[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20214-20215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10837]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy; Agency Information 
Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; the 
National Agricultural Workers Survey Questionnaire Form

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP), Department 
of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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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) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. 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 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy is 
soliciting comments concerning the questionnaire used by the National 
Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). This survey has been conducted 
under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance since October 
1988. It has up to this time conducted on average 2,500 interviews per 
year. The focus has been on demographic, employment and health data. 
The NAWS information collection request will consist of two parts. The 
first part is the continued approval of the traditional NAWS survey 
questions for the 2,500 respondents for the three year period. The 
second part, the NAWS will conduct for one year only, a pilot test of 
an enlarged sample size of 4,500 and will utilize an enhanced survey 
form which includes additional in-depth questions on occupational 
health. The sampling frame and estimation procedures will not be 
altered by the pilot. Furthermore, the survey format, though enlarged, 
will be in large measure the same as the traditional NAWS survey form.
    The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
which:
    <bullet> Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper functioning of government agencies charged 
with protecting the well being of the farmworker population, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    <bullet> Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond.

DATE: Written comment must be submitted by June 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be submitted to the U.S. Department of 
Labor, Room S-2312, (200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210, 
telephone (202) 219-6197. Written comments limited to 10 pages or fewer 
may also be transmitted by facsimile to (202) 219-9216.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact Richard Mines, Economist and Program Officer for the National 
Agricultural Workers Survey, Office of the Assistant Secretary of 
Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-2312, 200 Constitution Ave., 
NW, Washington, D.C. 20210. Telephone: (202) 219-6197. Copies of the 
referenced information collection request are available for inspection 
and copying and will be mailed to persons who request copies by 
telephoning Richard Mines at (202) 219-6197. For more information about 
the NAWS, consult the NAWS home page at: <a href="http://www.dol.gov/dol/asp/
public/programs/agworker/naws.htm">http://www.dol.gov/dol/asp/
public/programs/agworker/naws.htm</a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The NAWS began surveying farmworkers in 1988, it has collected 
information from over 22,000 workers. The survey samples all crop 
farmworkers in three cycles each year in order to capture the 
seasonality of the work. The NAWS locates and samples workers at their 
work sites, avoiding the well-publicized undercount of this difficult-
to-find population. During the initial contact, arrangements are made 
to interview the respondent at home or at another convenient location.

What Information Does the NAWS Collect?

    <bullet> Household and Family Composition. The NAWS interview 
contains a family grid that asks basic demographic information for all 
household members, and records information about each person's 
education level and migration patterns.
    <bullet> Additional Demographics. The NAWS collects a more 
comprehensive demographic profile of the farmworker himself including 
language ability, contacts in non-agricultural jobs, and parental 
involvement in agriculture.
    <bullet> Employment History. The NAWS compiles a full year of 
information on the employment and geographic movement of the 
farmworker. This history covers the occupation, including task and crop 
if employed in agriculture, type of non-agricultural work if employed 
off the farm, periods of unemployment and periods abroad, and the 
worker's location for every week of the year preceding the interview.
    <bullet> Wages, Benefits and Working Conditions. The NAWS collects 
information on payment method (piece or hourly) and wages, on health 
insurance, on workers compensation and unemployment insurance, and on 
other benefits and working conditions.
    <bullet> Health, Safety and Housing. The NAWS gathers information 
on medical history, use of medical services, participation in pesticide 
training, and on the worker's housing arrangements.
    <bullet> Income and Assets, Social Services and Legal Status. The 
NAWS questionnaire has a series of questions on personal and family 
income, assets held in the United States and abroad, use of social 
services, and legal or immigration status.

II. Current Actions

    This action requests continued OMB approval of the paperwork 
requirements in the NAWS survey form. It also requests OMB approval to 
conduct a one year pilot with a larger sample size and an enhanced 
focus on occupational health. OMB approval is necessary to continue 
collecting information needed by federal programs mandated by Congress 
to monitor and serve the farmworker population. These include among 
others the National Agricultural Statistical Service of the USDA, the 
Office of Migrant Education of the Department of Education, the Migrant 
Health Program, the Migrant Head Start Program and the National 
Institute of Occupational Health of the Department of Health and Human 
Services, the Farmworker Adult Training Program (JTPA 402) of 
Department of Labor and

[[Page 20215]]

the Pesticide Division of the Environmental Protection Agency. The 
pilot project is necessary to fulfill the Congressionally mandated 
charge to collect better information about farmworker occupational 
health.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy.
    Title: The survey form of the National Agricultural Workers Survey.
    OMB Number: 1225-0044.
    Affected Public: Farmworkers and farm employees.
    Total Respondents: 6000 respondents (4,500 farmworkers receiving a 
full interview and 1,500 employers who will be briefly interviewed to 
ascertain the location of the potential worker respondents).
    Frequency: Annually (The survey is administered in three 10-12 week 
cycles each year, beginning in October, February and May. 
Approximately, one third of the 4,500 farmworker respondents are 
interviewed each cycle. And, approximately 500 employers are approached 
to make interviewee contacts each cycle.)
    Total Responses: 6,000 including both interviewed farmworkers and 
employers.
    Average Time per Response: Time per response for employers is 
approximately 20 minutes and for farmworker interviewees approximately 
one hour.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,000 hours (4,500 hours of this 
burden time will be incurred by workers and 500 by farm employers).
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: 0.
    Total initial annual costs: (operating/maintaining systems or 
purchasing services): 0.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request. The comments will 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: April 18, 1998.

    Authorized Official in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Policy.
Richard Mines,
Economist.
[FR Doc. 98-10837 Filed 4-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-23-M