[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42683-42684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19168]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the 
voluntary Compensation and Salary Surveys (FR 29a, FR 29b; OMB No. 
7100-0290).
    On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA) to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of 
information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the 
Board. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into 
the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of 
information. Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission, 
supporting statements and approved collection of information 
instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal 
Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required 
to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, 
revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Federal Reserve Board Clearance 
Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of the Chief Data Officer, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 
452-3829. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may 
contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551.
    OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503 
or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
    Final Approval Under OMB Delegated Authority of the Extension for 
Three Years, Without Revision, of the Following Report:
    Report title: Compensation and Salary Surveys.
    Agency form number: FR 29a, FR 29b.
    OMB control number: 7100-0290.
    Frequency: FR 29a, annually; FR 29b, on occasion.
    Respondents: Employers considered competitors for Federal Reserve 
Board (Board) employees.
    Estimated number of respondents: FR 29a, 35; FR 29b, 10.
    Estimated average hours per response: FR 29a, 6 hours; FR 29b, 1 
hour.
    Estimated annual burden hours: FR 29a, 210 hours; FR 29b, 50 hours.
    General description of report: The FR 29a and FR 29b collect 
information on salaries, employee compensation policies, and other 
employee programs from employers that are considered competitors of the 
Board. The data from the surveys are primarily used to determine the 
appropriate salary structure and salary adjustments for Board employees 
so that salary ranges are competitive with other organizations offering 
similar jobs. The Board along with other Financial Institutions 
Reforms, Recovery and Enforcement Act

[[Page 42684]]

of 1989 (FIRREA) agencies \1\ conduct the FR 29a survey jointly. The FR 
29b is collected by the Board only.
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    \1\ For purposes of this proposal, the FIRREA agencies consist 
of: The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National 
Credit Union Administration, the Commodities Futures Trading 
Commission, the Farm Credit Administration, and the Securities and 
Exchange Commission.
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    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The Board's Legal Division 
has determined that the FR 29a and FR29b surveys are voluntary and 
authorized by sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 
U.S.C. 244 and 248(1)), which authorize the Board to determine 
employees' compensation. The FR 29a survey is completed by an outside 
consultant that submits to the Board a report of the survey containing 
only aggregate data. Because the Board does not collect or have access 
to the individual respondent data, no confidentiality issue arises with 
respect to the individual responses to the FR 29a. The Board does not 
consider the report containing aggregate data to be confidential. The 
FR 29b consists of ad hoc surveys conducted by the Board during the 
year to collect information on specific salary and non-salary matters 
that affect Board employees. The ability of the Board to maintain the 
confidentiality of information provided by respondents to the FR 29b 
surveys will have to be determined on a case by case basis depending on 
the data collected under a particular survey. Some of the information 
collected on the surveys may be protected from Freedom of Information 
Act (FOIA) disclosure by FOIA exemptions 4 and 6. (5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(4) 
and (6)). Exemption 4 protects from disclosure trade secrets and 
commercial or financial information, while Exemption 6 protects 
information ``the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.''
    Consultation outside the agency: Towers Watson and the Board work 
together to review and update the FR 29a survey instrument.
    Current actions: On June 29, 2017 the Board published a notice in 
the Federal Register (82 FR 29564) requesting public comment for 60 
days on the extension, without revision, of the Compensation and Salary 
Surveys. The comment period for this notice expired on August 28, 2017. 
The Board did not receive any comments.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 6, 
2017.
Ann E. Misback,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2017-19168 Filed 9-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P