Federal Register Notice for Sixty Days' Comments

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 126 / Monday, June 30, 2008 / Notices
Employee Benefits Security
Administration and for chairs of this
year’s Working Groups to provide
progress reports on their individual
study topics.
Organizations or members of the
public wishing to submit a written
statement may do so by submitting 25
copies on or before July 9, 2008 to Larry
Good, Executive Secretary, ERISA
Advisory Council, U.S. Department of
Labor, Suite N–5623, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
Statements also may be submitted
electronically to [email protected].
Statements received on or before July 9
will be included in the record of the
meeting. Oral presentations will be
limited to 10 minutes, time permitting,
but an extended statement may be
submitted for the record. Individuals
with disabilities, who need special
accommodations, should contact Larry
Good by July 9 at the address indicated.
All individuals who plan to attend the
meeting should contact Larry Good by
July 14 to expedite building access.

concerning the proposed revision of the
collection of information on the
registered apprenticeship program (ETA
Form 671) under Title 29 CFR Part 29
(Labor Standards for the Registration of
Apprenticeship Programs).
A copy of the proposed information
collection request (ICR) can be obtained
by contacting the office listed below in
the addressee 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
addressee’s section below on or before
August 29, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
to the Employment and Training
Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Room N–5311, Washington, DC 20210,
Attention: John V. Ladd, Telephone
number: 202–693–2796 (this is not a
toll-free number). Fax: 202–693–2808.
E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Signed at Washington, DC this 24th day of
June, 2008.
Bradford P. Campbell,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits
Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E8–14703 Filed 6–27–08; 8:45 am]

I. Background
The National Apprenticeship Act of
1937 authorizes and directs the
Secretary of Labor to formulate and
promote the furtherance of labor
standards necessary to safeguard the
welfare of apprentices, to extend the
application of such standards by
encouraging the inclusion thereof in
contracts of apprenticeship, to bring
together employers and labor for the
formulation of programs of
apprenticeship, to cooperate with State
agencies engaged in the formulation and
promotion of standards of
apprenticeship, and to cooperate with
the Secretary of Education (29 U.S.C.
50). Section 50a of the Act authorizes
the Secretary of Labor to publish
information relating to existing and
proposed labor standards of
apprenticeship, and to appoint national
advisory committees (29 U.S.C. 50a).
Title 29 CFR Part 29 sets forth labor
standards to safeguard the welfare of
apprentices, and to extend the
application of such standards by
prescribing policies and procedures
concerning registration, for certain
Federal purposes, of acceptable
apprenticeship programs with the U.S.
Department of Labor, Employment and
Training Administration, Office of
Apprenticeship (formerly known as the
Office of Apprenticeship Training,
Employers and Labor Services and
previously as the Bureau of
Apprenticeship and Training). These
labor standards, policies and procedures
cover: Registration of apprenticeship
programs and apprenticeship

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Proposed Extension With Revisions of
a Currently Approved Information
Collection for Registered
Apprenticeship Program Data (ETA
Form 671)
Employment and Training
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES

AGENCY:

SUMMARY: The U.S. 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
Employment and Training
Administration is soliciting comments

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agreements; the recognition of a State
agency as the appropriate agency for
registering local apprenticeship
programs for certain Federal purposes;
and matters relating thereto.
Title 29 CFR Part 30 sets forth policies
and procedures to promote equality of
opportunity in apprenticeship programs
registered with the U.S. Department of
Labor and recognized State
Apprenticeship Agencies. These
policies and procedures apply to
recruitment and selection of
apprentices, and to all conditions of
employment and training during
apprenticeship. The procedures provide
for review of apprenticeship programs,
for registering apprenticeship programs,
for processing complaints, and for
deregistering non-complying
apprenticeship programs. This part also
provides policies and procedures for
continuation or withdrawal of
recognition of State agencies which
register apprenticeship programs for
Federal purposes.
The information collection instrument
for this request is ETA Form 671 (ETA
Program Registration, section I, and
Apprentice Registration, section II). The
Apprentice Registration section II
electronic instrument has been widely
accepted, used by more than 50 percent
of new apprentice registrations. With
the redesign of the Registered
Apprenticeship Partners Information
Data System (RAPIDS), formerly known
as the Registered Apprenticeship
Information System (RAIS), Program
Registration section I provides for
electronic program registration by the
program sponsor. Therefore the Office of
Apprenticeship seeks to revise these two
sections of ETA Form 671 to facilitate
the registration of programs and
apprentices. This ICR seeks a three-year
approval.
II. Review Focus
The Department of Labor 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

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 126 / Monday, June 30, 2008 / Notices

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
Recordkeeping and data collection
activities regarding registered
apprenticeship are by-products of the
registration system. Organizations
which apply for apprenticeship
sponsorship enter into an agreement
with the Federal Government or
cognizant State government to operate
their proposed programs consistent with
29 CFR Parts 29 and 30. Apprenticeship
sponsors are not required to file reports
regarding their apprentices other than to
register individuals and to update
information as an apprentice moves
through their program. This revision
request includes the request to collect
the employer identification number
(EIN) of the program sponsor (on a
voluntary basis) when registering a
program. The EIN is an Internal
Revenue Service Federal tax
identification number that is used to
identify a business entity. Including this
number during the program registration
ensures that the business is legitimate
with the intention of maintaining a
registered program and safeguards the
welfare and training of apprentices. The
additional program information
requested meets the requirements for
apprenticeship program registration in
accordance with Title 29 CFR Parts 29
and 30. The primary headings are as
follows: Program Sponsor Information;

Program Registration Information,
Program-related Sponsor Contact
Information, Occupation Information,
Wage Record Under Journeyworkers
Employed, Related Technical
Instruction Information (RTI) and RTI
Source Information. The additions to
the currently approved Program
Registration in Section I are mostly
routine information such as the
identification of the entities, their
addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail
addresses, fax numbers and Web site
addresses. Definitions and instructions
are also included. Where necessary, this
information will be repopulated
electronically from the apprenticeship
database to the revised Apprentice
Registration section II, Part B: Sponsor
field area. Other additions or changes to
Apprentice Registration section II
include the following: Added under
Career Linkage or Direct Entry, the data
fields Trade Adjustment and
YouthBuild Programs and updated the
justification for requesting the
Apprentice Social Security Number.
These sections, Program Registration
and Apprentice Registration, are used at
different times, for different purposes,
and with different individuals or
entities. The information is not
duplicative. The Apprenticeship and
Training Representative will be
available upon request to provide full
technical assistance and services to
those program sponsors and apprentices
who do not have computer technology
available. The decrease of 34,535
burden hours (from 55,632 to 26,757)
reported in the previous ICR is due to
the response time change from 15

minutes to 5 minutes in the Apprentice
Registration section II instrument.
Finally, OMB’s October 27, 2005
approval for this ICR requested that the
database incorporate the latest
classification systems as soon as
practicable. It also directed that future
ICRs for this collection must explain the
actions taken to move in that direction.
In response, the Office of
Apprenticeship incorporated the North
American Industry Classification
System in its re-engineered database,
RAPIDS, formerly known as RAIS, on
February 2, 2008.
Type of Review: Revisions to ETA
Form 671.
Agency: Employment and Training
Administration.
Title: Labor Standards for the
Registration of Apprenticeship
Programs.
OMB Number: 1205–0223.
Recordkeeping: Data retention is
consistent with 5 CFR 1320.5. However,
a records retention requirement of five
years is necessary. The duration of
many apprenticeship programs is four
years or more, and it is important to
keep the records for a period of time
after an apprentice has left the program.
Affected Public: Program Sponsors,
State Apprenticeship Councils or
Agencies, Applicants, Apprentices,
Tribal Governments.
Form: ETA Form 671, Program
Registration section I and Apprentice
Registration section II.
Total Respondents: 248,728.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
26,757.
Total Burden Cost: 0.

SUMMARY TABLE
Requirement
ETA
Form 671
Section I .......
Section II ......

Sec.

Total
respondents

29.3
29.3
29.6
29.5
29.12

1,500
144,000
100,000
1,500
1,600
(30)

1-time
1-time
1-time
1-time
1-time
1-time

29.12
29.12
29.13

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES

Total ......

Annual
responses

Frequency
basis
basis
basis
basis
basis
basis

............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................

1,500
144,000
100,000
1,500
1,600
(30)

Average
response time
.166 hr/sponsor ......................
.083 hr/apprentice ..................
.083 hr/apprentice ..................
2 hrs/sponsor 2 hrs/SAC ........
2 hrs/SAC ...............................
0 hrs .......................................

28
0

1-time basis ............................
1-time basis ............................

28
0

2 hrs. SAC ..............................
0 .............................................

56
0

248.728

.................................................

248.728

.................................................

26.757

collection request; they will also
become a matter of public record.

Dated: June 19, 2008.
John V. Ladd,
Administrator, Office of Apprenticeship,
Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. E8–14707 Filed 6–27–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FR–P

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249
11,952
8,300
3,000
3,200
0

Accomplished in 1977; no new state agency expected in 2008.

Comments submitted in response to
this comment request will be
summarized and/or included in the
request for Office of Management and
Budget approval of the information

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hours

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