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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices

Following the adoption of the
Department’s regulations on equal treatment
of faith-based organizations, questions from
the public arose regarding whether the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
exempts recipients of Federal financial
assistance from provisions of authorizing
statutes and implementing regulations of
programs that require all recipients of
Federal financial assistance under those
statutes or programs to agree not to consider
religion when making employment decisions
for positions connected with the Federallyfinanced program or activity. The
Department of Labor has developed the
exemption process described below to
effectuate a controlling opinion and guidance
of the U.S. Department of Justice concerning
how RFRA applies to laws restricting
recipients of Federal financial assistance
from making employment decisions based on
religion.18
b. RFRA Exemption Process
In 1993, Congress enacted RFRA in
response to the Supreme Court’s decision in
Employment Division, Department of Human
Resources of Oregon v. Smith, which held
that a law that is religion-neutral and
generally applicable need not be justified by
a compelling governmental interest, even if
such law incidentally affects religious
practice.19 By enacting RFRA, Congress
sought to ensure that the government justify
substantial burdens on religious exercise.
Under RFRA, ‘‘[g]overnment shall not
substantially burden [an organization’s]
exercise of religion even if the burden results
from a rule of general applicability,’’ 20
unless the Government ‘‘demonstrates that
application of the burden to the
[organization]—(1) is in furtherance of a
compelling governmental interest; and (2) is
the least restrictive means of furthering that
compelling governmental interest.’’ 21 RFRA
thus mandates strict scrutiny of any federal
law that substantially burdens the exercise of
religion, even if the burden is incidental to
the application of a religion-neutral rule.
Congress expressly applied RFRA to all
Federal law whether adopted before or after
the enactment of RFRA; it therefore applies
to all laws governing DOL programs.22
Under RFRA, the term ‘‘exercise of
religion’’ does not require that a burdened
religious practice be compelled by, or central
to, an organization’s system of religious belief
to be protected.23 Relatedly, RFRA does not
permit the government to assess the
reasonableness of a religious belief, including
the adherent’s assessment of the religious
connection between a belief asserted and
Federal Information Relay Service at 1–800–877–
8339.
18 See Attorney General Memorandum at 5a;
Memorandum Opinion for the General Counsel,
Office of Justice Programs, Re: Application of the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act to the Award of
a Grant Pursuant to the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act (June 26, 2007)
available at www.justice.gov/olc/opinions.htm.
19 494 U.S. 872, 878–79 (1990).
20 42 U.S.C. 2000bb–1(a).
21 Id. § 2000bb–1(b).
22 See id. § 2000bb–3.
23 See 42 U.S.C. 2000bb–2(4).

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what the government forbids, requires, or
prevents.24 However, where a law enforced
by DOL infringes on a religious practice that
an organization itself regards as unimportant
or inconsequential, no substantial burden has
been imposed for purposes of RFRA.25
Where a law enforced by DOL prohibits
religious discrimination in employment by
recipients of DOL financial assistance, such
prohibition will be displaced by RFRA and
thus will not apply to a recipient with
respect to employing individuals of a
particular religious belief to perform work
connected with carrying on the recipient’s
activities, provided that (i) such recipient can
demonstrate that its religious exercise would
be substantially burdened by applying the
religious non-discrimination requirement to
its employment practices in the program or
activity at issue, and (ii) DOL is unable to
demonstrate that applying the nondiscrimination provision to this recipient
both would further a compelling government
interest and would be the least restrictive
means of furthering that interest.
Under RFRA, a law substantially burdens
religious exercise if it ‘‘bans an aspect of the
adherent’s religious observance or practice,
compels an act inconsistent with that
observance or practice, or substantially
pressures the adherent to modify such
observance or practice.’’ 26 And in identifying
a compelling government interest, ‘‘broadly
formulated interests justifying the general
applicability of government mandates’’ are
insufficient.27
Once selected as a grantee, a recipient that
seeks an exemption from the application of
a religious non-discrimination provision
must submit a certification of its eligibility
for an exemption to the Assistant Secretary
or relevant Agency Head charged with
issuing or administering the grant or his/her
designee attesting that: (1) Receiving the
grant is important to the recipient; (2)
employing individuals of a particular religion
is important to the religious identity,
autonomy, or communal religious exercise of
the recipient; and (3) conditioning receipt of
the grant on compliance with the nondiscrimination provision substantially
burdens its religious exercise. The Assistant
Secretary or relevant Agency Head will
approve exemptions, in consultation with the
Office of the Solicitor, on a case-by-case
basis, and no later than 14 calendar days
from the date the certification was submitted,
for recipients that make the above
attestations, unless there is good reason to
question the certification. If the Assistant
Secretary or relevant Agency Head takes no
action by the close of the 14 calendar day
period, the certification will be deemed
approved.
Recipients exempted from the religious
non-discrimination requirements at issue
will not be exempted or excused, by virtue
of that particular exemption, from complying
with other requirements contained in the law
24 Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 573 U.S.
682, 724 (2014).
25 Attorney General Memorandum at 5a.
26 Id. at 5a.
27 Gonzales v. O Centro Espı´rita Beneficente
Unia˜o do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418, 431 (2006).

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or regulation at issue. In addition, any
exemption may be voided at any time by the
Assistant Secretary or relevant Agency Head
charged with issuing or administering the
grant or his/her designee, in consultation
with the Office of the Solicitor of the U.S.
Department of Labor, upon a determination
that the certification was untruthful or a
material change in circumstances indicates
that reassessment of the exemption is in
order. Following such determination, the
Assistant Secretary or relevant Agency Head,
or his/her designee will notify the recipient
of the invalidation, the reasons for the
invalidation, and the name, title, telephone
number and/or email address of the person
to contact for further information.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 12th day of
January, 2021.
Bryan Slater,
Assistant Secretary for Administration and
Management.
[FR Doc. 2021–00853 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request;
Unemployment Insurance State Quality
Service Plan Planning and Reporting
Guidelines
Notice of availability; request
for comments.

ACTION:

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor
(DOL) is submitting this ETA-sponsored
information collection request (ICR) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public
comments on the ICR are invited.
DATES: The OMB will consider all
written comments that agency receives
on or before February 16, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (2) if the
information will be processed and used
in a timely manner; (3) the accuracy of
the agency’s estimates of the burden and
cost of the collection of information,

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (4)
ways to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information collection; and
(5) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mara Blumenthal by telephone at 202–
693–8538, or by email at DOL_PRA_
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The State
Quality Service Plan (SQSP) represents
an approach to the unemployment
insurance (UI) performance
management and planning process that
allows for an exchange of information
between the federal and state partners to
enhance the ability of the program to
reflect their joint commitment to
performance excellence and clientcentered services. As part of UI
Performs, a comprehensive performance
management system for the UI program,
the SQSP is the principal vehicle that
the state UI programs use to plan, record
and manage improvement efforts. For
additional substantive information
about this ICR, see the related notice
published in the Federal Register on
April 29, 2020 (85 FR 23865).
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 the OMB
approves it 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 OMB Control Number.
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this
information collection for three (3)
years. OMB authorization for an ICR
cannot be for more than three (3) years
without renewal. The DOL notes that
information collection requirements
submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs
receive a month-to-month extension
while they undergo review.
Agency: DOL–ETA.
Title of Collection: Unemployment
Insurance State Quality Service Plan
Planning and Reporting Guidelines.
OMB Control Number: 1205–0132.
Affected Public: State, Local, and
Tribal Governments.
Total Estimated Number of
Respondents: 53.
Total Estimated Number of
Responses: 1,166.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:
3,975 hours.

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Total Estimated Annual Other Costs
Burden: $0.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).
Dated: December 29, 2020.
Mara Blumenthal,
Senior PRA Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2021–00768 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Information Collection Activities;
Comment Request
Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Department of Labor.

AGENCY:

Notice of information collection;
request for comment.

ACTION:

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a pre-clearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing collections of
information in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
program helps to ensure that requested
data can be provided in the desired
format, reporting burden (time and
financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments
concerning the proposed reinstatement
of the ‘‘Current Population Survey (CPS)
Disability Supplement.’’ A copy of the
proposed information collection request
can be obtained by contacting the
individual listed below in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.

Written comments must be
submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or
before March 16, 2021.
DATES:

Send comments to Erin
Good, BLS Clearance Officer, Division
of Management Systems, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 2
Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington,
DC 20212. Written comments also may
be transmitted by email to BLS_PRA_
[email protected].
ADDRESSES:

Erin
Good, BLS Clearance Officer, at 202–
691–7628 (this is not a toll free number).
(See ADDRESSES section.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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I. Background
The July 2021 CPS Disability
Supplement will be conducted at the
request of the Department of Labor’s
Chief Evaluation Office. The Disability
Supplement will provide information
on the low labor force participation
rates for people with disabilities; the use
of and satisfaction with programs that
prepare people with disabilities for
employment; the work history, barriers
to employment, and workplace
accommodations reported by persons
with a disability; and the effect of
financial assistance programs on the
likelihood of working. Since the
supplement was last collected in 2019,
work patterns have changed, policies
have changed, and assistive
technologies have advanced due to the
coronavirus (COVID–19) pandemic.
Having updated information will be
valuable in determining how
employment barriers have changed for
people with disabilities.
Because the Disability Supplement is
part of the CPS, the same detailed
demographic information collected in
the CPS will be available about
respondents to the supplement. Thus,
comparisons will be possible across
respondent characteristics, including
sex, race, ethnicity, age, and educational
attainment. It will also be possible to
create estimates for those who are
employed, unemployed, and not in the
labor force. Because the CPS is a rich
source of information on the
employment status of the population, it
will be possible to examine in detail the
nature of various employment and
unemployment situations.
II. Current Action
Office of Management and Budget
clearance is being sought for the CPS
Disability Supplement. These data are
necessary to provide information about
the labor market challenges facing
persons with a disability and will
contribute to improvements in policies
and programs designed to assist these
individuals.
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics 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.

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