, make a 
referral to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) 
of the

[[Page 81767]]

Department of Labor, or take other appropriate action.
    As a means of implementing the requirements of section 342(c) of 
the Dodd-Frank Act, FHFA developed a Minority and Women Inclusion 
Clause (MWI Clause) that it now includes in all Agency contracts with a 
dollar value greater than the ``simplified acquisition threshold'' 
(currently, $150,000) established in the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
(FAR).\2\ The MWI Clause requires a contractor to confirm its 
commitment to equal opportunity in employment and contracting, and to 
implement that commitment by ensuring, to the maximum extent possible 
consistent with applicable law, the fair inclusion of minorities and 
women in its workforce. The MWI Clause also requires that a contractor 
include the substance of the MWI Clause in all subcontracts with a 
dollar value greater than $150,000 awarded under the contract. 
(Hereinafter subcontractors that are subject to the MWI Clause are 
referred to as ``covered'' subcontractors.)
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    \2\ See FAR 2.101. The FAR appears at 48 CFR chapter 1.
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    Finally, the MWI Clause requires a contractor to provide, when 
requested by FHFA, documentation demonstrating that it and any covered 
subcontractor has made a good faith effort to ensure the fair inclusion 
of minorities and women in its workforce. The MWI Clause provides that 
such documentation may include, but is not limited to: (1) The 
contractor's total number of employees, and the number of minority and 
women employees, by race, ethnicity, and gender (e.g., an EEO-1 
Employer Information Report (Form EEO-1)); (2) a list of the 
subcontracts the contractor awarded including the dollar amount, date 
of the award, and the ownership status of the subcontractor by race, 
ethnicity, and/or gender; (3) information similar to that required 
under item 1 above for each subcontractor; and (4) the contractor's 
plan to ensure that minorities and women have appropriate opportunities 
to enter and advance within its workforce, including outreach efforts 
(hereinafter, a ``workforce inclusion plan''). A request for 
documentation by FHFA pursuant to this provision of the MWI Clause 
would constitute a ``collection of information'' within the meaning of 
the PRA.
    While FHFA has included the MWI Clause in all contracts with a 
dollar value greater than $150,000 consummated since November 7, 2013, 
the Agency has not, to this point, asked any contractor or covered 
subcontractor to provide documentation pursuant to the clause. FHFA is 
now developing procedures that the OMWI Director will follow in 
determining whether its contractors and covered subcontractors have 
made good faith efforts to comply with the MWI Clause. The Agency 
expects that, once it adopts those procedures, it will begin to request 
the types of documentation described in the MWI Clause from contractors 
and covered subcontractors.
    The purpose of this information collection is to fulfill the 
requirements of section 342(c)(3)(B) of the Dodd-Frank Act. The 
collected information will allow FHFA's OMWI Director to determine 
whether contractors and covered subcontractors have complied with their 
obligations to make good faith efforts to ensure, to the maximum extent 
possible consistent with applicable law, the fair inclusion of 
minorities and women in their respective workforces.

B. Burden Estimate

    FHFA estimates that the average annual burden imposed on all 
respondents by this information collection over the next three years 
will be 368 hours. All of the assumptions and calculations underlying 
the total burden estimate are described in detail below.
    Because, as explained below, the amount of burden imposed upon a 
contractor by this information collection will differ depending upon 
whether the contractor has 50 or more employees, FHFA has based its 
total burden estimate on two separate sets of calculations--(I) one for 
contractors with 50 or more employees; and (II) another for contractors 
with fewer than 50 employees.
    FHFA includes the MWI Clause in Agency contracts with a dollar 
value greater than $150,000. Under the MWI Clause, the FHFA may also 
request information about covered subcontractors' ownership status, 
workforce demographics, and workforce inclusion plans. Contractors 
would request this information from their covered subcontractors, who, 
because the substance of the MWI Clause would be included in their 
subcontracts, would have an obligation to keep records and report data 
as required under the MWI Clause.
    FHFA data on the dollar value of contracts awarded by the Agency 
from the beginning of fiscal year 2013 through the third quarter of 
fiscal year 2016 shows that 63 contractors were subject to the MWI 
Clause. FHFA believes that 44 of those contractors have 50 or more 
employees, while 19 contractors have fewer than 50 employees. FHFA 
estimates that no more than two subcontracts with a dollar value of 
$150,000 or more were awarded by Agency contractors during that same 
time period. Both of those subcontractors have 50 or more employees 
each. Thus, over the preceding three years, a total of 65 contractors 
and subcontractors were subject to the MWI Clause--46 of which have 50 
or more employees and 19 of which have fewer than 50 employees.
    Based on these figures, FHFA estimates that, on average over the 
next three years, 48 contractors and subcontractors with 50 or more 
employees and 20 contractors or subcontractors with fewer than 50 
employees will be subject to the MWI Clause at any given time. For 
purposes of these burden estimates, FHFA has assumed that each 
contractor or subcontractor will provide documentation under the MWI 
Clause once per year, although it is unlikely that the Agency will 
actually request documentation from every contractor in every year. (In 
the interest of brevity, the word ``contractor'' is intended also to 
include covered subcontractors in the explanation of the burden 
estimates that follows.)

I. Documentation Submitted by Contractors With 50 or More Employees

    FHFA estimates that the average annual burden on contractors with 
50 or more employees will be 48 hours (0 recordkeeping hours + 48 
reporting hours).
    Because Federal contractors with 50 or more employees are already 
required to maintain the same types of records that may be requested 
pursuant to the MWI Clause under regulations implementing Title VII of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 \3\ and Executive Order 11246 (E.O. 
11246),\4\ this information collection will not impose new 
recordkeeping burdens on such contractors. FAR 52.222-26, Equal 
Opportunity, requires that such contractors' contracts and subcontracts 
include a clause implementing E.O. 11246. OFCCP regulations require 
each contractor with 50 or more employees and a Federal contract or 
subcontract of $50,000 or more to maintain records on the race, 
ethnicity, gender, and EEO-1 job category of each employee.\5\ OFCCP 
regulations also require each such contractor to: (1) Demonstrate that 
it has made a good faith effort to remove identified barriers, expand 
employment

[[Page 81768]]

opportunities, and produce measureable results; \6\ and (2) develop and 
maintain a written program summary describing the policies, practices, 
and procedures that the contractor uses to ensure that applicants and 
employees received equal opportunities for employment and 
advancement.\7\ In lieu of creating and maintaining a separate 
workforce inclusion plan to submit in satisfaction of the MWI Clause, a 
contractor with 50 or more employees could submit the written program 
summary that it is already required to maintain under the OFCCP 
regulations to demonstrate its good faith efforts to ensure the fair 
inclusion of minorities and women in its workforce.
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    \3\ 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq.
    \4\ Exec. Order No. 11246, 30 FR 12319 (Sept. 28, 1965).
    \5\ See 41 CFR 60-1.7.
    \6\ See 41 CFR 60-2.17.
    \7\ See 41 CFR 60-2.31.
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    With respect to reporting burden, FHFA estimates that it will take 
each contractor approximately one hour to retrieve and submit to the 
FHFA the documentation specified in the MWI Clause. Thus, the estimate 
of the annual burden upon contractors with 50 or more employees 
associated with reporting requirements under this information 
collection is 48 hours (48 contractors x 1 hour per contractor).

II. Documentation Submitted by Contractors With Fewer Than 50 Employees

    FHFA estimates that the average annual burden on contractors with 
fewer than 50 employees will be 320 hours (300 recordkeeping hours + 20 
reporting hours).
    OFCCP regulations require contractors with fewer than 50 employees 
to maintain records on the race, ethnicity, and gender of each 
employee.\8\ FHFA believes that such contractors also keep EEO-1 job 
category information in the normal course of business, despite the fact 
that they are not required by law to do so. However, contractors with 
fewer than 50 employees may not have the type of written program 
summary that is required of larger contractors under the OFCCP 
regulations or any similar document that could be submitted as a 
workforce inclusion plan under the MWI Clause. Accordingly, such 
contractors may need to create a workforce inclusion plan to comply 
with the MWI Clause.
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    \8\ See 41 CFR 60-3.4.
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    In order to estimate the burden associated with creating a 
workforce inclusion plan, FHFA considered the OFCCP's burden estimates 
for the time needed to develop the written program summaries required 
under its regulations.\9\ In its OMB Supporting Statement, the OFCCP 
estimated that a contractor with 1 to 100 employees would take 
approximately 73 burden hours to create an initial written program 
summary. While the OFCCP regulations require contractors to perform 
time-consuming quantitative analyses when developing their written 
program summaries, such analyses would not be required in connection 
with the creation of a workforce inclusion plan. For this reason, FHFA 
believes that a contractor could develop a workforce inclusion plan in 
about one-third of the time that it would take to develop the written 
program summary required under the OFCCP regulations.
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    \9\ See PRA Supporting Statement for the OFCCP Recordkeeping and 
Requirements-Supply and Service Program, OMB Control No. 1250-0003, 
at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=201602-1250-001.
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    FHFA estimates that a contractor with fewer than 50 employees would 
spend approximately 25 hours creating a workforce inclusion plan for 
the first time. The Agency estimates that each contractor would then 
spend approximately 10 hours annually in updating and maintaining its 
plan. This results in an estimated average annual recordkeeping burden 
over the next three years on each contractor with fewer than 50 
employees of 15 hours [(25 + 10 + 10)/3 years]. Thus, FHFA estimates 
that the average annual recordkeeping burden on all contractors with 
fewer than 50 employees over the next three years will be 300 hours (20 
contractors x 15 hours per contractor).
    FHFA estimates that it will take each contractor approximately one 
hour to retrieve and submit to FHFA the documentation specified in the 
MWI Clause. Thus, the estimate of the annual burden upon contractors 
with fewer than 50 employees associated with reporting requirements 
under this information collection is 20 hours (20 contractors x 1 hour 
per contractor).

C. Comments Request

    FHFA requests written comments on the following: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
FHFA functions, including whether the information has practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of FHFA's estimates of the burdens of the 
collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 
burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

    Dated: November 14, 2016.
Kevin Winkler,
Chief Information Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2016-27821 Filed 11-17-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8070-01-P