Notice2022-22282
Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Agency Request for Reinstatement of Previously Approved Collections: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Reporting Requirements for Disability-Related Complaints
Primary source
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Published
October 13, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as amended, the Department is forwarding the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to OMB for review. DOT published a Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information on May 10, 2022 (87 FR 28101). DOT received two comments on the 60-day notice which are addressed below. DOT considered the comments and concluded that it will not make any changes to the information collections based on the comments before it submits the ICR to OMB for review. This notice is to allow the public an additional 30 days from the date of this notice to submit comments to the recently published application to reinstate OMB Control Number: 2105-0551, "Reporting Requirements for Disability- Related Complaints."
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62180-62181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22282]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket ID Number: DOT-OST-2010-0054]
Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB;
Agency Request for Reinstatement of Previously Approved Collections:
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Reporting
Requirements for Disability-Related Complaints
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(Department or DOT).
ACTION: Notice of submission to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as
amended, the Department is forwarding the Information Collection
Request (ICR) described below to OMB for review. DOT published a
Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
comments on the following collections of information on May 10, 2022
(87 FR 28101). DOT received two comments on the 60-day notice which are
addressed below. DOT considered the comments and concluded that it will
not make any changes to the information collections based on the
comments before it submits the ICR to OMB for review. This notice is to
allow the public an additional 30 days from the date of this notice to
submit comments to the recently published application to reinstate OMB
Control Number: 2105-0551, ``Reporting Requirements for Disability-
Related Complaints.''
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this
proposal. Written comments should be submitted by November 14, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Management and Budget,
Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of the Secretary of
Transportation, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Comments may
also be sent via email to OMB at the following address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1a7573687b45696f7877736969737574695a757778347f756a347d756c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0966607b68567a7c6b64607a7a6066677a4966646b276c6679276e667f">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Wood, Office of Aviation Consumer
Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE, Washington, DC 20590, Telephone Number (202) 366-9342 (voice),
(202) 366-7152 (fax), <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#02686d6a6c2c756d6d6642666d762c656d74"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0862676066267f67676c486c677c266f677e">[email protected]</span></a> (email). Arrangements to
receive this document in an alternative format may be made by
contacting the above-named individual.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 2105-0551.
Title: Reporting Requirements for Disability-Related Complaints.
Type of Request: Reinstatement of information collections.
Background: The Department requires U.S. and foreign air carriers
operating to, from and within the United States that conduct passenger-
carrying service with at least one aircraft with a designed seating
capacity of more than 60 passengers (large aircraft) to record
complaints that they receive alleging inadequate accessibility or
discrimination on the basis of disability. The carriers must also
categorize these complaints according to the type of disability and
nature of complaint, prepare a summary report annually of the
complaints received during the preceding calendar year, submit the
report to the Department's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, and
retain copies of correspondence and records of action taken on the
reported complaints for three years. Carriers are also required to
submit their annual report via the World Wide Web except if the carrier
can demonstrate an undue burden by doing so and receives permission
from the Department to submit it in an alternative manner. The first
required report of disability-related complaints was due to the
Department on January 31, 2005, and covered disability-related
complaints received by carriers during calendar year 2004. Carriers
have since submitted subsequent reports to the Department by the last
Monday in January for the prior calendar year.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing
regulations, 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 1320, require
Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public comment on
information collection activities before OMB may approve paperwork
packages. On May 10, 2022, DOT published a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register soliciting comment on the ICRs for which the agency seeks OMB
approval. See 87 FR 28101. DOT received two comments after issuing this
notice. One of the comments, filed by a member of the public, addressed
modifications of the DOT air service complaint form which is covered
under a different OMB control number than is addressed by this notice.
The other comment, filed by Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), stated
that the collection of information on disability-related complaints is
necessary for the proper performance of DOT because DOT is responsible
for enforcing the requirements of the Air Carrier Access Act. PVA noted
that the collection of the information indicates which airlines receive
the most complaints and what types of discrimination are occurring
during air travel. PVA stated that without the collection and reporting
of the complaints, airlines may not be held responsible for improper
procedures, discrimination, and unlawful treatment of individuals with
disabilities. In addition, PVA stated that the information collected by
DOT is too generalized and ambiguous to provide passengers with
disabilities information about which airlines provide the best
experience for passengers with disabilities and appropriately to
determine the issues that such passengers experience. PVA also stated
that the current burden on airlines to collect and categorize the
complaints can be alleviated by adding more descriptive options in
their complaint forms for passengers to categorize the complaint. For
example, PVA stated that airlines could use more specific check boxes
or indicators for passengers to select and categorize the complaint. In
addition, PVA stated that many online complaint forms are difficult for
passengers to find, resulting in passengers calling the airline to file
[[Page 62181]]
their complaint, and more burden on the airline.
DOT will consider the information provided by PVA for the purposes
of informing future potential rulemaking activities that would be
necessary to modify the requirements that apply to the airlines'
collection and submission of disability-related complaint information
under 14 CFR part 382. Therefore, DOT has concluded that it will not
make any changes to the information collections based on the comments
before submitting the ICR to OMB for review. However, DOT encourages
reporting carriers to consider PVA's comments on methods to reduce
burdens associated with categorizing complaints and to consider
adopting burden reducing measures that are consistent with the
regulatory requirements. The Department announces that these
information collection activities have been re-evaluated and certified
under 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and is forwarding to OMB for review and approval
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12(c).
Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C.
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30-day
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also
60 FR 44,983 (Aug. 29, 1995). Therefore, respondents should submit
their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication to best
ensure their full consideration. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR
44,983 (Aug. 29, 1995).
For each information collection, the title, a description of the
respondents, and an estimate of the annual recordkeeping and periodic
reporting burden are set forth below.\1\
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\1\ DOT did not use calendar year 2020 data for its estimates
because airline operations were not representative of a typical year
due to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on air transportation
that year.
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(1) Requirement to record and categorize complaints received.
Respondents: U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating
to and from the United States that conduct passenger-carrying service
with at least one large aircraft.
Number of Respondents: 176 (the average of the total number of
respondents that reported for Calendar Years (CYs) 2018, 2019, and
2021).
Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 0-2,431 hours (145,905
minutes) a year for each respondent (estimated time to record and
categorize each complaint (15 minutes) multiplied by the lowest number
of complaints and the average of the highest number of complaints
received during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021 (0-9,727)).
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 7,854 hours (471,255 minutes) for
all respondents (time to record and categorize each complaint (15
minutes) multiplied by the average total number of complaints received
during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021 (31,417) for all respondents).
Frequency: 0-9,727 complaints (The range of the lowest number of
complaints and an average of the highest number of complaints received
by any respondent during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021).
(2) Requirement to prepare and submit annual report.
Respondents: U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating
to and from the United States that conduct passenger-carrying service
with at least one large aircraft.
Number of Respondents: 176 (the average of the total number of
respondents that reported for CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021).
Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 30 minutes a year per each
respondent.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 88 hours (5,280 minutes) for all
respondents (estimate annual burden [30 minutes] multiplied by the
total number of respondents (176)).
Frequency: 1 report to DOT per year for each respondent.
(3) Requirement to retain correspondences and records of action
taken on all disability-related complaints.
Respondents: U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating
to and from the United States that conduct passenger-carrying service
with at least one large aircraft.
Number of Respondents: 176 (the average of the total number of
respondents that reported for CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021).
Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 0-811 hours (0-48,635
minutes) for each respondent (the estimated time it will take for each
respondent to retain or save the correspondences and records of action
taken on disability-related complaints (5 minutes) multiplied by the
lowest number of complaints and the average of the highest number of
complaints received per respondent during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021 (0-
9,727)).
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,618 hours (157,085 minutes) for
all respondents (time to retain or save the correspondences and records
of action taken on disability-related complaints (5 minutes) multiplied
by the average total number of complaints received during CYs 2018,
2019, and 2021 (31,417) for all respondents.
Frequency: 0-9,727 complaints per year for each respondent (The
range of the lowest number of complaints and an average of the highest
number of complaints received by any respondent during CYs 2018, 2019,
and 2021).
Comments Invited
Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of
the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents.
All comments will also become a matter of public record on the docket.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter
35, as amended; and 59 CFR 1.48.
Signed in Washington, DC, on this 7th day of October 2022.
Livaughn Chapman Jr.,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2022-22282 Filed 10-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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