Proposed Collection; Comment Request

DOI is below parity with the relevant Civilian Labor Force representation for many of our mission critical occupations, and has developed a 5 year Strategic Plan to improve representation and be more responsive to the changing demographics of the country. The only way to determine if there are barriers in the recruitment and selection process is to track the groups that apply and the groups at each stage of the selection process. There is no other objective way to make these determinations, and no source of this information other than directly from applicants. The information is not provided to selecting officials and plays no part in the selection of individuals. Instead, it is used in summary form to determine trends over many selections within a given occupation or organizational area. The information is treated in a very confidential manner. No information from this form is entered into the Personnel File of the individual selected, and the records of those not selected are destroyed after the conclusion of the selection process. The format of the questions on ethnicity and race are compliant with the new OMB requirements, and are identical to those which will be used in the year 2000 census. This form is a simplification and update of a similar applicant background survey used by DOI for many years. The form received a six month emergency approval from OMB while we solicited comment in the Federal Register. We are currently requesting public comment on a three year extension of the OMB approval. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected: and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Title, Associated Form, and OMB Number: Applicant Background Survey, DI form 1935; OMB Control No.: 1091-0001. Needs and Uses: This form is used to obtain source of recruitment, ethnicity, race, and disability data on job applicants to determine if the recruitment is effectively reaching all aspects of the relevant labor pool and to determine if there are proportionate acceptance rates at various stages of the recruitment process. Response is optional. The information is used for evaluating recruitment only, and plays no part in the selection of who is hired. Affected Public: Applicants for DOI jobs. Annual Burden Hours: 9,960. Number of Respondents: 120,000. Responses Per Respondent: 1. Average Burden Per Response: No more than 5 minutes. Frequency: 1 per application.

Dated: November 22, 1999. Michael Dole, Affirmative Employment Program Administrator, Department of the Interior. [FR Doc. 99-31138 Filed 11-30-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-01-P