Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 207 / Monday, October 27, 2014 / Notices 63945 

c. Recommend BLS conduct internal 

research projects to address technical 

problems with BLS statistics that have 

been identified in the academic 

literature. 

d. Participate in discussions of areas 

where the types or coverage of economic 

statistics could be expanded or 

improved and areas where statistics are 

no longer relevant. 

e. Establish working relationships 

with professional associations with an 

interest in BLS statistics, such as the 

American Statistical Association and 

the American Economic Association. 

The Committee will report to the 

Commissioner of Labor Statistics. 

The Committee consists of 

approximately sixteen members who 

serve as Special Government 

Employees. Members are appointed by 

the BLS and are approved by the 

Secretary of Labor. Committee members 

are economists, statisticians, and 

behavioral scientists and are chosen to 

achieve a balanced membership across 

those disciplines. They are prominent 

experts in their fields and recognized for 

their professional achievements and 

objectivity. 

The Committee will function solely as 

an advisory body, in compliance with 

the provisions of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act. The Charter will be 

filed under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act. 

For Further Information Contact: Lisa 

Fieldhouse, Office of Productivity and 

Technology, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

telephone: 202–691–5025, email: 

fieldhouse.lisa@bls.gov. 

Signed at Washington, DC this 9th day of 

October 2014. 

Kimberley D. Hill, 

Chief, Division of Management Systems, 

Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25440 Filed 10–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–24–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Comment Request for Information 

Collection for the Jobs and Innovation 

Accelerator Challenge (JIAC) and 

Advanced Manufacturing JIAC (AM– 

JIAC) Grants, New Collection 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration (ETA), Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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 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 [44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)] (PRA). The PRA helps 

ensure that respondents can provide 

requested data in the desired format 

with minimal reporting burden (time 

and financial resources), with collection 

instruments that are clearly understood, 

and that the impact of collection 

requirements on respondents can be 

properly assessed. 

Currently, ETA is soliciting comments 

concerning the collection of data for the 

evaluation of the JIAC and AM–JIAC 

grants and seeks approval for two 

rounds of in-person visits to a subset of 

grantee clusters and a survey of an 

estimated 330 respondents across all 30 

grants. The site visits will involve nine 

purposefully selected clusters in round 

one and a return visit to three of those 

clusters in round two. The visits will 

consist of semi-structured interviews 

about implementation of the JIAC 

initiative to be conducted with cluster 

management staff, activity leaders, 

frontline staff, participants, the local 

workforce investment boards, employer 

groups, and local economic 

development agencies. The survey will 

involve at least 11 respondents in each 

of the 30 clusters. Respondents within 

each cluster will include one cluster 

manager, one ETA funding stream 

administrator (if this person is different 

from the cluster manager) and either 

nine or 10 additional partner 

organizations. The survey will focus on 

cluster organization, communication, 

funding sufficiency, the types and 

usefulness of Federal support, and 

program management and 

sustainability. 

DATES: Submit written comments to the 

office listed in the addresses section 

below on or before December 26, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Gloria Salas-Kos, Office of Policy 

Development and Research, Room 

N5641, Employment and Training 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20210. Telephone 

number: 202–693–3596 (this is not a 

toll-free number). Individuals with 

hearing or speech impairments may 

access the telephone number above via 

TTY by calling the toll-free Federal 

Information Relay Service at 1–877– 

889–5627 (TTY/TDD). Fax: 202–693– 

2766. Email: salas-kos.gloria@dol.gov. 

To obtain a copy of the proposed 

information collection request, please 

contact the person listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gloria Salas-Kos, Office of Policy 

Development and Research, Room 

N5641, Employment and Training 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20210. Telephone 

number: 202–693–3596 (this is not a 

toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

As of May 2011, when the first round 

of JIAC grants was issued, the 

unemployment rate in the United States 

was nine percent. Almost 14 million 

people were looking for jobs. Although 

the rate of unemployment has since 

fallen by almost two percentage points, 

it remains higher than at any point over 

the decade leading up to the ‘‘Great 

Recession’’ that began in 2007. As the 

population has continued to grow, job 

growth has surfaced to the top of the 

nation’s economic agenda. The 

economic downturn has led to greater 

attention to the role of regional 

innovation clusters as drivers for 

improving the economy, creating jobs 

and employment, and enhancing U.S. 

competitiveness. 

ETA has been an active Federal 

partner in the funding and promotion of 

regional innovation clusters for the past 

decade. Specifically, it has sought to 

address one of the challenges that the 

clusters face as they pursue economic 

growth: Employers in some high-wage 

industries with the potential for creating 

jobs report trouble finding American 

workers with the skills to fill the 

vacancies. Under the authority of 

section 414(c) of the American 

Competitiveness and Workforce 

Improvement Act of 1998, as amended 

(29 U.S.C. 2916a), ETA invests heavily 

in grants to build the skills and 

qualifications of domestic unemployed 

workers so that they can fill these 

positions and reduce the need for 

foreign workers under the H–1B visa 

program. In 2011 and 2012, ETA 

partnered with other Federal funding 

agencies to support the JIAC grants 

competitions; ETA has commissioned 

this study to evaluate and learn from 

these investments. 

The evaluation will address the 

following five key research questions: 

1. What is the role of multiagency 

collaboration in the planning and 

implementation of cluster activities? 

2. How and in what ways do regional 

clusters, programs, and partnerships 

develop under the grant? 

3. What workforce-related outcomes 

do the clusters report achieving through 

this initiative? 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
63946 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 207 / Monday, October 27, 2014 / Notices 

4. How is the initiative managed 

within each cluster? What practices are 

being implemented to promote 

sustainability of grant resources, 

partnerships, and activities? 

5. What are key lessons learned 

through implementation? How and 

under what circumstances might these 

lessons be replicated? 

II. Review Focus 

The Department is particularly 

interested in comments which: 

• 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 submissions 

of responses. 

III. Current Actions 

Type of Review: New collection. 

Title: Jobs and Innovation Accelerator 

Challenge grants evaluation. 

OMB Number: 1205—0NEW. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit, and not-for-profit institutions. 

BURDEN AND COST ESTIMATES FOR JIAC COLLECTION

Number of 

respondents 

Burden per 

response 

(minutes) 

Total 

respondent 

burden 

(hours) 

Total 

burden 

cost 

Site Visits Total ................................................................................................ ........................ ........................ 192.75 $3,867 

Round 1 total ................................................................................................... 165 52 142.50 2,849 

Cluster members ...................................................................................... 147 55 133.50 2,705 

Program participants ................................................................................ 18 30 9.00 144 

Round 2 total ................................................................................................... 54 56 50.25 1018 

Cluster members ...................................................................................... 54 56 50.25 1018 

Survey Total ..................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ 141.50 2,867 

Cluster member contact information submission ..................................... 30 30 15.00 304 

Online survey completion ................................................................................ 330 23 126.50 2,563 

Total for Site Visits and Survey ......................................................... ........................ ........................ 334.25 6,734 

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs 

Burden: $0. 

We will summarize, and/or include in 

the request for OMB approval of the 

ICR, the comments received in response 

to this comment request; they will also 

become a matter of public record. 

Portia Wu, 

Assistant Secretary for Employment and 

Training, Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25421 Filed 10–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

[Docket No. OSHA–2006–0040] 

SGS North America, Inc.: Applications 

for Expansion of Recognition 

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In this notice, OSHA 

announces the applications of SGS 

North America, Inc. for expansion of its 

recognition as a Nationally Recognized 

Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents 

the Agency’s preliminary finding to 

grant the application. 

DATES: Submit comments, information, 

and documents in response to this 

notice, or requests for an extension of 

time to make a submission, on or before 

November 12, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by any of 

the following methods: 

1. Electronically: Submit comments 

and attachments electronically at 

http://www.regulations.gov, which is 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow 

the instructions online for making 

electronic submissions. 

2. Facsimile: If submissions, 

including attachments, are not longer 

than 10 pages, commenters may fax 

them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 

693–1648. 

3. Regular or express mail, hand 

delivery, or messenger (courier) service: 

Submit comments, requests, and any 

attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, 

Docket No. OSHA–2006–0040, 

Technical Data Center, U.S. Department 

of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Room N–2625, Washington, DC 20210; 

telephone: (202) 693–2350 (TTY 

number: (877) 889–5627). Note that 

security procedures may result in 

significant delays in receiving 

comments and other written materials 

by regular mail. Contact the OSHA 

Docket Office for information about 

security procedures concerning delivery 

of materials by express mail, hand 

delivery, or messenger service. The 

hours of operation for the OSHA Docket 

Office are 8:15 a.m.–4:45 p.m., E.T. 

4. Instructions: All submissions must 

include the Agency name and the OSHA 

docket number (OSHA–2006–0040). 

OSHA places comments and other 

materials, including any personal 

information, in the public docket 

without revision, and these materials 

will be available online at http://

www.regulations.gov. Therefore, the 

Agency cautions commenters about 

submitting statements they do not want 

made available to the public, or 

submitting comments that contain 

personal information (either about 

themselves or others) such as Social 

Security numbers, birth dates, and 

medical data. 

5. Docket: To read or download 

submissions 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 are listed in the http://

www.regulations.gov index; however, 

some information (e.g., copyrighted 

material) is not publicly available to 

read or download through the Web site. 

All submissions, including copyrighted 

material, are available for inspection 

and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. 

Contact the OSHA Docket Office for 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES