60-day preclearance FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2019 / Notices
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
occupationl 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 effort in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The collection of information
requirements specified in the Cadmium
in Construction Standard (29 CFR
1926.1127) protect workers from the
adverse health effects that may result
from their exposure to cadmium. The
major collection of information
requirements of the Standard include:
Conducting worker exposure
monitoring, notifying workers of their
cadmium exposures, implementing a
written compliance program,
implementing medical surveillance of
workers, providing examining
physicians with specific information,
ensuring that workers receive a copy of
their medical surveillance results,
maintaining workers’ exposure
monitoring and medical surveillance
records for specific periods, and
providing access to these records by the
worker who is the subject of the records,
the worker’s representative, and other
designated parties.

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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 the 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
The agency is not seeking a burdenhour adjustment and will summarize
any comments submitted in response to
this notice and will include this
summary in the request to OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.

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Title: Cadmium in Construction (29
CFR 1926.1127).
OMB Number: 1218–0186.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofits.
Number of Respondents: 10,000.
Frequency of Response: On occasion;
Quarterly; Semi-annually; Annually.
Total Responses: 258,250.
Average Time per Response: Varies
from 5 minutes (.08) for an employer to
notify a worker with exposure
monitoring results to 1.5 hours to
administer worker medical
examinations.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
33,720.
Estimated Cost (Operation and
Maintenance): $2,082,199.
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; or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other
material must identify the agency name
and the OSHA docket number for this
ICR (Docket No. OSHA–2012–0004).
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 your social
security number and date of birth.
Although all submissions are listed in
the http://www.regulations.gov index,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to
read or download from this website. All
submissions, including copyrighted
material, are available for inspection
and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.

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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, Principal 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 November
22, 2019.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2019–25828 Filed 11–27–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
[Docket No. OSHA–2012–0026]

Regulations Containing Procedures for
Handling of Retaliation Complaints;
Revision of Approved Information
Collection (Paperwork) Requirements
for Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Approval
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), Labor.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

Request for public comments.

OSHA solicits public
comments concerning the proposal to
extend and revise the collection of
information currently approved by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for handling of retaliation
complaints filed with OSHA under
various whistleblower protection
statutes and the procedural regulations
described in this notice. These
regulations contain procedures
employees must use to file a complaint
with OSHA alleging that their employer
violated a whistleblower protection
provision contained in certain statutes
that generally prohibit retaliatory action
by employers against employees who
engage in activities protected by the
statutes. This collection of information
includes revisions to the electronic form
for employees to submit retaliation
complaints to OSHA.

SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2019 / Notices

Comments must be submitted
(postmarked, sent, or received) by
January 28, 2020.
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
your comments and attachments to the
OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No.
OSHA–2012–0026, U.S. Department of
Labor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, Room N–3653, 200
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20210. Due to security procedures,
there may be delays in receiving
materials that are sent by regular mail.
For more information about security
procedures concerning the delivery of
materials by express delivery, hand
delivery, and messenger or courier
service, please contact the OSHA Docket
Office. The hours of operation for the
OSHA Docket Office are 10:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m., ET.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and OSHA
docket number (OSHA–2012–0026) for
the Information Collection Request
(ICR). All comments, including any
personal information you provide, such
as social security numbers and dates of
birth, 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 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
material) is not publicly 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 also contact the Directorate of
Whistleblower Protection Programs at
the below phone number to obtain a
copy of the ICR.

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DATES:

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anthony Rosa, Acting Director,
Directorate of Whistleblower Protection
Programs, OSHA, U.S. Department of
Labor; telephone: (202) 693–2199.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of a
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent (e.g., an employee filing
a retaliation complaint) burden,
conducts a preclearance consultation
program to provide the public with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and continuing collection of
information in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (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
OSHA’s estimate of the information
collection burden is accurate.
The agency is responsible for
investigating alleged violations of
whistleblower provisions contained in a
number of statutes. These whistleblower
provisions generally prohibit retaliation
by employers against employees who
report alleged violations of certain laws
or regulations. Accordingly, these
provisions prohibit an employer from
discharging or taking any other
retaliatory action against an employee
because the employee engages in any of
the protected activities specified by the
whistleblower provisions of the statutes.
These statutes are covered under the
following regulations: 29 CFR part 24,
Procedures for the Handling of
Retaliation Complaints under the
Employee Protection Provisions of Six
Environmental Statutes and Section 211
of the Energy Reorganization Act of
1974, as Amended (29 CFR part 24
covers the: Safe Drinking Water Act, 42
U.S.C. 300j–9(i); Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. 1367;
Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C.
2622; Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42
U.S.C. 6971; Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C.
7622; Energy Reorganization Act of
1974, 42 U.S.C. 5851; and
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability
Act, 42 U.S.C. 9610); 29 CFR part 1977,
Discrimination Against Employees
Exercising Rights under the WilliamsSteiger Occupational Safety and Health
Act (29 CFR part 1977 covers the:
Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29
U.S.C. 660; Asbestos Hazard Emergency
Response Act, 15 U.S.C. 2651; and
International Safe Container Act, 46
U.S.C. 80507); 29 CFR part 1978,
Procedures for the Handling of

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Retaliation Complaints under the
Employee Protection Provision of the
Surface Transportation Assistance Act
of 1982; 29 CFR part 1979, Procedures
for Handling Discrimination Complaints
Under the Wendell H. Ford Aviation
Investment and Reform Act for the 21st
Century; 29 CFR part 1980, Procedures
for Handling of Discrimination
Complaints Under Section 806 of the
Corporate and Criminal Fraud
Accountability Act of 2002 (Title VIII of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002); 29 CFR
part 1981, Procedures for the Handling
of Discrimination Complaints under
Section 6 of the Pipeline Safety and
Improvement Act of 2002; 29 CFR part
1982, Procedures for the Handling of
Retaliation Complaints Under the
National Transit Systems Security Act
and the Federal Railroad Safety Act; 29
CFR part 1983, Procedures for the
Handling of Retaliation Complaints
Under Section 219 of the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act of
2008; 29 CFR part 1984, Procedures for
Handling of Retaliation Complaints
Under Section 1558 of the Affordable
Care Act; 29 CFR part 1985, Procedures
for Handling Retaliation Complaints
Under the Employee Protection
Provision of the Consumer Financial
Protection Act of 2010; 29 CFR part
1986, Procedures for the Handling of
Retaliation Complaints Under the
Employee Protection Provision of the
Seaman’s Protection Act (SPA), as
Amended; and 29 CFR part 1987,
Procedures for Handling Retaliation
Complaints Under Section 402 of the
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act,
and 29 CFR part 1988 Procedures for
Handling Retaliation Complaints Under
Section 31307 of the Moving Ahead for
Progress in the 21st Century.
In addition, OSHA investigates
complaints of retaliation filed under the
recently-enacted whistleblower
provision Section 7623 of the Taxpayer
First Act. Collection of information
contained in future regulations
promulgated by the agency with respect
to a whistleblower provision of any
other Federal law, except those that are
assigned to another DOL agency, will be
added to this information collection.
OSHA’s whistleblower regulations
specify the procedures that an employee
must use to file a complaint alleging
that their employer violated a
whistleblower provision for which the
agency has investigative responsibility.
Any employee who believes that such a
violation occurred may file a complaint,
or have the complaint filed on their
behalf. Two of these regulations, 29 CFR
parts 1979 and 1981, state that
complaints must be filed in writing and
should include a full statement of the

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2019 / Notices
acts and omissions, with pertinent
dates, that the employee believes
constitute the violation. The other
regulations, 29 CFR parts 24, 1977,
1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986,
1986, 1987, and 1988 require no
particular form of filing for complaints.
However, it is OSHA’s policy to accept
complaints in any form (i.e., orally or in
writing) under all statutes. This policy
helps ensure that employees of all
circumstances and education levels will
have equal access to the complaint filing
process.
The agency currently utilizes the
OSHA Online Whistleblower Complaint
Form, which includes interactive
features to aid employees seeking to
understand the process and
requirements for filing a retaliation
complaint with OSHA. The web-based
form enables employees to submit
whistleblower complaints directly to
OSHA 24-hours a day. The electronic
form also provides information about
employee protections enforced by other
agencies, in order to better direct
complainants to the proper investigative
agencies.
OSHA proposes to revise this ICR to
include revisions to the electronic
complaint form to make the following
changes and technical updates. On the
landing page, before the electronic
complaint form, the user will have the
opportunity to click a hyperlink which
will direct them to a map that identifies
the OSHA regions and their respective
contact information. Once in the
electronic form, ‘‘pop-ups’’ will appear
whenever the user attempts to click
away from a required field without
making an entry. Lastly, the character
count for two optional text boxes will
increase from 500 to 1,000 characters.
This allows the users to explain their
case to OSHA. A mark-up of the
proposed changes to the form is
available in the docket.

• Ways to minimize the burden on
individuals who must comply; for
example, by using automated or other
technological information collection
and transmission techniques.

II. Special Issues for Comment

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
material must identify the agency name
and the OSHA docket number for the
ICR (Docket No. OSHA–2012–0026).

OSHA has a particular interest in
comments on the following issues:
• Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the 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
collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of
the information collected; and

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III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB
approve the proposed extension and
revision of the collection of information
contained in OSHA’s statutory
authorities and the regulations
containing procedures for handling
retaliation complaints at 29 CFR parts
24, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983,
1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988.1
Specifically, this revision contains a
revised information collection
instrument, a form, which employees
may use to file complaints. In addition,
OSHA is requesting an adjustment
increase in burden hours from 7,566
burden hours to 10,126 burden hours (a
total increase of 2,560 hours). The
updated data shows an increase in the
annual number of complaints filed. The
agency will summarize the comments
submitted in response to this notice,
and will include this summary in the
request to OMB.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Title: Regulations Containing
Procedures for Handling Retaliation
Complaints.
OMB Number: 1218–0236.
Affected Public: Individuals.
Number of Respondents: 10,126.
Frequency of Response: Once per
complaint.
Average Time per Response: 1 hour.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
10,126.
Estimated Cost (Operation and
Maintenance): $0.
IV. Public Participation—Submission of
Comments on This Notice and Internet
Access to Comments and Submissions

65847

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 dates of birth.
Although all submissions are listed in
the http://www.regulations.gov index,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to
read or download through this website.
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 through the website, and for
assistance in using the internet to locate
docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Loren Sweatt, Principal 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 November
22, 2019.
Loren Sweatt,

1 Several

of these regulations use the term
‘‘discrimination’’ or ‘‘discrimination complaints’’
titles. These terms are synonymous with
‘‘retaliation’’ and ‘‘retaliation complaints,’’
respectively.

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Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2019–25832 Filed 11–27–19; 8:45 am]
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