SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2), OPM is soliciting comments for this collection. The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in comments that:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. 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;

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 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.

Background

Section 1128 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Pub. L. 108-136, 5 U.S.C. 7101 note) requires executive agencies to conduct an annual employee survey and directs OPM to issue regulations prescribing the survey questions that must appear on all agency surveys to allow for comparison across agencies. The survey is the instrument through which agencies meet the statutory requirement to assess (1) leadership and management practices that contribute to agency performance and (2) employee satisfaction with leadership policies and practices, the work environment, rewards and recognition for professional accomplishment and personal contributions to achieving the organizational mission, opportunity for professional development and growth, and opportunity to contribute to achieving the organizational mission. OPM implemented this requirement through regulations at 5 CFR part 250, subpart C, to provide comparable governmentwide data and centrally administered the annual survey, the Annual Employee Survey (formerly Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS)), on behalf of agencies. Agencies participating in the AES satisfy the annual employee survey requirement by including the prescribed core survey questions, while retaining limited flexibility to add agency-specific items consistent with OPM guidance.

In a proposed rule (91 FR 40435) issued July 2, 2026, OPM proposed to reduce the number of prescribed annual employee survey questions from 16 to 10, retaining the most probative items to better serve workforce planning needs. In addition, OPM would no longer centrally administer the survey on behalf of agencies. Instead, each agency would administer the survey to its employees. The survey consists of Likert-type, mark-one, and mark-all-that-apply items. The information collection consists of the responses provided by the employees who complete the survey. The OPM survey will be available to agencies as a common form. An agency would submit the resulting data for the prescribed questions to OPM and OMB once per year to enable governmentwide comparison. Should agencies add questions to the common form, agencies would be responsible for their own collections separate from the OPM common form and would need to seek their own OMB control number.

Analysis

Agency: Office of Personnel Management.

Title: Annual Employee Survey (AES).

OMB Number: 3206-NEW.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Federal Government.

Number of Respondents: 1,990.

Estimated Time per Respondent: 5 minutes.

Total Burden Hours: 166 hours.

91 FR 58921