Notice2023-00811
Proposed Renewal of the Approval of Information Collection Requirements; Comment Request
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
January 18, 2023
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentFederal Contract Compliance Programs Office
Abstract
The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre- clearance consultation program to provide the general public and federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The program helps ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is soliciting comments concerning its proposal to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal of the information collection for its complaint program. OFCCP is requesting OMB approval for two information collection instruments: revisions to the existing "Form CC-4, Complaint Involving Employment Discrimination by a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor" (Form CC-4) and a new instrument, "Form CC-390 Pre-Complaint Inquiry for Employment Discrimination Involving a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor" (Form CC-390). The current OMB approval for Form CC-4 expires on May 31, 2023. A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice or by accessing it at www.regulations.gov.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2971-2973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00811]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
Proposed Renewal of the Approval of Information Collection
Requirements; Comment Request
AGENCY: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-
clearance consultation program to provide the general public and
federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The program helps ensure that requested
data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and
financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents
can be properly assessed. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs (OFCCP) is soliciting comments concerning its proposal to
obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
renewal of the information collection for its complaint program. OFCCP
is requesting OMB approval for two information collection instruments:
revisions to the existing ``Form CC-4, Complaint Involving Employment
Discrimination by a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor'' (Form CC-4)
and a new instrument, ``Form CC-390 Pre-Complaint Inquiry for
Employment Discrimination Involving a Federal Contractor or
Subcontractor'' (Form CC-390). The current OMB approval for Form CC-4
expires on May 31, 2023. A copy of the proposed information collection
request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice or by accessing
it at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before March 20, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Electronic comments: The federal eRulemaking portal at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the instructions found on that website for
submitting comments.
Mail, Hand Delivery, Courier: Addressed to Tina T. Williams,
Director, Division of Policy and Program Development, Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room C-3325,
Washington, DC 20210.
Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only one
method. For faster submission, we encourage commenters to transmit
their comment electronically via the <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Comments that are mailed to the address provided above must be
postmarked before the close of the comment period. All submissions must
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include OFCCP's name for identification. Comments submitted in response
to the notice, including any personal information provided, become a
matter of public record and will be posted on <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Comments will also be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB
approval of the information collection request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina T. Williams, Director, Division
of Policy and Program Development, Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room C-3325,
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-0103 or toll free at 1-800-
397-6251. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay
services. Copies of this notice may be obtained in alternative formats
(large print, braille, audio recording) upon request by calling the
numbers listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background: OFCCP administers and enforces the three equal
employment opportunity authorities listed below.
<bullet> Executive Order 11246, as amended (E.O. 11246)
<bullet> Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
(section 503)
<bullet> Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as
amended (VEVRAA)
These authorities prohibit employment discrimination by Federal
contractors and subcontractors and require them to take affirmative
action to ensure that equal employment opportunities are available
regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected
veteran. Additionally, Federal contractors and subcontractors are
prohibited from discriminating against applicants and employees for
asking about, discussing, or sharing information about their pay or, in
certain circumstances, the pay of their co-workers. Federal contractors
and subcontractors are further prohibited from harassing, intimidating,
threatening, coercing, or discriminating against individuals who file a
complaint, assist or participate in any OFCCP investigation, oppose any
discriminatory act or practice, or otherwise exercise their rights
protected by OFCCP's laws.
No private right of action exists under the authorities that are
enforced by OFCCP, i.e., a private individual may not bring a lawsuit
against an employer (or prospective employer) for noncompliance with
its contractual obligations enforced by OFCCP. However, any employee
of, or applicant for employment with, a federal contractor or
subcontractor may file a complaint with OFCCP alleging discrimination
or failure to comply with other OFCCP contractor obligations.
Currently, OFCCP encourages such employees and applicants to file their
complaints by completing its complaint form (``Form CC-4''). OFCCP
investigates certain complaints and refers others to agencies that may
have jurisdiction. For example, if a complaint is filed under E.O.
11246 or section 503, OFCCP may refer it to the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC).\1\ OFCCP retains all complaints filed
under VEVRAA.
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\1\ See 41 CFR 60-1.24(a) and 41 CFR 60-742.5.
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Where OFCCP investigates a complaint and finds one or more
violations of equal opportunity requirements, the agency engages in
conciliation with the contractor to resolve the matter. Where that is
not successful, OFCCP determines whether to bring an enforcement action
through an administrative or judicial proceeding.
OFCCP is proposing to modify its complaint intake procedures to
adopt a two-step complaint intake process. EEOC has long utilized a
two-step intake process.\2\ OFCCP proposes that as a first step,
applicants and employees of contractors, their authorized
representatives, or third parties would submit to OFCCP a pre-complaint
inquiry providing basic information on their allegation(s) and contact
information (Form CC-390). When OFCCP receives a pre-complaint inquiry,
OFCCP will assess (1) whether the allegations are timely; (2) whether
the inquiry falls under OFCCP's jurisdiction; and (3) whether the
inquiry should be investigated, closed or referred to another agency.
If OFCCP determines it would likely investigate the matter, OFCCP will
provide the inquiry submitter (``submitter'') with information on
filing a complaint (Form CC-4), including information on the anti-
retaliation protections under the authorities OFCCP enforces. If OFCCP
determines that OFCCP would refer the matter to another agency, it will
provide the submitter with information on the referral and send a copy
of the pre-complaint inquiry to the other agency for review. If OFCCP
determines that the allegations provided in the inquiry are untimely or
are not within OFCCP's authority, OFCCP will contact the submitter to
explain why OFCCP would likely not investigate the matter if a
complaint were filed. The decision to file a complaint with OFCCP lies
with the submitter. Once OFCCP receives a completed complaint form,
OFCCP will assign the matter for investigation, and OFCCP will notify
the employer (contractor) of the complaint and investigation. By
implementing this new process, OFCCP will improve the efficiency of its
complaint intake process.
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\2\ See EEOC, How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination,
<a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination">https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination</a> (last
accessed Dec. 9, 2022) (describing EEOC's pre-charge inquiry and
charge filing process).
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OFCCP is requesting approval of Form CC-390, which applicants and
employees of contractors, their authorized representatives, or third
parties will use to submit a pre-complaint inquiry. Additionally, OFCCP
is requesting approval for changes to the existing Form CC-4, including
formatting changes for consistency with the proposed pre-complaint
inquiry form and clarifying revisions to portions of the form to
improve useability.
Under E.O. 11246, section 206(b) provides the authority for
collection of complaint information. The implementing regulations that
specify the content of this information collection are found at 41 CFR
60-1.23. Under VEVRAA, the authority for collecting complaint
information is at 38 U.S.C. 4212(b) and the implementing regulations
that specify the content of VEVRAA complaints, are found at 41 CFR 60-
300.61(b). The statutory authority for collecting complaint information
under section 503 is at 29 U.S.C. 793(b), and the implementing
regulations that specify the content of section 503 complaints are
found at 41 CFR 60-741.61(c). This information collection request
covers the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for Form CC-4 and
Form CC-390.
II. Review Focus: OFCCP is particularly interested in comments
that:
<bullet> Evaluate the proposed pre-complaint inquiry form and the
proposed changes to the complaint form;
<bullet> 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;
<bullet> 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;
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<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.
III. Current Actions: OFCCP seeks the approval of these information
collection instruments in order to carry out its responsibility to
enforce the affirmative action and nondiscrimination provisions of the
three authorities it administers.
Type of Review: Renewal.
Agency: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Title: Complaint Involving Employment Discrimination by a Federal
Contractor or Subcontractor.
OMB Number: 1250-0002.
Agency Number: None.
Affected Public: Business or other for profit; individuals.
Total Respondents: 1,618 respondents for the pre-complaint inquiry;
100 respondents for the formal complaint.
Total Annual Responses: 1,618 respondents for the pre-complaint
inquiry; 100 respondents for the formal complaint.
Average Time per Response: .25 hour for the pre-complaint inquiry;
1 hour for the formal complaint.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 505 hours.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $1,648.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the information
collection request; they will also become a matter of public record.
Christopher S. Seely,
Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Program Development, Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
[FR Doc. 2023-00811 Filed 1-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-CM-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 18, 2023.
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.