Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Data and Weekly Initial and Continued Weeks Claimed

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, “Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Data and Weekly Initial and Continued Weeks Claimed,” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before September 23, 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=201602-1205-001 (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 sending an email to 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 sending an email to DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This ICR seeks approval under the PRA for revisions to the Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Data and Weekly Initial and Continued Weeks Claimed information collection requirements. This data collection is necessary for the determination of the beginning, continuance, or termination of an Extended Benefit (EB) period in any State that determines the EB trigger rate. In addition, data on initial and continued claims are used to help determine economic indicators. The revisions are related to the Final Rule titled, “Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Program; Implementing the Total Unemployment Rate as an Extended Benefits Indicator and Amending for Technical Corrections,” that appears elsewhere today in the Federal Register. The Final Rule deletes regulations 20 CFR 615.15 paragraphs (c) and (d) that pertain to records and reports a State agency must submit. The reporting instructions for the proper and timely submission of data are provided in ET Handbook No. 401 that governs Unemployment Compensation required reporting. Social Security Act section 303(a)(6) and Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 section 203, as amended authorize this information collection. See 42 U.S.C. 303(a)(6) and Public Law 91-373, section 203.

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 1250-0028. The current approval is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2018; however, the DOL notes that existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. New requirements would only take effect upon OMB approval. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on July 7, 2015 (80 FR 38747) and the Final Rule published today under RIN 1205-AB62.

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. The DOL notes that the request for public comments is limited to the information collection requirements; the ETA provided an opportunity for public comment on the underlying regulatory provisions when it published a Proposed Rule in the Federal Register on October 24, 2014 (79 FR 63589). In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments on the ICR should mention OMB Control Number 1205-0028. 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: Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Data and Weekly Initial and Continued Weeks Claimed.

OMB Control Number: 1205-0028.

Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 53.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 5,512.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 3,675 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

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