[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 191 (Monday, October 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61178-61180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24775]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection, Comment Request

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 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 (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. The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the 
proposed revision of the ``National Compensation Survey.'' 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 November 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora Kincaid, 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: Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
at 202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (See Addresses 
section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is an ongoing survey of 
earnings and benefits among private firms, State, and local government. 
The NCS is currently the integration of the sampling, collection, and 
processing for the Employment Cost Index (ECI), the Employee Benefits 
Survey (EBS), and the Locality Pay Surveys (LPS) into a single, unified 
program of compensation statistics. This integration improves data for 
policymakers and researchers, reduces respondent burden, improves the 
utilization of BLS resources, and enhances the published measures of 
compensation. Data from the integrated program include estimates of 
wages by job levels covering broad groups of related occupations, and 
data that directly links benefit plan costs with detailed plan 
provisions. The integrated program's single sample also produces both 
time-series indexes and cost levels for industry and occupational 
groups, thereby increasing the analytical potential of the data. 
Benefits of the integrated sample include: improved measures of trends; 
better integration of benefit costs and plan provisions; data for 
narrow occupations; and broad regional and occupational coverage. The 
NCS employs probability methods for selection of occupations. This 
ensures that sampled occupations represent all occupations in the 
workforce, while minimizing the reporting burden on respondents. Data 
from the NCS are critical for setting Federal white-collar salaries, 
determining monetary policy (as a Principal Federal Economic 
Indicator), and for compensation administrators and researchers in the 
private sector.
    The survey collects data from a sample of employers. These data 
will consist of information about the duties, responsibilities, and 
compensation (earnings and benefits) for a sample of occupations for 
each sampled employer.
    Data will be updated on a quarterly basis. The updates will allow 
for production of data on change in earnings and total compensation.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
National Compensation Survey.
    The NCS collects earnings and work level data on occupations for 
the nation. The NCS also collects information on the cost, provisions, 
and incidence of all the major employee benefits through its benefit 
cost and benefit provision programs and publications.
    The Administration has proposed 2011 budget calls for the 
elimination of the Locality Pay Survey (LPS), which is the part of the 
National Compensation Survey that provides occupational wage data by 
industry and specific geographic areas. The NCS is currently developing 
a new survey design that excludes the LPS. Planning and design for 
these changes are ongoing. NCS will

[[Page 61179]]

transition from an area-based survey design to a non-area-based 
national design, supplemented with modeled wages starting in FY 2011. 
Sample changes are reflected in the stated collection and respondent 
burden estimates.
    The NCS data on benefit costs is used to produce the ECI and 
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. The data provided will be the 
same, and the series will be continuous.
    The NCS will continue to provide employee benefit provision and 
participation data. These data include estimates of how many workers 
receive the various employer-sponsored benefits. The data also will 
include information about the common provisions of benefit plans.
    NCS has modified the collection forms, to 14 forms (normally having 
unique private industry and government initiation and update collection 
forms and versions.) Two forms are unique for private industry and 
government sample members who report data through the Secure Sockets 
Layer (SSL) encryption Web-site. For NCS update collection, the forms 
give respondents their previously reported information, the dates they 
expected change to occur to these data, and space for reporting these 
changes.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
    <bullet> 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.
    <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.
    <bullet> 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.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: National Compensation Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0164.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; and State, local, and tribal government.
    Total Respondents: 14,433 (three-year average).
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    All figures in the table below are based on a three-year average. 
The total respondents in the table are greater than the figure shown 
above because many respondents are asked to provide information 
relating to more than one form.

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                                                                                      Avg. minutes
                                      Total                           Total annual       for the
              Form                 respondents        Frequency         responses      predominant   Total hours
                                    per form                                           form use **
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Establishment collection form                 *  ..................               *              19            *
 (NCS Form 11-1G).
Establishment collection form             1,960  At initiation.....           1,960              19          621
 (NCS Form 11-1P).
Earnings form (NCS Form 11-2G).               *  ..................               *              20            *
Earnings form (NCS Form 11-2P).           1,960  At initiation.....           1,960              20          653
Wage Shuttle form computer               10,665  Quarterly (3.827            40,823              20       13,608
 generated earnings update form                   avg.).
 <greek-i>.
Work Level Form (NCS Form 11-                 *  ..................               *              25            *
 3G).
Work Level Form (NCS FORM 11-             1,960  At initiation.....           1,960              25          817
 3P).
Work Schedule Form (NCS 11-4G).               *  ..................               *              10            *
Work Schedule Form (NCS 11-4P).           1,960  At initiation.....           1,960              10          327
Benefits Collection Form (NCS                 *  ..................               *             177            *
 11-5G).
Benefits Collection Form (NCS             1,960  At initiation.....           1,960           178.5        5,831
 11-5P).
Summary of Benefits (Benefit             10,665  Quarterly.........          40,823           19.92       13,553
 update form SO-1003) is                         (3.83 avg.).......
 computer generated <greek-i>.
Collection not tied to a                  1,808  1.89..............           3,420              30        1,710
 specific form (testing,
 Quality Assurance/Quality
 Measurement, etc.).**
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals.....................          32,938  ..................          94,866  ..............       37,120
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* Most NCS Government forms (NCS 11-XG), are only used for government sample initiations, which is not currently
  planned during this Clearance cycle.
** Collection forms can have multiple uses. The table above shows the average collection times for the
  predominant uses of the forms. Record checks (for quality assurance and measurement) are done on a sub-sample
  of respondents verifying responses for pre-selected sections of the collection forms.
<greek-i> Includes IDCF form time (Web based screen for SSL encryption web-site secure.)


[[Page 61180]]

    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 28th day of September 2010.
Kimberley Hill,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2010-24775 Filed 10-1-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P