### 17233 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 54 / Wednesday, March 20, 2013 / Notices

**DEPARTMENT OF LABOR**

**Office of the Secretary**

**Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB**  **Review; Comment Request; Process Safety Management of Highly**  **Hazardous Chemicals Standard**

**ACTION :**  Notice.

**SUMMARY :**  The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ‘‘Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Standard,’’ to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

**DATES :**  Submit comments on or before April 19, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain , on the day following publication of this notice or by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202–693–4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or sending an email
to DOL

_PRA

_PUBLIC@dol.gov. Submit comments about this request to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL–OSHA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, Fax: 202–395–6881 (this is not a toll-free number), email: OIRA

_ submission@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 202–693–4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at DOL

_PRA

_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  The Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Standard contains a number of information collection requirements, such as developing written process safety information, procedures and management practices, and operating procedures and safe work practices; and documenting safety history evaluations, contractor policies, and worker training; in addition, covered employers must retain certain records. These information collection requirements are 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 it is approved by the OMB under the PRA 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 Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection under Control Number 1218–0200. The current approval is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2013; however, it should be noted that existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For additional information, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on November 6, 2012 (77 FR 66638).

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in the **ADDRESSES** section within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register . In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1218– 0200. The OMB 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; 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 submission of
responses.

Agency: DOL–OSHA. Title of Collection: Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Standard.

OMB Control Number: 1218–0200. Affected Public: Private Sector— businesses or other for-profits. Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,993.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 824,429.

Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 4,630,107.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

Dated: March 14, 2013. Michel Smyth, Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013–06369 Filed 3–19–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4510–26–P**

**MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD** 

**Notice of Opportunity To File Amicus Briefs** 

**AGENCY :**  Merit Systems Protection Board.

**ACTION :**  Notice.

**SUMMARY :**  The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board) announces the opportunity to file amicus briefs in the matter of Barbara R. King v. Department of the Air Force, MSPB Docket Number DA–0752–09–0604–P–1, currently pending before the Board on interlocutory appeal. The administrative judge certified for interlocutory review the question of whether the provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (WPEA), 112 Public Law 199, with regard to damages may be applied retroactively to cases pending prior to its effective date.

Of particular relevance in King is the question of the retroactive effect of section 107(b) of the WPEA, which addresses damages available to individuals who have suffered reprisal for protected disclosures or activities. Prior to enactment of the WPEA, the corrective action available to such individuals under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) included reasonable and foreseeable consequential damages, but not compensatory, or non-pecuniary, damages. See Bohac v. Department of Agriculture, 239 F.3d 1334, 1337–43 (Fed. Cir. 2001). However, under section 107(b) of the WPEA, corrective action may also include ‘‘compensatory damages (including interest, reasonable expert witness fees, and costs).’’ Therefore, the Board must determine in King whether to apply the WPEA standard or the WPA standard in determining what corrective action is available in appeals pending prior to the effective date of the WPEA.

In King, the appellant’s protected disclosures and the agency’s retaliatory