Pilot Surveys of Employee Voice in the Coal Mining Industry

Forms and Documents

Document	Type	Status	Availability
Pilot Survey of Miners' Voice in the Workplace	Form	New	Available
Part B - 12-19-12 - clean.docx	Supporting Statement B	Uploaded 2013-01-08	Available
Appendix D - Federal Register Notice.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2012-05-02	Available
Voice-in-Mining_SupportingStatement_PartA-12-18-12 - clean.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2013-01-08	Available

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
202133	Pilot Survey of Miners' Voice in the Workplace	Form	New

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1219-0149	ICR Reference No: 201205-1219-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: DOL/MSHA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Pilot Surveys of Employee Voice in the Coal Mining Industry
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 01/10/2013
	Date Received in OIRA: 06/12/2012
Terms of Clearance: This information collection request is approved as revised/supplemented by DOL/MSHA. OMB notes that approval of this pilot test does not imply ultimate approval of this concept as a full-fledged study. OMB recommends that DOL provide OMB with information on the results of the pilot and its plans for moving forward prior to fully developing its ultimate survey design.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	01/31/2016	36 Months From Approved
Responses	375	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	156	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is performing a pilot study to determine how to measure workers' voice in mining workplaces under the jurisdiction of DOL's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). DOL's working definition for voice in the workplace is the "workers' ability to access information on their rights in the workplace, their understanding of those rights, and their ability to exercise these rights without fear of discrimination or retaliation." Voice in the workplace is a key outcome goal for the Secretary of Labor and part of her vision of good jobs for everyone. A separate concurrent effort witll measure workers' voice in the workplaces under the jurisdiction of DOL's Wage and Hour Division and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Measuring voice among miners, however, poses unique data collection challenges, including implementing a survey in a setting that feels non-threatening to mine workers, and asking questions in a format that reflects mining community cultures and practices. DOL is performing a pilot study to investigate the efficacy of different data collection methods and to develop a survey instrument that is appropriate for the mining community. The primary research question is "What measures of voice and perceived non-compliance, combined with what modes of data collection, could be best used to track MSHA's worker protection outreach activity?" This submission covers a set 2-3 small scale pilot data collections. Data collection for this effort will employ 2-3 strategies: (1) submission of paper questionnaires to be filled out by individual mine workers during offsite mining-related training sessions, (2) recruitment of miners through the use of radio and paper advertisements, and (3) a mail or phone survey. DOL is currently assessing the feasibility of each method prior to implementation. For example, implementation of a phone or mail survey will depend on the availability of a valid list of miners. A maximum of 125 respondents will be surveyed under each collection mode for a total of 375 maximum respondents for the overall effort.

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Authorizing Statute(s): None

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	77 FR 2760	01/19/2012
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	77 FR 35058	06/12/2012
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Pilot Survey of Miners' Voice in the Workplace	NA, NA	National Survey of Miners' Voice in the Workplace ,   National Survey of Miners' Voice in the Workplace

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	375	0	0	375	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	156	0	0	156	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is a new information collection.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 06/12/2012

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