83 FR 7178 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Extension Without Change of an Existing Collection; Comments Request

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 34 (February 20, 2018)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Commission announces that it intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for a three-year extension without change of the existing recordkeeping requirements under its regulations. The Commission is seeking public comments on the proposed extension.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7178-7179]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03427]


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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Extension Without 
Change of an Existing Collection; Comments Request

AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Commission announces that it intends to submit to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request for a three-year extension 
without change of the existing recordkeeping requirements under its 
regulations. The Commission is seeking public comments on the proposed 
extension.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before 
April 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Bernadette Wilson, Executive 
Officer, Executive Secretariat, Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, 131 M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507. As a convenience to 
commenters, the Executive Secretariat will accept comments totaling six 
or fewer pages by facsimile (``FAX'') machine. This limitation is 
necessary to assure access to the equipment. The telephone number of 
the fax receiver is (202) 663-4114. (This is not a toll-free number.) 
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.) Instead of sending written 
comments to EEOC, you may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments. All comments received through this portal will be posted 
without change, including any personal information you provide, except 
as noted below. The EEOC reserves the right to refrain from posting 
comments, including those that contain obscene, indecent, or profane 
language; that contain threats or defamatory statements; that contain 
hate speech directed at race, color, sex, national origin, age, 
religion, disability, or genetic information; or that promote or 
endorse services or products. All comments received, including any 
personal information provided, also will be available for public 
inspection during normal business hours by appointment only at the EEOC 
Headquarters Library, 131 M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507. Upon 
request, individuals who require assistance viewing comments will be 
provided appropriate aids such as readers or print magnifiers. To 
schedule an appointment, contact EEOC Library staff at (202) 663-4630 
(voice) or (202) 663-4641 (TTY). (These are not toll-free numbers.)

[[Page 7179]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Oram, Acting Assistant Legal 
Counsel, Office of Legal Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, 131 M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507, (202) 663-4681 
(voice) or (202) 663-4494 (TTY), or Erin Norris, Senior Attorney, 
Office of Legal Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 129 W 
Trade Street, Charlotte, NC 28202, (704) 954-6491 (voice). Requests for 
this notice in an alternative format should be made to the Office of 
Communications and Legislative Affairs at (202) 663-4191 (voice) or 
(202) 663-4494 (TTY).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
(EEOC) enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Title II of 
the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which 
collectively prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, 
religion, sex, national origin, disability, or genetic information. 
Section 709(c) of Title VII, section 107(a) of the ADA, and section 
207(a) of GINA authorize the EEOC to issue recordkeeping and reporting 
regulations that are deemed reasonable, necessary or appropriate. EEOC 
has promulgated recordkeeping regulations under those authorities that 
are contained in 29 CFR part 1602 et seq. Those regulations do not 
require the creation of any particular records but generally require 
employers to preserve any personnel and employment records they make or 
keep for a period of one year. The EEOC seeks extension of the 
recordkeeping requirement in these regulations without change.
    Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and OMB regulation 
5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), the Commission solicits public comment to enable it 
to:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the Commission's functions, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including the use of appropriate, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Overview of Current Information Collection

    Collection Title: Recordkeeping under Title VII, the ADA, and GINA.
    OMB Number: 3046-0040.
    Description of Affected Public: Employers with 15 or more employees 
are subject to Title VII, the ADA, and GINA.
    Number of Respondents: 961,709.
    Number of Reports Submitted: 0.
    Estimated Burden Hours: 37,264 hours.
    Cost to Respondents: $0.
    Federal Cost: None.
    Number of Forms: None.
    Abstract: Section 709(c) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c), section 1007(a) of the ADA, 42 
U.S.C. 12117(a), and section 207(a) of GINA, 42 U.S.C. 2000ff-6(a), 
require the Commission to establish regulations pursuant to which 
employers subject to those Acts shall make and preserve certain records 
to assist the EEOC in assuring compliance with the Acts' 
nondiscrimination in employment requirements. This is a recordkeeping 
requirement. Any of the records maintained which are subsequently 
disclosed to the EEOC during an investigation are protected from public 
disclosure by the confidentiality provisions of section 706(b) and 
709(e) of Title VII which are also incorporated by reference into the 
ADA at section 107(a) and GINA at section 207(a).
    Burden Statement: The estimated number of respondents subject to 
this recordkeeping requirement is 961,709 employers. An employer 
subject to the recordkeeping requirement in 29 CFR part 1602 must 
retain all personnel or employment records made or kept by that 
employer for one year, and must retain any records relevant to charges 
of discrimination filed under Title VII, the ADA, or GINA until final 
disposition of those matters, which may be longer than one year. This 
recordkeeping requirement does not require reports or the creation of 
new documents, but merely requires retention of documents that an 
employer has already made or kept in the normal course of its business 
operations. Thus, existing employers bear no burden under this 
analysis, because their systems for retaining personnel and employment 
records are already in place. Newly formed firms may incur a small 
burden when setting up their data collection and retention systems to 
ensure compliance with EEOC's recordkeeping requirements. We assume 
some effort and time must be expended by employers to familiarize 
themselves with the Title VII, ADA, and GINA recordkeeping requirements 
and explain those requirements to the appropriate staff. We estimate 
that 30 minutes would be needed for this one-time familiarization 
process. Using 2015 data from the Small Business Administration, we 
estimate that there are 74,528 firms that would incur this start-up 
burden.\1\ Assuming a 30-minute burden per firm, the total annual hour 
burden is 37,264 hours (.5 hour x 74,528 = 37,264).
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    \1\ Source: U.S. Small Business Administration: Statistics of 
U.S. Business, Release Date 1/2017. (https://www.sba.gov/advocacy/firm-size-data). Select U.S. Static Data, U.S. Data and combines 
estimates from private employment, public sector, colleges and 
universities, and referral unions.

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    For the Commission.

    Dated: February 13, 2018.
Victoria A. Lipnic,
Acting Chair.
[FR Doc. 2018-03427 Filed 2-16-18; 8:45 am]
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