24040 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 98 / Friday, May 22, 2009 / Notices 

Agency: Employment and Training 

Administration (ETA). 

Title: Weekly Initial and Continued 

Claims. 

OMB Number: 1205–0028. 

Agency Number: ETA 538, ETA 539. 

Affected Public: State and Local 

Governments. 

Total Respondents: 53. 

Frequency: Weekly. 

Total Responses: 104 (52 weekly 

responses for each of the two reports). 

Average Time per Response: 30 

minutes per submittal for the ETA 538, 

50 minutes per submittal for the ETA 

539. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

Reports Minutes Hours 

ETA 538—53 States ............................................................................................. × 52 × 30 = 1,378. 

ETA 539—53 States ............................................................................................. × 52 × 50 = 2,297. 

Total Burden Hours: 3,675. 

Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): 

$0. 

Total Burden Cost (operating/ 

maintaining): $0. 

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 will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Dated: Friday, May 15, 2009. 

Cheryl Atkinson, 

Administrator, Office of Workforce Security. 

[FR Doc. E9–11962 Filed 5–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FW–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection Request Submitted for 

Public Comment; COBRA Notification 

Requirements—American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the 

Department), in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 

95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides 

the general public and Federal agencies 

with an opportunity to comment on 

proposed and continuing collections of 

information. This helps the Department 

assess the impact of its information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the reporting burden on the public and 

helps the public understand the 

Department’s information collection 

requirements and provide the requested 

data in the desired format. Currently, 

the Employee Benefits Security 

Administration is soliciting comments 

on the revision of the information 

collection provisions of its final rule at 

29 CFR Part 2590, Health Care 

Continuation Coverage to reflect the 

hour and cost burden associated with 

the COBRA notification requirements 

under the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009. A copy of the 

information collection request (ICR) 

may be obtained by contacting the office 

listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 

notice. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office shown in the 

ADDRESSES section on or before July 21, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

regarding the information collection 

request and burden estimates to G. 

Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and 

Research, Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Room N–5647, Washington, DC 20210. 

Telephone: (202) 693–8410; Fax: (202) 

219–4745. These are not toll-free 

numbers. Comments may also be 

submitted electronically to the 

following Internet e-mail address: 

ebsa.opr@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The continuation coverage provisions 

of section 601 through 608 of ERISA 

(and parallel provisions of the Internal 

Revenue Code (Code)) generally require 

group health plans to offer qualified 

beneficiaries the opportunity to elect 

continuation coverage following certain 

events that would otherwise result in 

the loss of coverage. Continuation 

coverage is a temporary extension of the 

qualified beneficiary’s previous group 

health coverage. The right to elect 

continuation coverage allows 

individuals to maintain group health 

coverage under adverse circumstances 

and to bridge gaps in health coverage 

that otherwise could limit their access 

to health care. 

COBRA provides the Secretary of 

Labor (the Secretary) with authority 

under section 608 of ERISA to carry out 

the continuation coverage provisions. 

The Conference Report that 

accompanied COBRA divided 

interpretive authority over the COBRA 

provisions between the Secretary and 

the Secretary of the Treasury (the 

Treasury) by providing that the 

Secretary has the authority to issue 

regulations implementing the notice and 

disclosure requirements of COBRA, 

while the Treasury is authorized to 

issue regulations defining the required 

continuation coverage. 

On February 17, 2009, President 

Obama signed the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 

(Pub. L. 111–5). ARRA includes a 

requirement that the Secretary of Labor 

(the Secretary), in consultation with the 

Secretaries of the Treasury and Health 

and Human Services, develop model 

notices for use by group health plans 

and other entities that, pursuant to 

ARRA, must provide notices of the 

availability of premium reductions and 

additional election periods for health 

care continuation coverage. 

On March 17, 2009, the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approved the model notices as a 

revision to OMB Control Number 1210– 

0123 under the emergency procedures 

for review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 

35) and 5 CFR 1320.13. On March 20, 

2009, the Department published a 

Federal Register notice announcing the 

availability of the notices on its Web site 

(74 FR11971) at http://www.dol.gov/ 

ebsa/COBRA.html. OMB’s approval of 

the revision currently is scheduled to 

expire on September 30, 2009. 

II. Current Actions 

This notice requests public comment 

pertaining to the Department’s request 

for extension of OMB’s approval of its 

revision to OMB Control Number 1210– 

0123 relating to the ARRA model 

notices. After considering comments 

received in response to this notice, the 

Department intends to submit an ICR to 

OMB for continuing approval. No 

change to the existing ICR is proposed 

or made at this time. The Department 

notes that an agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, an information collection 

unless it displays a valid OMB control 

number. A summary of the ICR and the 

current burden estimates follows: 


erowe on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 98 / Friday, May 22, 2009 / Notices 24041 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: COBRA Notification 

Requirements—American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0123. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other for-profit; 

not-for-profit institutions. 

Respondents: 593,000. 

Frequency of Responses: On occasion. 

Responses: 38,115,000. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: None. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): 

$34,500,000. 

III. Desired Focus of Comments 

The Department of Labor 

(Department) 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., by permitting electronic 

submissions of responses. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the ICR for OMB approval 

of the extension of the information 

collection; they will also become a 

matter of public record. 

Dated: May 18, 2009. 

Joseph S. Piacentini, 

Director, Office of Policy and Research, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–11977 Filed 5–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection 

Request for Unemployment Insurance 

(UI) Title XII Advances and Voluntary 

Repayment Process; Comment 

Request for Extension Without Change 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, 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 general public 

and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing collection 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. 

A copy of the proposed information 

collection request (ICR) can be obtained 

by contacting the office listed below in 

the ADDRESSES section of this notice or 

by accessing: http://www.doleta.gov/ 

OMBCN/OMBControlNumber.cfm. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

ADDRESSES section below on or before 

July 21, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Scott 

Gibbons, U.S. Department of Labor, 

Employment and Training 

Administration, Office of Workforce 

Security, 200 Constitution Avenue, 

NW., Frances Perkins Bldg., Room S– 

4231, Washington, DC 20210, telephone 

number (202) 693–3008 (this is not a 

toll-free number) or by e-mail: 

gibbons.scott@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Title XII Section 1201 of the SSA 

provides for advances to States from the 

Federal Unemployment Account. The 

law further sets out specific 

requirements to be met by a State 

requesting an advance: 

Æ The Governor must apply for the 

advance; 

Æ The application must cover a three 

month period and the Secretary of Labor 

must be furnished with estimates of the 

amounts needed in each month of the 

three month period; 

Æ The application must be made on 

such forms and shall contain such 

information and data (fiscal and 

otherwise) concerning the operation and 

administration of the State 

unemployment compensation law as the 

Secretary of Labor deems necessary or 

relevant to the performance of his or her 

duties under this title; 

Æ The amount required by any State 

for the payment of compensation in any 

month shall be determined with due 

allowance for contingencies and taking 

into account all other amounts that will 

be available in the State’s 

unemployment fund for the payment of 

compensation in such month; 

Æ The term ‘‘compensation’’ means 

cash benefits payable to individuals 

with respect to their unemployment 

exclusive of expenses of administration. 

Section 1202(a) of the SSA provides 

that the Governor of any State may at 

any time request that funds be 

transferred from the account of such 

State to the FUA in repayment of part 

or all of the balance of advances made 

to such State under section 1201. These 

applications and repayments may be 

requested by an individual designated 

for that authority in writing by the 

Governor. DOL proposes to extend this 

procedure through August 2012. 

II. Desired Focus of Comments 

Currently, the Employment and 

Training Administration is soliciting 

comments concerning the proposed 

extension of this collection. Comments 

are requested to: 

* Evaluate whether the proposed 

extension of the current procedure 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 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: Extension without 

change. 


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