[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 16 (Monday, January 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3991-3992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01328]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0125]


On-site Consultation Programs; Extension of the Office of 
Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection 
(Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to 
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements 
contained in the Standard addressing On-site Consultation Programs (29 
CFR part 1908).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
March 27, 2015.

ADDRESSES:
    Electronically: 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.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit your comments and attachments 
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0125, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-
2625, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries 
(hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are accepted 
during the Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal business 
hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2011-0125) for the Information Collection 
Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal information you 
provide, are placed in the public docket without change, and may be 
made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further 
information on submitting comments see the ``Public Participation'' 
heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download from the Web site. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Patrick 
Showalter at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Showalter, Director, Office of 
Small Business Assistance, Directorate of Cooperative and State 
Programs, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3660, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance process to provide the public with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing information collection requirements 
in accord with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that information is in the desired 
format, reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, collection 
instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the 
information collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes 
information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for 
enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing information regarding the 
causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and 
accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires that OSHA obtain 
such information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those 
operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent 
feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information 
(29 U.S.C. 657).
    Section 7(c)(1) of the OSH Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor 
to, ``with the consent of any State or political subdivision thereof, 
accept and use the services, facilities, and personnel of any agency of 
such State or subdivision with reimbursement.'' Section 21(c) of the 
OSH Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to, ``consult 
with and advise employers and employees . . . as to effective means of 
preventing occupational illnesses and injuries.''
    Additionally, Section 21(d) of the OSH Act instructs the Secretary 
to ``establish and support cooperative agreements with the States under 
which employers subject to the Act may consult with State personnel 
with respect to the application of occupational safety and health 
requirements under the Act or under State plans approved under section 
18 of the Act.'' This gives the Secretary authority to enter into 
agreements with the States to provide on-site consultation services, 
and establish rules under which employers may qualify for an inspection 
exemption. To satisfy the intent of these and other sections of the OSH 
Act, OSHA codified the terms that govern cooperative agreements between 
OSHA and State governments whereby State agencies provide on-site 
consultation services to private employers to assist them in complying 
with the requirements of the OSH Act. The terms were codified as the 
Consultation Program regulations (29 CFR part 1908).
    The On-site Consultation Program regulations specify services to be 
provided, and practices and procedures to be followed by the State On-
site Consultation Programs. Information collection requirements set 
forth in the On-site Consultation Program regulations are in two 
categories: State Responsibilities and Employer Responsibilities. Eight 
regulatory provisions require information collection activities by the 
State. The Federal government provides 90 percent of the funds for on-
site consultation services delivered by the States, which result in the 
information collection. Four requirements apply to employers and 
specify conditions for receiving the free consultation services.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    <bullet> Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the

[[Page 3992]]

Agency's functions, including whether the information is useful;
    <bullet> The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    <bullet> The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    <bullet> Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting an extension of its current approval of the 
information collection requirements for this Standard. The Agency is 
requesting an adjustment decrease in the current burden hours from 
222,924 hours to 201,853 hours, a total decrease of 21,071 hours. While 
better burden hour and costs estimates for the Safety and Health 
Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) documentation increased the 
burden hours, this was offset by a decrease in the number of 
consultation visits.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: On-site Consultation Programs (29 CFR part 1908).
    OMB Number: 1218-0110.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 24,700.
    Frequency: Initial, annual, quarterly, periodic.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 3 minutes for an employer or 
plant manager to sign a Safety and Health Achievement Recognition 
Program application to 32 hours for an On-site Consultation Program 
manager to submit an agreement once per year.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 201,853.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on this Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0125). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350; (TTY (877) 889-5627).
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this Web 
site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not 
available from the Web site, and for assistance in using the Internet 
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this 
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 
(77 FR 3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on January 21, 2015.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2015-01328 Filed 1-23-15; 8:45 am]
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