Notice2021-24498
Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public Comment
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 9, 2021
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentEmployee Benefits Security Administration
Abstract
The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the documents described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 214 (Tuesday, November 9, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62208-62212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24498]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public
Comment
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Department of
Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act, provides the general public and Federal
agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in
the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration
(EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the
information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the documents
described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are
available at <a href="http://reginfo.gov">reginfo.gov</a> (<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
Addresses section on or before January 10, 2022.
ADDRESSES: James Butikofer, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5718,
Washington, DC 20210, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#294c4b5a480746595b694d4645074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="51343322307f3e212311353e3d7f363e27">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Current Actions
This notice requests public comment on the Department's request for
extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of
ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited transaction exemptions
described below. The Department is not proposing any changes to the
existing ICRs at this time. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless
it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICRs and the
current burden estimates follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Bank Collective Investment Funds, Prohibited Transaction
Class Exemption 1991-38.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0082.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit
institutions..
Respondents: 7,719.
Responses: 7,719.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,287.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 91-38
provides an exemption from the restrictions of sections 406(a),
406(b)(2), and 407(a) of ERISA for certain transactions between a bank
collective investment fund in which an employee benefit plan has
invested assets and persons who are parties in interest to the employee
benefit plan, as long as the plan's total participation in the
collective investment fund does not exceed 10 percent of the total
assets in the collective investment fund. In addition, the bank
managing the common investment fund must not itself be a party in
interest to the participating plan, the terms of the transaction must
be at least as favorable to the collective investment fund as those
available in an arm's length transaction with an unrelated party, and
the bank must maintain records of the transactions for six years and
make the records available for inspection to specified interested
persons (including the Department and the Internal Revenue Service).
The information collections relates to recordkeeping and disclosure
on request to the Department and other interested persons. The
information collection requirements allow the Department, the Internal
Revenue Service, and other interested persons to verify that the bank
collective investment fund has complied with the conditions of the
exemption. These conditions are necessary, as required under section
408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only
in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB
Control No. 1210-0082. The current approval is scheduled to expire on
April 30, 2022.
[[Page 62209]]
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: PTE 1990-1; Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0083.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 102.
Responses: 1,020.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 170.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 90-1
provides an exemption from the restrictions of section 406, in part,
for certain transactions between insurance company pooled separate
accounts and parties in interest to plans that invest assets in the
pooled separate accounts. PTE 90-1 provides a general exemption for any
transaction between a party in interest with respect to a plan and an
insurance company pooled separate account in which the plan has an
interest (or any acquisition or holding by the pooled separate account
of employer securities or employer real estate), provided that the
party in interest is not the insurance company (or an affiliate of the
insurance company) and that the amount of the plan's investment in the
separate account does not exceed certain specified percentages (or that
the separate account is a specialized account with a policy of
investing substantially all of its assets in short-term obligations).
PTE 90-1 also provides specific, additional relief for the
following types of transactions with a party in interest: (1)
Furnishing goods to an insurance company pooled separate account, (2)
leasing of real property of the pooled separate account, (3)
transactions involving persons who are parties in interest to a plan
merely because they are service providers or provide nondiscretionary
services to the plan; (4) the insurance company's provision of real
property management services in connection with real property
investments of the pooled separate account, and (5) furnishing of
services, facilities and goods by a place of public accommodation owned
by the separate account.
In addition to other specified conditions, the insurance company
intending to rely on the general exemption or any of the specific
exemptions must maintain records of the transactions to which the
exemption applies for a period of six years and make the records
available on request to specified interested persons (including plan
fiduciaries, the Department, and the Internal Revenue Service). This
information collection requirement is considered necessary in order to
ensure that the exemption meets the standards of section 408(a) of
ERISA. The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0083. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2022.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Foreign Currency Transactions, Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 1994-20.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0085.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 243.
Responses: 1,215.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 203.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: PTE 94-20 permits banks, broker-dealers, and their
affiliates that are parties in interest to a plan to engage in foreign
currency transactions with the plan, provided the transaction is
directed by a plan fiduciary independent of the bank, broker-dealer,
and their affiliates and that certain other conditions are satisfied.
To protect the interests of participants and beneficiaries of the
employee benefit plan, the exemption requires, among other things, that
a bank, broker-dealer, and their affiliates wishing to rely on the
exemption (1) maintain written policies and procedures applicable to
trading in foreign currencies with an employee benefit plan; (2)
provide a written confirmation statement of each foreign currency
transaction to the independent plan fiduciary directing the transaction
for the plan; and (3) maintain records of the transactions for a period
of six years and make them available upon request to specified
interested persons, including plan fiduciaries, participants and
beneficiaries, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department. The
Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB
Control No. 1210-0085. The current approval is scheduled to expire on
April 30, 2022.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and a Party in
Interest.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0091.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 4.
Responses: 1,080.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 23.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $275.
Description: This information collection request (ICR) relates to
two prohibited transaction class exemptions (PTEs) that the Department
has granted, both of which involve settlement agreements.
Granted on October 7, 1994, PTE 94-71 exempts from certain
restrictions of ERISA and certain taxes imposed by the Code, a
transaction or activity that is authorized, prior to the execution of
the transaction or activity, by a settlement agreement resulting from
an investigation of an employee benefit plan conducted by the
Department. The following information collections are among the
conditions for the exemption: (1) Written Notice. A party engaging in a
settlement agreement arising out of a Department investigation must
provide written notice to the affected participants and beneficiaries
of the plan. The notice must contain an objective description of the
transaction or activity, the approximate date on which the transaction
will occur, the address of the regional or district office of the
Department that negotiated the settlement agreement, and a statement
informing participants and beneficiaries of their right to forward
their comments to such office. (2) Pre-Approval. A copy of the notice
and a description of the method by which it will be distributed must be
approved in advance by the regional or district office of the
Department which negotiated the settlement.
Granted on December 31, 2003, and later amended on June 15, 2010,
PTE 2003-39 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain
taxes imposed by the Code, transactions arising out of the settlement
of litigation that involve the release of claims against parties in
interest in exchange for payment by or on behalf of the party in
interest, provided that certain conditions are met, such as the
requirement of an independent fiduciary who has no relationship to any
parties in the litigation to authorize the settlement. The other
conditions include the following information collections: (1) Written
Agreement. The terms of the settlement must be specifically described
in a written agreement or consent decree. (2) Acknowledgement by
Fiduciary. The fiduciary acting on behalf of the plan must acknowledge
in writing that s/he
[[Page 62210]]
is a fiduciary with respect to the settlement of the litigation.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0091. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2022.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Definition of Plan Assets--Participant Contributions.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0100.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 1.
Responses: 251.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 8.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,626.
Description: The Department's regulation at 29 CFR 2510.3-102
states that monies that a participant pays to, or has withheld by, an
employer for contribution to an employee benefit plan become ``plan
assets'' for purposes of Title I of ERISA and the related prohibited
transaction provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) as of
the earliest date on which such monies can be reasonably segregated
from the employer's general assets. With respect to employee pension
benefit plans, the regulation further sets a maximum time limit for
such contributions: The 15th business day following the end of the
month in which the participant contribution amounts are received or
withheld by the employer. Under ERISA, ``plan assets'' cannot be held
by the employer as part of its general assets, but must be contributed
to the employee benefit plan to which they belong and, with few
exceptions, held in trust. With respect to small plans (those with less
than 100 participants), a safe harbor period exists under which
participant contributions will be deemed to comply with the law if
those amounts are deposited with the plan within seven business days of
receipt or withholding.
The regulation includes a procedure through which an employer
receiving or withholding participant contributions for an employee
pension benefit plan may obtain a 10-business-day extension of the 15-
day maximum time period if certain requirements, including information
collection requirements, are met. The regulation requires, among other
things, that the employer provide written notice to plan participants,
within five business days after the end of the extension period and the
employer's transfer of the contributions to the plan, which the
employer elected to take the extension for that month. The notice must
explain why the employer could not transfer the participant
contributions within the maximum time period, state that the
participant contributions in question have in fact been transmitted to
the plan, and provide the date on which this was done. The employer
must also provide a copy of the participant notice to the Secretary,
along with a certification that the notice was distributed to
participants and that the other requirements under the extension
procedure were met, within five business days after the end of the
extension period.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0100. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2022.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Collective Investment Funds Conversion Transactions,
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1997-41.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0104.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit
institutions..
Respondents: 50.
Responses: 105.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,760.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $508,282.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 97-41 permits
an employee benefit plan to purchase shares of a registered open-end
investment company (mutual fund) in exchange for plan assets
transferred from a collective investment fund (CIF) maintained by a
bank or plan adviser, even though the bank or plan adviser is the
investment adviser for the mutual fund and also serves as a fiduciary
for the plan, provided that the purchase and transfer is in connection
with a complete withdrawal of the plan's investment in the CIF and
certain other conditions are met.
Among other conditions, the exemption requires the bank or plan
adviser to provide an independent fiduciary of the plan with advance
written notice of the proposed transfer and full written disclosure of
information concerning the mutual fund, including the current
prospectus; disclosure of the investment advisory and other fees the
plan will be charged or pay to the bank or any unrelated third party,
including the nature and extent of any differential between the rates
of the fees; the reasons why the bank or plan adviser considers the in-
kind transfers appropriate for the plan; and a statement of whether
there are any limitations applicable to the bank with respect to which
plan assets may be invested in the mutual fund and, if so, the nature
of such limitations; and the identity of securities that will have to
be valued for the transfer. The independent fiduciary must give prior
written approval of the transfer (and written approval of any
electronic transmission of subsequent confirmations from the bank or
plan adviser); and the bank or adviser must send written (or
electronic, if approved) confirmation of the transfer. Subsequent to a
transfer, the bank or plan adviser must provide the plan with updated
prospectuses at least annually for mutual funds in which the plan
remains invested; the bank or plan adviser must also provide, upon the
independent fiduciary's request, a report or statement of all fees paid
by the mutual fund to the bank or plan adviser, which may be in the
form of the most recent financial report.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0104. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2022.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Cross-Trades of
Securities by Index and Model-Driven Funds (PTE 2002-12).
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0115.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 60.
Responses: 840.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 855.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,146.
Description: PTE 2002-12 permits private-sector pension plans and
the Federal Thrift Savings Plan to invest plan assets in certain types
of investment funds that participate in passive or model-driven
``cross-trading'' (purchase and sale of securities) programs pursuant
to objective criteria specified in the exemption. Cross-trades occur
whenever a manager causes the purchase and sale of a particular
security to be made directly between two or more investment funds under
his/her management. If one or both of the funds contain invested assets
of a pension plan, the cross-trade could constitute a prohibited
transaction, in the absence of the exemption.
In order to grant a class exemption under section 408(a) of ERISA,
section 8477(c)(3) of FERSA, and section
[[Page 62211]]
4975(c)(2) of the Code, the Department must determine that the
exemption is administratively feasible, in the interest of the plan and
its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the rights of the
participants and beneficiaries. In order to protect the participants
and beneficiaries of plans that invest in cross-traded Funds, the
Department included specific disclosure and recordkeeping requirements
as conditions to the exemption. These information collections are
designed to safeguard plan assets by requiring that managers relying on
the exemption both periodically provide information on the cross-
trading programs to independent plan fiduciaries and keep detailed
records about cross-trades conducted in reliance on the exemption. The
Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB
Control No. 1210-0115. The current approval is scheduled to expire on
April 30, 2022.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0118.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 1,621.
Responses: 207,209.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,295.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $551,111.
Description: This information collection arises from two related
actions: The Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (the VFC Program or
the Program) and Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 2002-51
(the VFC Exemption or the Exemption). The Department adopted the
Program and the Exemption in order to encourage members of the public
to voluntarily correct transactions that violate (or are suspected of
violating) the fiduciary or prohibited transaction provisions of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The
information collection provisions of the Program and the Exemption
include third-party disclosures, recordkeeping, and disclosures to the
Federal government, which enable the Department to oversee the
appropriate use of the Program and the Exemption. The Department has
received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-
0118. The current approval is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2022.
Title: Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real Estate Investment Trust
Shares by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by Trust Real Estate
Investment Trusts.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0124.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 69.
Responses: 144,900.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,457.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $459,333.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2004-07 permits an
individual account pension plan sponsored by a real estate investment
trust (REIT) that is organized as a business trust under State law
(Trust REIT), or by its affiliates, to purchase, hold and sell publicly
traded shares of beneficial interest in the Trust REIT. The relief also
covers contributions in-kind of REIT shares. Such purchases, holdings,
and sales would otherwise be prohibited under sections 406 of ERISA and
4975 of the Code.
The class exemption requires, among other conditions, that the
Trust REIT (or its agent) provide the person who has authority to
direct acquisition or sale of REIT shares with the most recent
prospectus, quarterly report, and annual report concerning the Trust
REIT immediately before an initial investment in the Trust REIT. The
person with such authority may be, under the terms of the plan, either
an independent fiduciary or a participant exercising investment rights
pertaining to his or her individual account under the plan. Updated
versions of the reports must be provided to the directing person as
subsequently published. The exemption further requires the plan to
maintain records concerning investments in a Trust REIT, subject to
appropriate confidentiality procedures, for a period of six years and
make them available to interested persons including the Department and
participants and beneficiaries. The confidentiality procedures must be
designed to protect against the possibility that an employer may exert
undue influence on participants regarding share-related transactions,
and the participants and beneficiaries of the plan must be provided
with a statement describing the confidentiality procedures in place and
the fiduciary responsible for monitoring these procedures. The
Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB
Control No. 1210-0124. The current approval is scheduled to expire on
April 30, 2022.
Title: Abandoned Individual Account Plan Termination, 404a-3.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0127.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 25,105.
Responses: 1,014,463.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 37,680.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $562,225.
Description: This information collections relates to the three
regulations and exemption relate to terminating or abandoned plans and/
or to distribution and rollover of distributed benefits for which no
participant investment election has been made. The abandoned plan
initiative includes the following actions, which impose the following
information collections.
(1) The Qualified Termination Administrator (QTA) Regulation (29 CR
2578.1) creates an orderly and efficient process by which a financial
institution that holds the assets of a plan that is deemed to have been
abandoned may undertake to terminate the plan and distribute its assets
to participants and beneficiaries holding accounts under the plan, with
protections and approval of the Department under the standards of the
regulation. The regulation requires the QTA to provide certain notices
to the Department, to participants and beneficiaries, and to the plan
sponsor (or service providers to the plan, if necessary), and to keep
certain records pertaining to the termination.
(2) The Abandoned Plan Terminal Report Regulation (29 CFR 2520.103-
11) regulation provides an alternative, simplified method for a QTA to
satisfy the annual report requirement otherwise applicable to a
terminating plan by filing a special simplified terminal report with
the Department after terminating an abandoned plan and distributing its
accounts to participants and beneficiaries.
(3) The Terminated Plan Distribution Regulation (29 CFR 2550.404a-
3) regulation establishes a safe harbor method by which fiduciaries who
are terminating individual account pension plans (whether abandoned or
not) may select an investment vehicle to receive account balances
distributed from the terminated plan when the participant has failed to
provide investment instructions. The regulation requires the
fiduciaries to provide advance notice to participants and beneficiaries
of how such distributions will be invested, if no other investment
instructions are provided.
[[Page 62212]]
(4) The Abandoned Plan Class Exemption (PTE 2006-06) permits a QTA
that terminates an abandoned plan under the QTA regulation to receive
payment for its services from the abandoned plan and to distribute the
account balance of a participant who has failed to provide investment
direction into an individual retirement account (IRA) maintained by the
QTA or an affiliate. One of the conditions of the exemption requires
that the QTA keep records of the distributions for a period of six
years and make such records available on request to interested persons
(including the Department and participants and beneficiaries). If a QTA
wishes to be paid out of plan assets for services provided prior to
becoming a QTA, the exemption requires the QTA to enter into a written
agreement with a plan fiduciary or the plan sponsor prior to receiving
payment and a copy of the agreement to be provided to the Department.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0127. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2022.
Title: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 Research
Exception Notice.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0136.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses or other
for-profits.
Respondents: 24.
Responses: 24.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 6.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $83.
Description: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
(GINA), Public Law 110-233, was enacted on May 21, 2008. Title I of
GINA amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (the Code), and the Social Security Act (SSA) to prohibit
discrimination in health coverage based on genetic information.
Sections 101 through 103 of Title I of GINA prevent employment-based
group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and
individual markets from discriminating based on genetic information and
from collecting such information. The interim final regulations, which
are codified at 29 CFR 2590.702A, only interpret Sections 101 through
103 of Title I of GINA.
GINA and the interim final regulations (29 CFR 2590.702A(c)(5))
provide an exception to the limitations on requesting or requiring
genetic testing that allows a group health plan or group health
insurance issuer to request, but not require, a participant or
beneficiary to undergo a genetic test if all of the following
conditions of the research exception are satisfied.
(1) The request must be made pursuant to research that complies
with 45 CFR part 46 (or equivalent Federal regulations) and any
applicable State or local law or regulations for the protection of
human subjects in research. To comply with the informed consent
requirements of 45 CFR 46.116(a)(8), a participant must receive a
disclosure that participation in the research is voluntary, refusal to
participate cannot involve any penalty or loss of benefits to which the
participant is otherwise entitled, and the participant may discontinue
participation at anytime without penalty or loss of benefits to which
the participant is entitled (the Participant Disclosure). The interim
final regulations provide that when the Participant Disclosure is
received by participants when their informed consent is sought, no
additional disclosures are required for purposes of the GINA research
exception.
(2) The plan or issuer must make the request in writing and must
clearly indicate to each participant or beneficiary (or in the case of
a minor child, to the legal guardian of such beneficiary) to whom the
request is made that compliance with the request is voluntary and
noncompliance will have no effect on eligibility for benefits, premium,
or contribution amounts.
(3) None of the genetic information collected or acquired as a
result of the research may be used for underwriting purposes.
(4) The plan or issuer must complete a copy of the ``Notice of
Research Exception under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act'' (the Notice) and provide it to the address specified in its
instructions.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0136. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2022.
II. Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
<bullet> Evaluate whether the collections of information are
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
<bullet> Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
collections of information, including the validity of the methodology
and assumptions used;
<bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
<bullet> 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., by
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
<bullet> Evaluate the effectiveness of the additional demographic
questions.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the information
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 29th day of October, 2021.
Ali Khawar,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-24498 Filed 11-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.