Supporting Statement (1220-0168)

Supporting Statement (1220-0168).doc

General Inquiries to State Agency Contacts

OMB: 1220-0168

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General Inquiries to State Agency Contacts

Supporting Statement


Part A. Justification

  1. Circumstances necessitating data collection


The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) awards funds to State agencies in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands (hereinafter referred to as the “States”) for the operation of the Labor Market Information (LMI) and/or Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) Federal/State cooperative statistical programs, which themselves have been approved by OMB separately, as follows:


Current Employment Statistics (CES) 1220-0011
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) 1220-0017
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) 1220-0042
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW or ES-202) 1220-0012
Annual Refiling Survey (ARS) 1220-0032
Labor Market Information (LMI) Cooperative Agreement 1220-0079

Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) 1220-0134
Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) 1220-0090
Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) 1220-0045
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) 1220-0133

BLS/OSHS Federal/State Cooperative Agreement 1220-0149

(This list of BLS/State cooperative statistical programs may change over time.)


To ensure the timely flow of information and to be able to evaluate and improve BLS/State cooperative programs, it is necessary to conduct ongoing communications between the BLS and its State partners. Whether information requests deal with program deliverables, program enhancements, or administrative issues, questions and dialogue are crucial to the successful implementation of these programs.


In order to conduct these communications, the BLS is requesting OMB approval of general inquiries, allowing dialogue between the BLS and its State partners. Due to the day-to-day and sometimes urgent nature of these information requests, these inquiries are conducted on an ongoing basis.


  1. Purpose of data collection


Information collected under this clearance is used to support the administrative and programmatic needs of these joint BLS/State programs.


  1. Use of improved information technology to reduce burden


The BLS primarily uses email or telephone contacts to collect information from the States. Written memoranda from the BLS to the States also are used to request information when appropriate. Many of the requests are made to address time-critical issues where the use of formal information collection instruments is not practical.


  1. Efforts to identify duplication


Information collected from the States by the BLS is unique to these Federal/State collections.


  1. Minimizing small employer burden


Information is collected from governments of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. None of this information is collected from businesses.


  1. Consequences of less frequent data collection


The BLS makes requests for information from the States to ensure that deliverables are provided on schedule and to identify and resolve any problems or issues encountered by the States and/or the BLS. Some of these requests are made on a scheduled basis and others are made when events or issues necessitate. Some are administrative in nature and may deal with training, conferences, updating information, program operations, etc.


  1. Special circumstances relating to 5 CFR 1320.5


Some requests for information are made more frequently than quarterly and responses may be requested within fewer than 30 days. This is done when a quick turnaround time is appropriate to facilitate program operations.


  1. Federal Register Notice and outside consultation

Federal Register notice


No comments were received as a result of the Federal Register notice published in 74 FR 12386 on March 24, 2009.


Consultation outside the agency


The BLS and the States communicate on an ongoing basis and meet periodically regarding the conduct of these statistical programs.


  1. Payments to respondents


The States receive Federal domestic assistance provided under the BLS/State cooperative agreements.


10. Confidentiality provisions


Information collected under this clearance request generally is not confidential. The information typically is operational or administrative in nature. (Program-specific statistical data from respondents are treated in accordance with confidentiality provisions applicable to the respective programs. The confidentiality of those data is addressed in the clearance requests for those programs.)


  1. Sensitive questions


There are no sensitive questions asked.


  1. Estimated burden hours and costs


The burden hours for individual inquiries are variable. The frequency per State per program per year also is variable. There are 54 potential respondents, and the time required to complete an inquiry typically will vary from ten minutes to two hours. The total annual burden hours (15,927) and the total annual responses (23,890) requested in this clearance are based on BLS experience in administering the programs and are estimates of the maximums that would be required. The cost to respondents is included in Item 13.


  1. Costs resulting from information collection


There generally are no additional costs to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the information collection.


  1. Estimated annual costs to the Federal government


None. This activity is an inherent aspect of the ongoing conduct of the BLS/State cooperative programs, which themselves have been cleared by OMB separately.


  1. Changes in burden


The 164 hour burden increase is due to a change in agency estimates.


  1. Plans for tabulation and publication


The information collected will not be used for publication but, rather, for program operation purposes, including carrying out BLS fiduciary responsibilities for managing and administering the funds appropriated for the BLS/State cooperative statistical programs.


  1. Display of expiration date


BLS/State cooperative agreements under which these programs are conducted contain a notification paragraph explaining that the BLS will make inquiries to the States as needed to conduct the programs, and that those inquiries are covered under OMB Number 1220-0168.


  1. Exception to certification statement


There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

  1. Statistical Methods


Statistical methods generally are not used for this collection of information.

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File Typeapplication/msword
File TitleCENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES
Authorwindau_J
Last Modified ByNora Kincaid
File Modified2009-03-30
File Created2009-02-25

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