Note to Review

November 15, 2011

MEMORANDUM FOR : Reviewer of 1220-0045

FROM : Beth Rogers, Chief

Division of Safety and Health Statistics

Office of Compensation and Working Conditions

Bureau of Labor Statistics

SUBJECT : Changes to Internet Data Collection Facility for the Survey of
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII)

In January 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will begin using a revised SOII Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF) and ADOBE PDF form for the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) to accommodate the collection days of of job transfer or restriction cases (DJTR). The revisions clarify instructions and request one additional data point. OMB was notified of these upcoming changes in the most recent clearance package approved on October 7, 2010. A recent nonsubstantive change was submitted to OMB and approved by OMB on October 6, 2011 for the necessary updates to the paper forms to accommodate the collection of DJTR cases. This submissions covers the updates needed to the BLS IDCF and will complete the package for all necessary updates to accommodate this change.

The SOII Internet Data Collection Facility has been altered for 2011 to include instructions for selected respondents to report DJTR cases. Employers are currently required to maintain records for days of job transfer or restriction data on OSHA recordkeeping forms but BLS had not previously requested that employers copy this information into the SOII Internet Data Collection Facility. The BLS is maintaining the ceiling for case reporting, and this change will not add to the total number of cases employers report. As these data are already recorded by employers and will only need to be copied to the SOII Internet Data Collection Facility for employers reporting cases with days away from work, they do not represent an increased burden on the part of survey respondents. Inclusion of this data point will provide greater detail for BLS in reporting on workplace safety and health.

In addition to the changes made to allow for the collection of DJTR data, the BLS also has made changes to the materials included in the SOII Internet Data Collection Facility in order to make reporting easier for respondents. The changes are detailed below:

• The language in the SOII Internet Data Collection Facility was changed to specify the reporting year, to indicate the optional nature of some fields, to encourage respondents to provide contextual information when contacting the helpdesk, and to update the language in the help system to ensure consistency with the website.

• The address label example was changed to reflect the new design of the address label on the mailed form.

• A button allowing for the reporting of detailed case data was removed for respondents not needed to report detailed case data.

• Mouseover text was incorporated for many webpage elements to clearly reflect the functionality of these elements.

• Blanks in numeric fields are now displayed as zeros.

• A notification alerting the respondent that the session will time out was added.

• Browser titles were changed to match the titles displayed in the webpage.

Changes were also made to the ADOBE PDF form. These changes are detailed below:

• The reporting year was updated.

• The address label example was changed to reflect the new design of the address label on the mailed form.

• The error message window was modified to include instructions on how to proceed within the error message.

Copies of screenshots of the changes made to the SOII Internet Data Collection Facility and ADOBE PDF form have been included with this note to the reviewer. These changes are not expected to have an impact on respondent burden. If you have any questions about this request, please contact Beth Rogers by telephone at 202-691-5098 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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