Notice2023-25499
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
Primary source
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Published
November 17, 2023
Issuing agencies
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
Abstract
The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled operates as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission (Commission). This notice announces the Commission's intent to submit the Information Collection Request ("ICR") described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval under applicable provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice provides an opportunity to interested members of the public and affected agencies to comment on a proposed Participating Employee Eligibility form.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 221 (Friday, November 17, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 221 (Friday, November 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80282-80283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25499]
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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions,
and Approvals
AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or
Severely Disabled operates as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission
(Commission). This notice announces the Commission's intent to submit
the Information Collection Request (``ICR'') described below to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval under applicable
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice provides an
opportunity to interested members of the public and affected agencies
to comment on a proposed Participating Employee Eligibility form.
DATES: Submit comments on or before January 16, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d4a4bbb8bdb7ad94b5b6bdb8bda0adbbbab1fab3bba2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dcacb3b0b5bfa59cbdbeb5b0b5a8a5b3b2b9f2bbb3aa">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Stewart, Compliance and
Enforcement Attorney, Office of General Counsel, U.S. AbilityOne
Commission, 355 E Street SW, Suite 325, Washington, DC 20024;
telephone: (703) 254-6172; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0c6f7f78697b6d7e784c6d6e6560657875636269226b637a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="204353544557415254604142494c4954594f4e450e474f56">[email protected]</span></a>. If you are
deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access
telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Overview of ICR: This notice pertains to an ICR the Commission
intends to submit to OMB to approve the form that an AbilityOne-
participating nonprofit agency employer will fill out to document its
determination of an individual's eligibility to be a participating
employee in the AbilityOne Program. The form is an updated and modified
version of the Commission's Individual Eligibility Evaluation (IEE)
form (OMB Control # 3037-0012). The purpose of the IEE was to determine
and document an individual's eligibility to participate in the
AbilityOne Program by identifying the individual's barriers to
employment as well as the job supports the individual needs to perform
their job.
This ICR is consistent with OMB regulations at 5 CFR part 1320,
which implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) These regulations require the Commission to
provide an opportunity to interested members of the public and affected
agencies to comment on information collection and recordkeeping
activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)) such as those proposed to be
implemented through this form.
The Commission is responsible for implementing the Javits-Wagner-
O'Day (JWOD) Act, 41 U.S.C. 8501-8506. In doing so, the Commission
oversees the AbilityOne Program, an employment program in which
individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities provide
products and services to Federal agencies, thereby creating employment
opportunities. The Commission maintains a Procurement List of mandatory
source products and services provided by approximately 450 qualified
nonprofit agencies (NPAs). The individuals who are blind or have
significant disabilities working on AbilityOne contracts are called
``participating employees.''
The Commission collects certain data from qualified NPAs regarding
participating employees in order to ensure the integrity of the
AbilityOne Program. Providing effective program stewardship requires
collection of information to protect participating employees and ensure
that positions intended for individuals who are blind or have
significant disabilities are, in fact, filled by those individuals.
The proposed data collection form in this ICR is consistent with
the Commission's responsibilities and ensures that the Commission will
collect the most pertinent data to inform its oversight and decision
making.
The form described in this ICR is the first of two forms intended
to modernize the existing IEE form and align it with the Commission's
strategic plan and updated approach to determining eligibility for
participating employees. The Commission has outlined the criteria for
eligibility for participating employees in its Policy 51.403, which
will be published in final form on November 17, 2023, and will be
effective on January 1, 2024.
As outlined in Policy 51.403, and reflected in the proposed form, a
significant change in the Commission's approach to determining a
prospective employee's eligibility for the AbilityOne Program is the
Commission's acceptance of other governmental agency determinations of
disability. For example, individuals deemed eligible for Social
Security disability benefits are now automatically eligible to
participate in the AbilityOne Program. The proposed form described in
this ICR enables NPAs to certify that an individual has a determination
of disability from a governmental agency, and in so doing, streamlines
the process to qualify individuals for employment in the AbilityOne
Program.
A draft version of the form NPAs will complete is available at
<a href="http://www.abilityone.gov">www.abilityone.gov</a> (see News and Events column on the homepage). For
individuals who meet the eligibility requirements under either Part A
or Part B of the proposed form, the Commission estimates that
completing the form will take approximately 5 minutes. For individuals
who meet the eligibility requirements under Part C or Part D of the
proposed form, the Commission estimates that completing the form will
take approximately 30 minutes. NPAs completing Part C or Part D of the
form will need to complete Part E, as well, which is included in the
estimated 30 minutes.
In accordance with these and other changes reflected in Policy
51.403, the Commission estimates that the time and financial burden to
the NPAs in completing the proposed form will be significantly lower
than required by the corresponding sections of the existing IEE form.
Over time, this form will further substantially reduce the burden on
NPAs because, in most cases, it will be filled out only once per
employee--i.e., when an employee is onboarded--and not on an annual
basis as required by the existing IEE form. For employees with a non-
permanent disability, the form will be completed on a recurring,
[[Page 80283]]
seven-year basis. The Commission estimates that approximately 10% of
AbilityOne employees have non-permanent disabilities.
To calculate the burden for completion of the proposed form, the
Commission considered an estimate from the Society for Human Resource
Management that the average annual turnover across all industries is
approximately 18 percent. Using this number, the Commission estimated
that NPAs may need to complete this form for approximately 18 percent
of their total employees each year. However, AbilityOne employers may
experience lower turnover than employer in the general economy. The
Commission acknowledges that net AbilityOne job growth may result in
NPAs completing additional forms.
The table below shows the Commission's estimate for the average
amount of time per employee for whom the NPAs complete a form, both in
the first year of implementation (``Year 1'') and in the following
years of implementation (``Years 2+''). The Commission recognizes that
NPAs vary widely in total number of employees. Therefore, an NPA can
apply this analysis based on their individual employment totals.
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Maximum Annual form Total time burden
Number of employees for whom NPA must complete form Annual turnover/ responses for burden (hours/ for all employees Annual form cost
entry rate of 18% this form employee) (hours) burden (dollars)
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36,377 (Year 1).......................................... 6,548 42,925 0.5 21,462.5 662,762
520 (Years 2+)........................................... 6,548 7,068 0.5 3,534 109,130
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NPAs can calculate their overall time burden (in hours) by
multiplying the number of participating employees they have by 0.5. The
cost burden is based upon national average pay data from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, using the May 2022 National Occupational
Employment and Wage Estimate of $30.88 as the median hourly wage for a
Human Resources Specialist (OC 13-1070). (<a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#11-0000">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#11-0000</a>)
With respect to this collection of information via the proposed
form, the Commission welcomes comments on the following:
<bullet> The necessity to collect this information to support the
Commission's mission and oversight responsibilities;
<bullet> Methodology to improve the accuracy of the estimated time
burden; i.e., specific year-over-year employee turnover rates for NPAs
or number of additional employee hires above turnovers, expressed as a
percentage of the NPAs' total number of participating employees;
<bullet> Methodology to determine the percentage of participating
employees who have non-permanent disabilities;
<bullet> Suggestions or methods to minimize the burdens associated
with collecting the information described in this ICR.
Michael R. Jurkowski,
Acting Director, Business Operations.
[FR Doc. 2023-25499 Filed 11-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6353-01-P
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