82 FR 24346 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 101 (May 26, 2017)

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 82, Number 101 (Friday, May 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24346-24349]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10879]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2017-N-06]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: 30-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

[[Page 24347]]

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 June 26, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Washington, DC 20503, Fax: 
(202) 395-3047, Email: [email protected]. Please also submit 
comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed Collection; Comment Request: 
`Contractor Workforce Inclusion Good Faith Efforts, (No. 2017-N-06)' '' 
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: The mailing address for comments is: 
Alfred M. Pollard, General Counsel, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Eighth Floor, Washington, DC 20219. Courier/Hand 
Delivery packages must be delivered on business days between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m.
    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: Sharron Levine, Director, Office of 
Minority and Women Inclusion, [email protected], (202) 649-3496; 
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 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, contractors that are subject to the MWI Clause and 
subcontractors that are subject to a similar clause required to be 
included in a subcontract are referred to as ``covered'' contractors 
and 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 the contractor, as 
well as 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 the first item 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

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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 covered contractors and 
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 covered contractors and 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 covered contractors and subcontractors have complied with their 
contractual 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. 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 and subcontractors with 50 or 
more employees (48 hours); and (II) another for contractors and 
subcontractors with fewer than 50 employees (320 hours).
    FHFA includes the MWI Clause in Agency contracts with a dollar 
value greater than $150,000. Under the MWI Clause, 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 a contractual 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 and subcontractor 
in every year.

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 or subcontractors. 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 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 or subcontractor 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 or subcontractor with 50 or more employees 
approximately one hour to retrieve, review, and submit the 
documentation specified in the MWI Clause. Thus, the estimate of the 
annual burden upon contractors or subcontractors with 50 or more 
employees associated with reporting requirements under this information 
collection is 48 hours (48 respondents x 1 hour per respondent).

II. Documentation Submitted by Contractors With Fewer Than 50 Employees

    FHFA estimates that the average annual burden on contractors and 
subcontractors 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 or 
subcontractors 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 or subcontractors 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

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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 or subcontractor 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 or 
subcontractor 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 and subcontractors with fewer than 50 
employees over the next three years will be 300 hours (20 respondents x 
15 hours per respondent).
    As with larger entities, FHFA estimates that it will take each 
contractor and subcontractor with fewer than 50 employees approximately 
one hour to retrieve, review, and submit the documentation specified in 
the MWI Clause. Thus, FHFA estimates that the average annual reporting 
burden on all contractors and subcontractors with fewer than 50 
employees over the next three years will be 20 hours (20 respondents x 
1 hour per respondent).

C. Comment Request

    In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.8(d), FHFA 
published an initial notice requesting comments regarding this 
information collection in the Federal Register on November 18, 
2016.\10\ The 60-day comment period closed on January 17, 2017. No 
comments were received.
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    \10\ See 81 FR 81766 (Nov. 18, 2016).
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    In accordance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.10(a), FHFA is 
publishing this second notice to request comments regarding 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 members 
and project sponsors, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments should be 
submitted in writing to both OMB and FHFA as instructed above in the 
Comments section.

    Dated: May 19, 2017.
Kevin Winkler,
Chief Information Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2017-10879 Filed 5-25-17; 8:45 am]
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