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###### Department of Labor

# ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

# SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

# DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency receives on or before March 25, 2024.

# ADDRESSES:

                        Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to                         *www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.*                         Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.                    

Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

                        Michael Howell by telephone at 202-693-6782, or by email at                         *DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.*

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) maintains a program designed to provide education and technical assistance to participants and beneficiaries as well as to employers, plan sponsors, and service providers related to their health and retirement plan benefits. EBSA assists participants in understanding their rights, responsibilities, and benefits under employee benefit law and intervenes informally on their behalf with the plan sponsor in order to assist them in obtaining the health and retirement benefits to which they may have been inappropriately denied, which can avert the necessity for a formal investigation or a civil action. EBSA maintains a toll-free telephone number through which inquirers can reach Benefits Advisors in ten Regional Offices. EBSA has also made a request for assistance form available on its website for those wishing to obtain assistance in this manner. Contact with EBSA is entirely voluntary.

                    The collection of information is an intake form for assistance requests from the public. This information includes the plan type, broad categories of problem type, contact information for responsible parties, and a mechanism for the inquirer to attach relevant documents. Summary data from the existing intake form has also been used, in accordance with section 513 of ERISA, to respond to requests for information regarding employee benefit plans from members of Congress and governmental oversight entities, and to inform the policy formulation process. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the                     **Federal Register**                     on August 25, 2023 (88 FR 58312).                

                    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number.                     *See*5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.                

DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.

*Agency:*                     DOL-EBSA.                

*Title of Collection:*                     Request for Assistance from the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     1210-0146.                

*Affected Public:*                     Businesses or other for-profits.                

*Total Estimated Number of Respondents:*                     14,991.                

*Total Estimated Number of Responses:*                     14,991.                

*Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:*                     7,496 hours.                

*Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden:*                     $0.                

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))

Michael Howell,

Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.

[FR Doc. 2024-03659 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]

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