Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers Handbook

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, “Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers Handbook,” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before April 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201510-1205-005 (this link will only become active on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-ETA, 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: OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. 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: DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers Handbook information collection. The Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers Act (UCXA), 5 U.S.C. 8521 et seq., provides unemployment insurance protection to former members of the Armed Forces. The UCXA requires a State Workforce Agency (SWA) to administer the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX) Program in accordance with the same terms and conditions of State unemployment insurance law that apply to unemployed claimants who have worked in the private sector. Each SWA must obtain certain military service information about a claimant filing for UCX benefits in order to make a benefit-eligibility determination. A SWA may record or obtain required UCX information on Form ETA-843, Request for Military Document and Information. Use of this form may be essential to the UCX claims process. Optional-use Form ETA-841, Request for Determination of Federal Military Service and Wages, is also part of this information collection. Information pertaining to the UCX claimant can only be obtained from the individual's military discharge papers, the appropriate branch of military service, or the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Without a claimant's military information, a SWA cannot adequately determine the eligibility of ex-servicemembers and would not be properly able to administer the program. UCXA section 3 and Social Security Act section 303(a)(6) authorize this information collection. See 5 U.S.C. 8523; 42 U.S.C. 503(a)(6).

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 1205-0176.

OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2016. 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. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on August 12, 2015 (80 FR 48339).

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at 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 1205-0176. 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-ETA.

Title of Collection: Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers Handbook.

OMB Control Number: 1205-0176.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households; State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 102,735.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 107,816.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 2,139 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.