§ 83.15 - How will the Board consider and advise the Secretary on a petition?

§ 83.15 How will the Board consider and advise the Secretary on a petition?

(a) NIOSH will publish a notice in the Federal Register providing notice of a Board meeting at which a petition will be considered, and summarizing the petition to be considered by the Board at the meeting and the findings of NIOSH from evaluating the petition.

(b) The Board will consider the petition and the NIOSH evaluation report at the meeting, to which the petitioner(s) will be invited to present views and information on the petition and the NIOSH evaluation findings. In considering the petition, both NIOSH and the members of the Board will take all steps necessary to prevent the disclosure of information of a personal nature, concerning the petitioners or others, where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

(c) In considering the petition, the Board may obtain and consider additional information not addressed in the petition or the initial NIOSH evaluation report.

(d) NIOSH may decide to further evaluate a petition, upon the request of the Board. If NIOSH conducts further evaluation, it will report new findings to the Board and the petitioner(s).

(e) Upon the completion of NIOSH evaluations and deliberations of the Board concerning a petition, the Board will develop and transmit to the Secretary a report containing its recommendations. The Board's report will include the following:

(1) The identification and inclusion of the relevant petition(s);

(2) The definition of the class of employees covered by the recommendation;

(3) A recommendation as to whether or not the Secretary should designate the class as an addition to the Cohort;

(4) The relevant criteria under § 83.13(c) and findings and information upon which the recommendation is based, including NIOSH evaluation reports, information provided by the petitioners, any other information considered by the Board, and the deliberations of the Board.