Notice2025-06262
Proposed Extension of Information Collection: Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) Demonstration Projects and Evaluation
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
April 14, 2025
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentDisability Employment Policy Office
Abstract
The Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy is soliciting comments regarding this ODEP-sponsored information collection for the Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) Demonstration Projects and Evaluation. As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, DOL conducts a pre-clearance request for comment to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This request helps to 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 70 (Monday, April 14, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 70 (Monday, April 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15587-15589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-06262]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Disability Employment Policy
[OMB Control No. 1230-0014]
Proposed Extension of Information Collection: Retaining
Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN)
Demonstration Projects and Evaluation
AGENCY: Office of Disability Employment Policy, United States
Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of information collections and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Disability Employment
Policy is soliciting comments regarding this ODEP-sponsored information
collection for the Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness
Network (RETAIN) Demonstration Projects and Evaluation. As part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, DOL
conducts a pre-clearance request for comment to provide the general
public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995. This request helps to 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.
DATES: Comments pertaining to this information collection are due on or
before June 13, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late,
untimely filed comments will not be considered.
Electronic Submission: Submit electronic comments in the following
way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
online instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted
electronically, including attachments, to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
will be posted to the docket, with no changes. Because your comment
will be made public, you
[[Page 15588]]
are responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any
confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be
posted, such as your or anyone else's Social Security number or
confidential business information.
<bullet> If your comment includes confidential information that you
do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a
written/paper submission.
Written/Paper Submissions: Submit written/paper submissions in the
following way:
<bullet> Mail/Hand Delivery: Mail or visit DOL, 200 Constitution
Ave. NW, Room S-5315, Washington, DC 20210.
<bullet> DOL-ODEP will post your comment as well as any
attachments, except for information submitted and marked as
confidential, in the docket at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Rosenblum by telephone at 202-
693-7840 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#41050e0d1e1113001e1114030d080201252e2d6f262e37"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7e3e8ebf8f7f5e6f8f7f2e5ebeee4e7c3c8cb89c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In FY 2018, the Department of Labor and the Social Security
Administration launched a collaboration to develop and test promising
stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) early intervention strategies and
evaluate outcomes for individuals who are experiencing work
disability.\1\ Each year, millions of American workers leave the
workforce after experiencing an injury or illness, and hundreds of
thousands of these workers go on to receive state or federal disability
benefits. The socio-economic impacts of these injuries and illnesses on
individuals, employers, and all levels of government can be significant
and long-lasting. SAW/RTW programs succeed by returning injured workers
to productive work as soon as medically possible by providing interim
part-time or light duty work and accommodations, as necessary.
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\1\ For the purposes of RETAIN, the term ``work disability'' is
defined as an illness, injury, or medical condition that has the
potential to inhibit or prevent continued employment or labor force
participation, and ``federal disability benefits'' refers
specifically to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. See <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/disability/">https://www.ssa.gov/disability/</a> for more information on SSDI and SSI.
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The RETAIN Demonstration Projects are modeled after promising
programs currently operating in Washington State, including the Centers
of Occupational Health and Education (COHE), the Early Return to Work
(ERTW), and the Stay at Work programs. While these programs operate
within the state's workers' compensation system and are available only
to individuals experiencing work-related injuries or illnesses, the
RETAIN Demonstration Projects provide opportunities to improve SAW/RTW
outcomes for individuals with both occupational and non-occupational
injuries and illnesses.
The primary goals of the RETAIN Demonstration Projects are:
1. To increase employment retention and labor force participation
of individuals who acquire, and/or are at risk of developing, work
disabilities; and
2. To reduce long-term work disability among project participants,
including the need for federal disability benefits (i.e., Social
Security Disability Insurance [SSDI] and Supplemental Security Income
[SSI]).
During FY 2018, eight states received funding through cooperative
agreements to create systems changes by developing and implementing
partnerships and strategies to test the effects of the provision of
comprehensive, coordinated health and employment-related services and
supports to injured or ill workers who have acquired, or are at risk of
developing, a work disability. In Phase 1, these grantees completed
start-up activities and launched a small pilot. In FY 2021, five of
these grantees (Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, and Vermont) were
competitively awarded Phase 2 funding for a performance period of four
years (2021-2024), enabling them to expand and scale up their pilot to
full implementation. This performance period has been extended to 2025
for all five grantees and subsequently to 2026 for four grantees, as
they continue sustainability activities.
The purpose of the RETAIN employee participant information
collection is to understand and assess RETAIN program start-up, pilot
projects, and full implementation. Two baseline forms are required to
be completed for each participant enrolling in RETAIN, whether in the
treatment group or in the control group. The first form is completed by
the enrollees themselves, while the second form is completed by a
combination of the healthcare provider and Return-to-Work Coordinator,
based on information provided by the enrollee. This information
collection was approved by OMB in May 2019 with an expiration date of
May 31, 2022, and it was subsequently approved by OMB on June 1, 2022
for an extension with an expiration date of June 30, 2025. An extension
is requested for another year, to last through the end of Phase 2 for
all grantees.
This information collection is subject to the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA). A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a
collection of information, and the public is generally not required to
respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and
displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition,
notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally
be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of
information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR
1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
The DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for
one (1) year. OMB authorization for an Information Collection Review
cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes
that currently approved information collection requirements submitted
to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo
review.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
DOL is soliciting comments concerning the proposed information
collection related to Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/
Illness Network (RETAIN) Demonstration Projects and Evaluation. DOL is
particularly interested in comments that:
<bullet> Evaluate whether the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency,
including whether the information has practical utility;
<bullet> Evaluate the accuracy of DOL's estimate of the burden
related to the information collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used in the estimate;
<bullet> Suggest methods to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and
<bullet> Minimize the burden of the information collection 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, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
Background documents related to this information collection request
are available at <a href="https://regulations.gov">https://regulations.gov</a> and at DOL located at 200
Constitution Ave. NW, Room S-5315, Washington, DC 20210. Questions
about the information collection requirements may be directed to the
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section of this notice.
[[Page 15589]]
III. Current Actions
This information collection request concerns the Retaining
Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN)
Demonstration Projects and Evaluation. DOL-ODEP has included the number
of respondents, responses, burden hours, and burden costs supporting
this information collection request below.
Type of Review: Extension.
Agency: DOL-ODEP.
OMB Control Number: 1230-0014.
Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
Number of Respondents: 1,920.
Number of Responses: 1,920.
Annual Burden Hours: 640 hours.
Estimated Time per Response: 20 minutes.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized in
the request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the
proposed information collection request; they will become a matter of
public record and will be available at <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov">https://www.reginfo.gov</a>.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A))
Dated: March 28, 2025.
Jennifer Sheehy,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability Employment Policy.
[FR Doc. 2025-06262 Filed 4-11-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FK-P
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