60-Day Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2018 / Notices

Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk
Officer for DOL–DM, Office of
Management and Budget, Room 10235,
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC
20503; by Fax: 202–395–5806 (this is
not a toll-free number); or by email:
[email protected].
Commenters are encouraged, but not
required, to send a courtesy copy of any
comments by mail or courier to the U.S.
Department of Labor–OASAM, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Attn:
Departmental Information Compliance
Management Program, Room N1301,
200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20210; or by email:
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202–693–
4129, TTY 202–693–8064, (these are not
toll-free numbers) or by email at DOL_
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR
seeks to extend PRA authority for the
Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA)
information collection requirements for
the DOL codified in regulations 29 CFR
part 16, subpart B. The EAJA provides
for payment of fees and expenses to
eligible parties who have prevailed
against a Federal agency in certain
administrative proceedings. In order to
obtain an award, the statute and
associated DOL regulations require the
filing of an application. Other agencies
may have their own EAJA regulations.
EAJA section 203 authorizes this
information collection. See 5 U.S.C.
504(a)(2).
This information collection is subject
to the PRA. A Federal agency generally
cannot conduct or sponsor a collection
of information, and the public is
generally not required to respond to an
information collection, unless it is
approved by the OMB under the PRA
and displays a currently valid OMB
Control Number. In addition,
notwithstanding any other provisions of
law, no person shall generally be subject
to penalty for failing to comply with a
collection of information that does not
display a valid Control Number. See 5
CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
The DOL obtains OMB approval for
this information collection under
Control Number 1225–0013, and the
DOL seeks to extend PRA authorization
for this information collection for three
(3) more years, without any change to
existing requirements. The DOL notes
that existing information collection
requirements submitted to the OMB
receive a month-to-month extension
while they undergo review.
Interested parties are encouraged to
send comments to the OMB, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs at

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the address shown in the ADDRESSES
section within thirty (30) days of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. In order to help ensure
appropriate consideration, comments
should mention OMB Control Number
1225–0013. The OMB is particularly
interested in comments that:
• 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
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Agency: DOL–DM.
Title of Collection: Equal Access to
Justice Act.
OMB Control Number: 1225–0013.
Affected Public: Private Sector—
businesses or other for-profits or not-forprofit institutions.
Total Estimated Number of
Respondents: 10.
Total Estimated Number of
Responses: 10.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:
50 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs
Burden: $23.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018–06476 Filed 3–29–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–23–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
[Docket No. OSHA–2009–0024]

Variance Regulations; Extension of the
Office of Management and Budget’s
(OMB) Approval of Information
Collection (Paperwork) Requirements
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
AGENCY:

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OSHA solicits public
comments concerning its proposal to
obtain OMB approval for the
information collection requirements
contained in the Standards on Variance
and Other Relief Under Sections
6(b)(6)(A) and 6(b)(6)(C); Variances and
Other Relief Under Section 6(d); and
Limitation, Variations, Tolerances or
Exemptions Under Section 16 of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (OSH Act). These statutory and
regulatory provisions specify the
requirements for submitting
applications to OSHA for Temporary,
Experimental, Permanent, and National
Defense Variances.
DATES: Comments must be submitted
(postmarked, sent or received) by May
29, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may
submit comments and attachments
electronically at http://
www.regulations.gov, which is the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the
instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments,
including attachments, are not longer
than 10 pages you may fax them to the
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693–1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail,
messenger, or courier service: When
using this method, you must submit a
copy of your comments and attachments
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No.
OSHA–2009–0024, Occupational Safety
and Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, Room N–3653,
200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries
(hand, express mail, messenger, and
courier service) are accepted during the
Docket Office’s normal business hours,
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the Agency name and the OSHA
docket number (OSHA–2009–0024) for
the Information Collection Request
(ICR). All comments, including any
personal information you provide, are
placed in the public docket without
change, and may be made available
online at http://www.regulations.gov.
For further information on submitting
comments see the ‘‘Public
Participation’’ heading in the section of
this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
Docket: To read or download
comments or other materials in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov
or the OSHA Docket Office at the above
address. All documents in the docket
(including this Federal Register notice)
are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index; however,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2018 / Notices
material) is not publically available to
read or download from the website. All
submissions, including copyrighted
material, are available for inspection
and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
You may contact Theda Kenney at the
number below to obtain a copy of the
ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles McCormick or Theda Kenney,
Directorate of Standards and Guidance,
OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor,
telephone (202) 693–2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES

I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent (i.e., employer) burden,
conducts a preclearance consultation
program to provide the public with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and continuing information collection
requirements in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA–95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This
program ensures that information is in
the correct format, reporting burden
(time and costs) is minimal, collection
instruments are clearly understandable,
and OSHA’s estimate of the information
collection burden is correct. The OSH
Act (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes
information collection by employers as
necessary or appropriate for
enforcement of the Act or for developing
information regarding the causes and
prevention of occupational injuries,
illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657).
The OSH Act also requires that OSHA
obtain such information with minimum
burden upon employers, especially
those operating small businesses, and to
reduce to the maximum extent feasible
unnecessary duplication of efforts in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
Sections 6(b)6(A), 6(b)6(B), 6(b)6(C),
6(d), and 16 of the OSH Act, and 29 CFR
1905.10, 1905.11, and 1905.12, specify
the procedures that employers must
follow to apply for a variance from the
requirements of an OSHA standard.
OSHA uses the information collected
under these procedures to: (1) Evaluate
the employer’s claim that the alternative
means of compliance would provide
affected employees with the requisite
level of health and safety protection; (2)
assess the technical feasibility of the
alternative means of compliance; (3)
determine that the employer properly
notified affected employees of the
variance application and their right to a
hearing; and (4) verify that the
application contains the administrative
information required by the applicable
variance regulation.

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II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in
comments on the following issues:
• Whether the proposed information
collection requirements are necessary
for proper performance of the Agency’s
functions, including whether the
information is useful;
• The accuracy of OSHA’s estimate of
the burden (time and costs) of the
information collection requirements,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of
the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on
employers who must comply. For
example, by using automated or other
technological information collection
and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting OMB approval of
the information collection (paperwork)
requirements contained in Sections
6(b)6(A), 6(b)6(B), 6(b)6(C), 6(d), and 16
of the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970, and 29 CFR 1905.10,
1905.11, and 1905.12. These statutory
and regulatory provisions specify the
requirements for submitting
applications to OSHA for temporary,
experimental, permanent, and national
defense Variances.
OSHA has previously developed and
received OMB approval to use variance
application forms for the four types of
variances specified by the OSH Act and
variance regulations. The four types of
variances are: Temporary Variances
(Section 6(b)(6)(A) of the Act; 29 U.S.C.
655; 29 CFR 1905.10); Experimental
Variances (Section 6(b)(6)(C) of the Act;
29 U.S.C. 655); Permanent Variances
(Section 6(d) of the Act; 29 U.S.C. 655;
29 CFR 1905.11); and National Defense
Variances (Section 16 of the Act; 29
U.S.C. 665; 29 CFR 1905.12). The
variance regulations specify the
information that employers must
provide when requesting one of these
variances. The variance application
forms would organize and clarify the
information collection requirements for
each type of variance by specifying the
requirements in comprehensible
language, and providing explanatory
material. Employers applying for a
variance could download and complete
the applicable form from OSHA’s
website. The forms would expedite the
application process for employers, and
ensure that the information on the
application is complete and accurate.
There are no adjustments or program
changes associated with this ICR. The
Agency is proposing to retain its
previous burden hour estimate of 366

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13791

hours. The Agency will summarize the
comments submitted in response to this
notice, and will include this summary
in its request to OMB to approve these
information collection requirements and
Variance application forms.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Title: Variance Regulations (29 CFR
1905.10, 1905.11, and 1905.12).
OMB Control Number: 1218–0265.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profits and not-for-profit
institutions.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Number of Respondents: 12.
Total Responses: 12.
Average Time per Response: Various.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 366.
Estimated Cost (Operation and
Maintenance): $0.
IV. Public Participation—Submission of
Comments on This Notice and Internet
Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments in
response to this document as follows:
(1) Electronically at http://
www.regulations.gov, which is the
Federal eRulemaking Portal; (2) by
facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other
materials must identify the Agency
name and the OSHA docket number for
the ICR (Docket No. OSHA–2009–0024).
You may supplement electronic
submissions by uploading document
files electronically. If you wish to mail
additional materials in reference to an
electronic or facsimile submission, you
must submit them to the OSHA Docket
Office (see the section of this notice
titled ADDRESSES). The additional
materials must clearly identify your
electronic comments by your name,
date, and the docket number so the
Agency can attach them to your
comments.
Because of security procedures, the
use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of
comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the
delivery of materials by hand, express
delivery, messenger, or courier service,
please contact the OSHA Docket Office
at (202) 693–2350, (TTY (877) 889–
5627).
Comments and submissions are
posted without change at http://
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA
cautions commenters about submitting
personal information such as social
security numbers and date of birth.
Although all submissions are listed in
the http://www.regulations.gov index,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publically available to
read or download from this website.

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2018 / Notices

All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are available for
inspection and copying at the OSHA
Docket Office. Information on using the
http://www.regulations.gov website to
submit comments and access the docket
is available at the website’s ‘‘User Tips’’
link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office
for information about materials not
available from the website, and for
assistance in using the internet to locate
docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Loren Sweatt, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, directed the
preparation of this notice. The authority
for this notice is the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506
et seq.) and Secretary of Labor’s Order
No. 1–2012 (77 FR 3912).
Signed at Washington, DC, on March 26,
2018.
Loren Sweatt,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2018–06525 Filed 3–29–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
[Docket No. OSHA–2011–0125]

On-Site Consultation Programs;
Extension of the Office of Management
and Budget’s (OMB) Approval of
Information Collection (Paperwork)
Requirements
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
AGENCY:

OSHA solicits public
comments concerning its proposal to
extend OMB approval of the
information collection requirements
contained in the regulations addressing
On-Site Consultation Programs.
DATES: Comments must be submitted
(postmarked, sent, or received) by May
29, 2018.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit
comments and attachments
electronically at http://
www.regulations.gov, which is the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the
instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments,
including attachments, are not longer
than 10 pages you may fax them to the
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693–1648.

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SUMMARY:

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Mail, hand delivery, express mail,
messenger, or courier service: When
using this method, you must submit a
copy of your comments and attachments
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No.
OSHA–2011–0125, Occupational Safety
and Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, Room N–3653,
200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries
(hand, express mail, messenger, and
courier service) are accepted during the
OSHA Docket Office’s normal business
hours, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the Agency name and the OSHA
docket number (OSHA–2011–0125) for
the Information Collection Request
(ICR). All comments, including any
personal information you provide, are
placed in the public docket without
change, and may be made available
online at http://www.regulations.gov.
For further information on submitting
comments, see the ‘‘Public
Participation’’ heading in the section of
this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
Docket: To read or download
comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov
or the OSHA Docket Office at the
address above. All documents in the
docket (including this Federal Register
notice) are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index; however,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to
read or download through the website.
All submissions, including copyrighted
material, are available for inspection
and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
You may also contact Patrick Showalter
at (202) 693–2220 to obtain a copy of the
ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Showalter, Director, Office of
Small Business Assistance, Directorate
of Cooperative and State Programs,
OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor,
telephone (202) 693–2220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent (i.e., employer) burden,
conducts a preclearance process to
provide the public with an opportunity
to comment on proposed and
continuing information collection
requirements in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)
(44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program
ensures that information is in the
desired format, reporting burden (time
and costs) is minimal, collection
instruments are clearly understood, and

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OSHA’s estimate of the information
collection burden is accurate. The
Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et
seq.) authorizes information collection
by employers as necessary or
appropriate for enforcement of the OSH
Act or for developing information
regarding the causes and prevention of
occupational injuries, illnesses, and
accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act
also requires OSHA to obtain such
information with minimum burden
upon employers, especially those
operating small businesses, and to
reduce to the maximum extent feasible
unnecessary duplication of efforts in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
Section 7(c)(1) of the OSH Act
authorizes the Secretary of Labor
(Secretary) to, ‘‘with the consent of any
State or political subdivision thereof,
accept and use the services, facilities,
and personnel of any agency of such
State or subdivision with
reimbursement.’’ Section 21(c) of the
OSH Act authorizes the Secretary to
‘‘consult with and advise employers and
employees . . . as to effective means of
preventing occupational illnesses and
injuries.’’
Additionally, Section 21(d) of the
OSH Act instructs the Secretary to
‘‘establish and support cooperative
agreements with the States under which
employers subject to the Act may
consult with State personnel with
respect to the application of
occupational safety and health
requirements under the Act or under
State plans approved under section 18
of the Act.’’ This gives the Secretary
authority to enter into agreements with
the States to provide On-Site
Consultation services, and establish
rules under which employers may
qualify for an inspection exemption. To
satisfy the intent of these and other
sections of the OSH Act, OSHA codified
the terms that govern cooperative
agreements between OSHA and State
governments whereby State agencies
provide On-Site Consultation services to
private employers to assist them in
complying with the requirements of the
OSH Act. The terms were codified as
the Consultation Program regulations
(29 CFR part 1908).
The On-Site Consultation Program
regulations specify services to be
provided, and practices and procedures
to be followed by the State On-Site
Consultation Programs. Information
collection requirements set forth in the
On-Site Consultation Program
regulations are in two categories: State
Responsibilities and Employer
Responsibilities. Eight regulatory
provisions require information

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