67360 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2018 / Notices 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency related to UI 

program oversight, including whether 

the information will have practical 

utility; 

Æ Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the ICR burden to 

survey and interview respondents, 

including the validity of the study 

approach and assumptions; 

Æ Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

Æ Minimize the burden of the 

information collection on respondents, 

including the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology (e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses). 

III. Current Actions: At this time, DOL 

is requesting clearance for the survey 

instrument and semi-structured 

interview protocols. 

Type of review: New information 

collection request. 

OMB Control Number: 1290–0NEW. 

Affected Public: Individuals working 

in state UI agencies. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this request will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval; they will also become a matter 

of public record. 

ESTIMATED ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS

Information collection instrument Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses 

per 

respondent 

Total number 

of responses 

Average 

burden per 

response 

(hours) 

Estimated 

burden 

(hours) 

Survey— State UI Director .................................................. 17 1 17 0.75 13 

Interview Protocol—UI Directors .......................................... 6 1 6 1 6 

Interview Protocol—Financial Staff ...................................... 6 1 6 1 6 

Interview Protocol—Chief of Benefits .................................. 6 1 6 1 6 

Interview Protocol—Appeals Staff ....................................... 6 1 6 1 6 

Interview Protocol—Benefits Determination Staff ................ 6 1 6 1 6 

Interview Protocol—HR Staff ............................................... 6 1 6 1 6 

Interview Protocol—IT Staff ................................................. 6 1 6 1 6 

Total .............................................................................. 59 ........................ 59 ........................ 55 

Molly Irwin, 

Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of 

Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28310 Filed 12–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–HX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Information Collection Activities; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as 

part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

conducts a pre-clearance consultation 

program to provide the general public 

and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing collections of 

information in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 

program helps to ensure that requested 

data can be provided in the desired 

format, reporting burden (time and 

financial resources) is minimized, 

collection instruments are clearly 

understood, and the impact of collection 

requirements on respondents can be 

properly assessed. The Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments 

concerning the proposed reinstatement 

with change of the ‘‘Quick Business 

Survey Operations Test.’’ A copy of the 

proposed information collection request 

(ICR) can be obtained by contacting the 

individual listed below in the Addresses 

section of this notice. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

Addresses section of this notice on or 

before February 26, 2019. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Carol 

Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer, Division 

of Management Systems, Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 2 

Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, 

DC 20212. Written comments also may 

be transmitted by fax to 202–691–5111 

(this is not a toll free number). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer, at 

202–691–7628 (this is not a toll free 

number). (See ADDRESSES section.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 

intends to conduct a second operations 

test for a Quick Business Survey (QBS). 

The BLS will build on the results of a 

prior test to further evaluate QBS survey 

processes and operations in a possible 

production environment. If successful, a 

QBS would permit BLS to collect 

information about the U.S. economy 

more efficiently than is currently 

possible. In addition, it would allow 

data users to be able to understand the 

impact of specific events on the 

economy in a timely manner that would 

be relevant to data users. 

As with the first operations test, the 

BLS will test using the Annual Refiling 

Survey (ARS) as a platform for 

conducting the QBS. Each year, the 

Quarterly Census of Employment and 

Wages (QCEW) Program conducts the 

ARS by reaching out to approximately 

1.2 million establishments requesting 

verification of their main business 

activity, and their mailing and physical 

location addresses. The fully web-based 

ARS provides a low-cost platform for 

conducting the QBS. The QBSs 

accompanying the ARS would have 

little data collection overhead, 

leveraging the address refinement, 

printing, and mailing efforts that are 

undertaken as part of the production 

ARS. Respondents already logged into 

the ARS secure website could be 

directed to a QBS and asked to answer 

a limited number of additional survey 

questions after completing the ARS. 

II. Current Action 

Office of Management and Budget 

clearance is being sought for a 

reinstatement with change of the Quick 

Business Survey (QBS) Operations Test 

in order to conduct a second test. 

A QBS would allow BLS to leverage 

the multitude of information already 

known about the sample units to allow 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2018 / Notices 67361 

for targeted sampling. It also would 

permit BLS to target only the units 

meeting the specific set of 

characteristics desired allowing BLS to 

delve into specific areas of economic 

interest without burdening 

establishments which do not meet the 

specific targeted features. The QBS is 

designed to encourage a fast response 

and minimize respondent burden. In 

this manner, BLS can provide 

information that is needed quickly and 

is not collected elsewhere. 

Through the second operations test, 

the BLS will continue to evaluate the 

following goals: To develop and 

evaluate a QBS system, to understand 

the extent to which ARS respondents 

have access to different types of 

information in order to provide 

parameters for future QBS, and to 

estimate response rates. In addition, the 

second test will afford further analysis 

of more refined sampling methodology 

and efforts to improve response rates, 

and will allow the development of a 

detailed cost model for use in potential 

future production. 

III. Desired Focus of Comments 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is 

particularly interested in comments 

that: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility. 

• 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. 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected. 

• 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. 

Title of Collection: Quick Business 

Survey Operations Test. 

OMB Number: 1220–0192. 

Type of Review: Reinstatement with 

Change. 

Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit institutions, not-for-profit 

institutions, and farms. 

Total Respondents: 24,230. 

Frequency: One time. 

Total Responses: 24,230. 

Average Time per Response: Three 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,212 

hours. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for Office of 

Management and Budget approval of the 

information collection request; they also 

will become a matter of public record. 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 20th day of 

December 2018. 

Mark Staniorski, 

Division Chief, Division of Management 

Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28222 Filed 12–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–24–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Office of Workers’ Compensation 

Programs 

Division of Longshore and Harbor 

Workers’ Compensation; Proposed 

Extension of Existing Collection; 

Comment Request 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as 

part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

conducts a preclearance consultation 

program to provide the general public 

and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing collections of 

information in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA95). This program helps to ensure 

that requested data can be provided in 

the desired format, reporting burden 

(time and financial resources) is 

minimized, collection instruments are 

clearly understood, and the impact of 

collection requirements on respondents 

can be properly assessed. Currently, the 

Division of Longshore and Harbor 

Workers’ Compensation is soliciting 

comments concerning the proposed 

collection: Carrier’s Report of Issuance 

of Policy (LS–570). A copy of the 

proposed information collection request 

can be obtained by contacting the office 

listed below in the ADDRESSES section of 

this Notice. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

ADDRESSES section below on or before 

February 26, 2019. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by mail, delivery service, or by hand to 

Ms. Yoon Ferguson, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room 

S–3323, Washington, DC 20210; by fax 

(202) 354–9647; or email to 

ferguson.yoon@dol.gov. Please use only 

one method of transmission for 

comments (mail/delivery, fax, or email). 

Please note that comments submitted 

after the comment period will not be 

considered. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Authorized insurance carriers are 

required to report the issuance of 

policies and endorsements under the 

Longshore and Harbor Workers’ 

Compensation Act and its extensions, 

the Defense Base Act, Outer Continental 

Shelf Lands Act and Non-Appropriated 

Fund Instrumentalities Act, to the 

Department of Labor’s Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs 

(OWCP). 20 CFR 703.116. Carriers use 

the form LS–570 for this purpose. Filing 

the form LS–570 with OWCP’s Division 

of Longshore and Harbor Workers’ 

Compensation binds the carrier to full 

liability for the named employer’s 

obligations under the Act or its 

extensions. 20 CFR 703.118. This 

information collection is currently 

approved for use through May 31, 2019. 

II. Review Focus 

The Department of Labor is 

particularly interested in comments 

which: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

• 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; 

• enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

• 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. 

III. Current Actions 

The Department of Labor seeks the 

approval of the extension of this 

currently approved information 

collection. The information is necessary 

(i) to ensure compliance by employers, 

(ii) to bind the carrier to the liabilities 

of the employer under 20 CFR 703.118 

and (iii) so that the districts can identify 

the correct carrier for claims to ensure 

prompt payment of compensation to 

injured workers. 

Type of Review: Extension. 


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