Notice2024-19743
Agency Information Collection Activities: Existing Collection
Primary source
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Published
September 4, 2024
Issuing agencies
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) announces that it intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for a three-year PRA approval of revisions to the currently approved State and Local Government Information Report (EEO-4).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71901-71904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19743]
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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Existing Collection
AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
ACTION: Notice of Information Collection--Proposed revision of State
and Local Government Information Report (EEO-4).
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) announces
that it intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
a request for a three-year PRA approval of revisions to the currently
approved State and Local Government Information Report (EEO-4).
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before
November 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods--
please use only one method:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions on the website for submitting comments.
Mail: Comments may be submitted by mail to Raymond Windmiller,
Executive Officer, Executive Secretariat, Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, 131 M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507.
Fax: Comments totaling six or fewer pages can be faxed to (202)
663-4114. Receipt of fax transmittals will not be acknowledged, except
that the sender may request confirmation of receipt by calling the
Executive Secretariat staff at (202) 921-2815 (voice) or (800) 669-6820
(TTY).
Instructions: All comments received must include the agency name
and docket number. Comments will be posted without change to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided.
However, the EEOC reserves the right to refrain from posting libelous
or otherwise inappropriate comments, including those that contain
obscene, indecent, or profane language; that contain threats or
defamatory statements; that contain hate speech directed at race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic
information; or that promote or endorse services or products.
Copies of comments received in response to this notice are also
available for review at the Commission's library by appointment only at
131 M Street NE, Suite 4NW08R, Washington, DC 20507. Members of the
public may schedule an appointment by emailing <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d3238393c3d1818121e531a120b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="743b3130353411111b175a131b02">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Guerino, Director, Data
Development and Information Products Division, Office of Enterprise
Data and Analytics (OEDA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 131
M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507; (202) 921-2928 (voice), (800) 669-
6820 (TTY) or email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1a555f5e5b5a7f7f7579347d756c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bef1fbfafffedbdbd1dd90d9d1c8">[email protected]</span></a>. Requests for this notice in an
alternative format should be made to the EEOC's Office of
Communications and Legislative Affairs at (202) 921-3191 (voice), (800)
669-6820 (TTY), or (844) 234-5122 (ASL Video Phone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since 1973, the EEOC has required EEO-4
filers to submit workforce demographic data. All state and local
governments that are covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, as amended (Title VII) \1\ and that have 100 or more employees
are required to file the workforce demographic data.
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\1\ 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq.
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Pursuant to the PRA and OMB regulations found at 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1), the Commission solicits public comment on its intent to
seek a three-year approval of revisions to the
[[Page 71902]]
currently approved EEO-4 to: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the Commission's functions, including whether the information will have
practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the Commission's
estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3)
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
Based on data from the most recent EEO-4 data collection reporting
year (i.e., 2023), as well as ongoing updates by the EEOC to the EEO-4
frame (i.e., filer roster or master list), the EEOC anticipates the
total number of filers submitting an EEO-4 report may increase to 6,607
per biennial collection. Accordingly, the burden estimates in this
Notice are based on this revised estimate of the number of filers.
Overview of Information Collection
Collection Title: State and Local Government Information Report
(EEO-4).
OMB Number: 3046-0008.
Frequency of Report: Biennial.
Type of Respondent: State and local governments that have 100 or
more employees and meet certain criteria.
Description of Affected Public: State and local governments that
have 100 or more employees and meet certain criteria.
Reporting Hours: 18,094 hours per biennial collection.
Respondent Burden Hour Cost: $563,868.27 per biennial collection.
Federal Cost: $327,440.12 per biennial collection.
Number of Filers: 6,607 per biennial collection.\2\
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\2\ This figure is based on the expanded frame of potentially
eligible respondents and the response rate for the most recently
completed EEO-4 data collection (2023 EEO-4 data collection).
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Number of Responses: 6,607 per biennial collection.
Number of Forms: 1.
Form Number: EEOC Form 164.
Abstract: Section 709(c) of Title VII requires employers to make
and keep records relevant to the determination of whether unlawful
employment practices have been or are being committed, to preserve such
records, and to produce reports as the Commission prescribes by
regulation or order.\3\ Pursuant to this statutory authority, the EEOC
issued regulations prescribing the reporting and related record
retention requirements for state and local governments.\4\ The
regulations require state and local governments to make or keep all
records necessary for completion of an EEO-4 submission and retain
those records for three years, and also require EEO-4 filers to retain
a copy of each filed EEO-4 report for three years. These recordkeeping
requirements are part of standard administrative practices, and as a
result, the EEOC believes that any impact on burden would be negligible
and nearly impossible to quantify. Additionally, the regulations
require state and local governments to file executed copies of the EEO-
4 in conformity with the directions set forth in the form and
accompanying instructions. Under this authority, state and local
governments with 100 or more employees are required to report
biennially \5\ the number of individuals they employ by job category
and by sex, salary band, and race or ethnicity.
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\3\ 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c).
\4\ The regulatory sections covered by this notice are 29 CFR
1602.30 and 1602.32 through 1602.37. The EEOC is responsible for
obtaining OMB's PRA approval for the EEO-4 report.
\5\ Beginning in 1993, the EEO-4 report has been collected
biennially in odd-numbered years. Prior to 1993, the EEO-4 report
was collected annually.
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Please note that on March 28, 2024, OMB published revisions, the
first since 1997, to its Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards
for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and
Ethnicity.'' See <a href="https://spd15revision.gov/">https://spd15revision.gov/</a>. The revisions include, for
example, using a single combined race and ethnicity question and adding
Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) as a new minimum reporting
category. Federal agencies, including the EEOC, are required to bring
their data collections into compliance with these standards by March
28, 2029. Because the EEOC's current EEO-4 PRA clearance expires
January 31, 2025, the agency is not proposing updates to its collection
of race and ethnicity data under this Notice in order to provide filers
with sufficient notice of the revised standards and to give the EEOC
sufficient time to implement the revisions across its EEO collections.
The EEOC currently collects EEO-4 data electronically through a
web-based data collection application (i.e., portal) referred to as the
EEO-4 Online Filing System (OFS).\6\ Filers must submit their data
electronically to the web-based portal by either manual entry or by
uploading a data file. The individual EEO-4 reports are
confidential.\7\ The EEOC uses EEO-4 data to investigate charges of
employment discrimination against state and local governments and to
publish periodic reports on workforce demographics.\8\
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\6\ EEO-4 filers may access the EEO-4 Online Filing System
through the EEOC's dedicated EEO-4 website at <a href="http://www.eeocdata.org/eeo4">www.eeocdata.org/eeo4</a>.
\7\ All reports and any information from individual reports are
subject to the confidentiality provisions of section 709(e) of Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(e), as
amended (Title VII), and may not be made public by the EEOC prior to
the institution of any proceeding under Title VII involving the EEO-
4 data. Any EEOC employee who violates this prohibition may be found
guilty of a criminal misdemeanor and could be fined or imprisoned.
The confidentiality requirements allow the EEOC to publish only
aggregated data, and only in a manner that does not identify any
particular filer or reveal any individual employee's personal
information. With respect to other federal agencies with a
legitimate law enforcement purpose, the EEOC gives access to
information collected under Title VII only if the agencies agree in
writing to comply with the confidentiality provisions of Title VII.
In addition, section 709(d) (42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(d)) provides that the
EEOC shall furnish upon request and without cost to state or local
civil rights agencies information about employers in their
jurisdiction on the condition that they not make it public prior to
starting a proceeding under state or local law involving such
information. The EEOC shares EEO-4 data with Fair Employment
Practices Agencies (FEPAs) pursuant to Worksharing Agreements that
impose obligations on the contracted FEPA with respect to
confidentiality, privacy, and data security. On a case-by-case
basis, the EEOC may share EEO-4 data with a FEPA that does not have
a Worksharing Agreement, but only if that FEPA agrees to comply with
confidentiality, privacy, and data security obligations similar to
those imposed on FEPAs with Worksharing Agreements.
\8\ Any reports the EEOC publishes based on EEO-4 data include
only aggregated data that protect the confidentiality of each
employer's information, as well as the privacy of each employee's
personal information.
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Burden Statement: The EEOC's Office of Enterprise Data and
Analytics (OEDA) administers the agency's data collections, including
the EEO-4. Since OEDA's creation in 2018, the EEOC has undertaken
several efforts to modernize the agency's data collections and improve
the quality of data collected. OEDA has also streamlined functions,
such as providing additional self-service options, resource materials,
and an online support message center.
As part of these ongoing modernization efforts, OEDA has undertaken
measures to enhance the agency's existing EEO-4 data frame of
potentially eligible filers and make the EEO-4 filing process more
user-friendly and less burdensome. By comparing the EEOC's 2023 EEO-4
frame to the U.S. Census Bureau's Census of
[[Page 71903]]
Governments,\9\ OEDA identified approximately 1,220 additional state
and local governments that may be eligible to file during the next
biennial data collection. With the addition of these filers to the EEO-
4 frame and considering response rates during the 2023 EEO-4 data
collection, OEDA now estimates 6,607 potential respondents to the
agency's next EEO-4 data collection.\10\
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\9\ The Census of Governments is a three-phased program that
collects state and local government data every five years in years
ending in ``2'' and ``7.'' See <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/census-of-governments.html">https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/census-of-governments.html</a>.
\10\ This estimate covers state and local governments with 100
or more employees within the 50 United States and the District of
Columbia. Please note that 6,607 respondents may ultimately turn out
to be an overestimate. Following the initial enhancement of the EEO-
4 frame, collection data may yield an unknown number of ineligible
filers.
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Additionally, the EEOC proposes to update the salary bands in the
next biennial EEO-4 data collection to keep pace with inflation and
account for an increasing portion of employees falling into the highest
salary bands. The EEOC reviewed several other federal data collections
involving salaries and wages and determined that the Bureau of Labor
Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) \11\
program most closely aligns with the EEO-4. Therefore, the EEOC
proposes adopting the OEWS salary bands and will periodically update
them as appropriate. The EEOC recognizes there may be a one-time
increase in burden as filers need to update their systems to produce
reports in the new categories, but this increase is expected to be
negligible. The proposed pay bands for the next biennial data
collection are listed in the table below.
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\11\ The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
program produces employment and wage estimates annually for
approximately 830 occupations. See <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/">https://www.bls.gov/oes/</a>.
Table 1--Updated Salary Bands for EEO-4
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Wages
Interval -------------------------------------------
Annual Hourly
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Range A..................... Under $19,240....... Under $9.25
Range B..................... $19,240 to $24,959.. $9.25 to $11.99
Range C..................... $24,960 to $32,239.. $12.00 to $15.49
Range D..................... $32,240 to $41,079.. $15.50 to $19.74
Range E..................... $41,080 to $53,039.. $19.75 to $25.49
Range F..................... $53,040 to $68,119.. $25.50 to $32.74
Range G..................... $68,120 to $87,359.. $32.75 to $41.99
Range H..................... $87,360 to $112,319. $42.00 to $53.99
Range I..................... $112,320 to $144,559 $54.00 to $69.49
Range J..................... $144,560 to $186,159 $69.50 to $89.49
Range K..................... $186,160 to $239,199 $89.5 to $114.99
Range L..................... $239,200 and over... $115.00 and over
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The EEOC has also updated its methodology for calculating the
biennial burden of the EEO-4 to better reflect the types of personnel
responsible for preparing and filing these reports on behalf of their
employers. Based upon job titles provided during the 2023 EEO-4 data
collection by individuals completing the report within the EEO-4 OFS,
the EEOC has identified six specific job categories which account for
the largest amount of time spent biennially on EEO-4 reporting. These
job categories include: (1) Human Resource Specialists; (2) Executive-
Level Staff; (3) Secretaries and Administrative Assistants; (4)
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks; (5) Administrative
Services and Facilities Managers; and (6) Database Administrators and
Architects.\12\
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\12\ Hourly wage rates for these six job categories were
obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook. See <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/">https://www.bls.gov/ooh/</a>. Please note that the actual job titles reported
during the 2023 EEO-4 data collection were collapsed into these six
BLS occupational categories.
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Additionally, the EEO-4 OFS captures detailed information on when
each filer starts and certifies its report. The EEOC used this
information from the most recent EEO-4 data collection to calculate
more precise burden hour estimates.\13\ In Table 2 below, the estimated
average hour burden per report is 2.7 hours. The total estimated
biennial respondent burden for all filers is 18,094 hours. The
estimated average burden hour cost per report is $85.34, and the
estimated total burden hour cost for all filers per biennial collection
is $563,868.27.
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\13\ The time estimates are based on the average time elapsed
among filers who completed their reports during the same calendar
day within the EEO-4 OFS. This methodology was chosen because a
single-session submission would also approximate the completion time
over several, multi-day sessions.
TAble 2--Projected Burden for Each EEO-4 Biennial Reporting Year (N = 6,607)
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Percent in job Median hourly Hours per Total burden Total burden
Staff job category category wage rate filer hours Cost per filer hour cost
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Human Resource Specialists.............................. 68.0 $30.88 2.8 12,575 $86.46 $388,309.82
Executive-Level Staff................................... 4.1 48.12 2.6 710 125.11 34,155.58
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants............... 8.1 21.19 2.4 1,289 50.86 827,309.67
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks............ 8.8 22.05 2.5 1,450 55.13 31,972.50
Administrative Services and Facilities Managers......... 4.5 48.98 3.4 1,003 166.53 49,126.94
Database Administrators and Architects.................. 0.1 53.91 0.5 3 26.96 134.78
Other \a\............................................... 6.3 30.86 2.5 1,065 77.14 32,858.98
AVERAGE................................................. 2.7 85.34
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Total \b\........................................... 100.0 18,094 563,868.27
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\a\ The average hourly wage rate for the ``Other'' category was derived by taking the weighted mean average of the hourly wage rates of the six BLS job
categories listed in the above table.
\b\ These estimates are based upon filers' use of the EEO-4 OFS to submit reports electronically because paper submissions are no longer accepted.
Electronic filing remains the most efficient, accurate, and secure means of reporting for respondents required to submit the EEO-4 report.
For the Commission.
Charlotte A. Burrows,
Chair.
[FR Doc. 2024-19743 Filed 9-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6570-01-P
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