Notice2022-23419
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
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Published
October 27, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for information collection requirements contained in the FTC's Consumer Product Warranty Rule (Warranty Rule or Rule). The current clearance expires on February 28, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65065-65067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23419]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking
public comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years
the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for information
collection requirements contained in the FTC's Consumer Product
Warranty Rule (Warranty Rule or Rule). The current clearance expires on
February 28, 2023.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 27, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Paperwork Reduction
Act Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment, and file your
comment online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment
on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex
J), Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Basford, Attorney, Division of
Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202)
326-2343.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Rule Concerning Disclosure of Written Consumer Product
Warranty Terms and Conditions.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0111.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: The Warranty Rule is one of three rules \1\ that the FTC
implemented pursuant to requirements of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act,
15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq. (Warranty Act or Act).\2\ The Warranty Rule
specifies the information that must appear in a written warranty on a
consumer product \3\ costing more than $15. The Rule tracks Section
102(a) of the Warranty Act,\4\ specifying information that must appear
in the written warranty and, for certain disclosures, mandates the
exact language that must be used.\5\ Neither the Warranty Rule nor the
Act requires that a manufacturer or retailer warrant a consumer product
in writing, but if they choose to do so, the warranty must comply with
the Rule.
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\1\ The other two rules relate to the pre-sale availability of
warranty terms and minimum standards for informal dispute settlement
mechanisms that are incorporated into a written warranty.
\2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
\3\ The definition of consumer product excludes products
purchased solely for commercial or industrial use. 16 CFR 701.1(b).
\4\ 15 U.S.C. 2302(a).
\5\ 40 FR 60168, 60169-60170.
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Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 216,752 hours.
Estimated Annual Labor Cost Burden: $29,652,215.
As required by Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the
information collection requirements contained in the Warranty Rule.
Burden Statement:
Total annual hours burden: 216,752 hours.
In its 2019 submission to OMB, the FTC estimated that the
information
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collection burden of including the disclosures required by the Warranty
Rule was 242,296 hours per year. Although the Rule's information
collection requirements have not changed, the current estimate
decreases the number of manufacturers subject to the Rule based on
recent Census data.\6\ Further, because most warrantors likely would
continue to disclose the information required by the Rule, even if
there were no statute or rule requiring them to do so, staff's
estimates likely overstate the PRA-related burden attributable to the
Rule. Moreover, the Warranty Rule has been in effect since 1976, and
warrantors have long since modified their warranties to include the
information the Rule requires.
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\6\ The Number of Firms and Establishments, Employment, and
Annual Payroll by State, Industry, and Enterprise Employment Size:
2019, release date: 2/11/2022, available at <a href="http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/susb/technical-documentation/methodology.html">http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/susb/technical-documentation/methodology.html</a>.
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Based on conversations with various warrantors' representatives
over the years, staff has concluded that eight hours per year is a
reasonable estimate of warrantors' PRA-related burden attributable to
the Warranty Rule. This estimate includes the number of hours
warrantors may need to ensure new warranties and any changes to
existing warranties comply with the Rule. Based on recent Census data,
staff now estimates that there are 27,094 manufacturers covered by the
Rule.\7\ This results in an annual burden estimate of approximately
216,752 hours (27,094 manufacturers x 8 hours of burden per year).
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\7\ Because some manufacturers likely make products that are not
priced above $15 or not intended for household use--and thus would
not be subject to the Rule--this figure is likely an overstatement.
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Total annual labor costs: $29,652,215.
Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures
to the burden hours described above. The work required to comply with
the Warranty Rule--ensuring that new warranties and changes to existing
warranties comply with the Rule--requires a mix of legal analysis
(50%), legal support (paralegals) (25%) and clerical help (25%). Staff
estimates that half of the total burden hours (108,376 hours) requires
legal analysis at an average hourly wage of $250 for legal
professionals,\8\ resulting in a labor cost of $27,094,000. Assuming
that 25% of the total burden hours requires legal support at the
average hourly wage of $28.46, and that the remaining 25% requires
clerical work at an average hourly wage of $18.75; the resulting labor
cost is approximately $2,558,215 ($1,542,190 + $1,016,025). Thus, the
total annual labor cost is approximately $29,652,215 ($27,094,000 for
legal professionals + $1,542,190 for legal support + $1,016,025 for
clerical workers).
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\8\ Staff has derived an hourly wage rate for legal
professionals based upon industry knowledge. The hourly wage rates
for legal support workers and for clerical support are based on mean
hourly wages available at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm</a> (``Occupational Employment and Wages-May 2021,'' U.S.
Department of Labor, released March 31, 2022, Table 1 (``National
employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics
survey by occupation, May 2021'').
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Total Capital and Start-Up Costs
The Rule imposes no appreciable current capital or start-up costs
that businesses do not already spend in the normal course of business.
To comply with the Warranty Rule, warrantors need only the ordinary
office equipment to draft new warranties and to change the wording of
existing warranties to include the required disclosures. Thus,
compliance requires no capital equipment or special technology apart
from what the manufacturer or seller would already be using as part of
the normal course of business, such as computer or other word
processing equipment, and photocopying equipment. Similarly,
distribution of the warranty does not impose any special capital costs
apart from the packaging and printing equipment already in use by the
business. It is not possible to state with any precision what fraction
of the cost of that equipment could be attributed to distributing the
warranty.
Total Operation/Maintenance/Purchase of Services Costs
The only ongoing costs involved with compliance are those costs
associated with maintenance and repair of computer word processing and
photocopying equipment used to generate the warranty document that
contains the required disclosures. These are costs that the seller or
manufacturer already bears in the normal cost of business; it is
unlikely that Warranty Rule compliance would impose significant
incremental costs. Likewise, the cost of distributing warranty
information involves such things as the purchase of supplies (such as
paper), the maintenance of equipment, or the purchase of services to
print, package, and distribute the warranty. These are costs that would
be already built into the packaging and distribution of the product
itself and which are already assumed as part of the normal course of
business.
Request for Comments
Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites
comments on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize
the burden of maintaining records and providing disclosures to
consumers. All comments must be received on or before December 27,
2022.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or before December 27, 2022. Write
``Paperwork Reduction Act Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Due to the public health emergency in response to the COVID-19
outbreak and the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We encourage you
to submit your comments online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
website.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Paperwork
Reduction Act Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment and on
the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580; or deliver your comment
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite
5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper
comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
Because your comment will become publicly available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for making sure that
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign
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country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or
credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health
information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable
health information. In addition, your comment should not include any
``trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . .
is privileged or confidential'' --as provided by Section 6(f) of the
FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--
including in particular competitively sensitive information such as
costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted publicly at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, we cannot redact or remove
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General
Counsel grants that request.
The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this
proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and
responsive public comments that it receives on or before December 27,
2022. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-23419 Filed 10-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 27, 2022.
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