E7-9943. Student Data Form; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION:

Request for public comment.

SUMMARY:

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Student Data Form.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by July 24, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov,, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting comments.

Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at [phone].

Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2007-0047, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m., e.t.

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA docket number for this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2007-0047). All comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket without change, and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments see the “Public Participation” heading in the section of this notice titled Supplementary Information.

Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download through the website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You also may contact Gail Butler at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gail Butler, Division of Administration and Training Information, OSHA Office of Training and Education, 2020 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). Section 21 of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 670) authorizes OSHA to conduct education and training courses. These courses must ensure an adequate number of qualified personnel to fulfill the purposes of the OSH Act, provide them with short-term training, inform them of the importance and proper use of safety and health equipment, and train employers and employees to recognize, avoid, and prevent unsafe and unhealthful working conditions.

Under Section 21 of the OSH Act, the OSHA Training Institute (the “Institute”) provides basic, intermediate, and advanced training and education in occupational safety and health for Federal and State compliance officers, Agency professionals and technical support personnel, employers, employees, organizations representing employees and employers, educators who develop curricula and teach occupational safety and health courses, and representatives of professional safety and health groups. The Institute provides courses on occupational safety and health at its national training facility in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Students attending Institute courses complete the one-page Student Data Form (OSHA Form 182, 8/04 edition) on the first day of class. The form collects information under five major categories titled “Course Information,” “Personal Data,” “Employer Data,” “Emergency Contacts,” and “Student Groups.” The OSHA Office of Training and Education (the “Office”) compiles, for each fiscal year, the following information from the “Course Information” and “Student Groups” categories: Total student attendance at the Institute; the number of students attending each training course offered by the Institute; and the types of students attending these courses (for example, students from Federal or State occupational safety and health agencies). The Office uses this information to demonstrate, in an accurate and timely manner, that the Agency is providing the training and employee education mandated by Section 21 of the Act. OSHA also uses this information to evaluate training output, and to make decisions regarding program/course revisions, budget support, and tuition costs.

The Agency uses the information collected under the “Course Information,” “Personal Data,” and “Employer Data” to identify private sector students so that it can collect tuition costs from them or their employers as authorized by 31 U.S.C. 9701 (“Fees and Charges for Government Services and Things of Value”); Office of Management and Budget Circular A-25 (“User Charges”); and 29 CFR part 1949 (“Office of Training and Education, Occupational Safety and Health Administration”). The information in the “Personal Data” and “Emergency Contacts” categories permits OSHA to contact students who are residing in local hotels/motels if an emergency arises at their home or place of employment, and to alert supervisors/alternate contacts of a trainee's injury or illness.

II. Special Issues for Comment

OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:

• Whether the proposed information collection requirements are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, including whether the information is useful;
• The accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden (time and costs) of the information collection requirements, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; for example, by using automated or other technological information collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

OSHA is requesting OMB to extend its approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Student Data Form. The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information collection requirement.

Title: Student Data Form.

OMB Number: 1218-0172.

Affected Public: Individuals; business or other for-profit organizations; Federal government; State, Local, or Tribal governments.

Number of Respondents: 2,000.

Frequency: On occasion.

Total Responses: 2,000.

Average Time per Response: 5 minutes.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 167 hours.

Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $-0-.

IV. Public Participation—Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: (1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov,, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile; or (3) by hard copy. All comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name and the OSHA docket number for this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2007-0047). You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference to an electronic or a facsimile submission, you must submit them to the OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled Addresses). The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments by your name, date, and docket number so the Agency can attach them to your comments.

Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, express delivery, messenger or courier service, please contact the OSHA Docket Office at [phone] (TTY [phone]).

Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about submitting personal information such as social security numbers and date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download through this Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's “User Tips” link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

Electronic copies of this Federal Register document are available at http://www.regulations.gov. This document, as well as news releases and other relevant information, also are available at OSHA's Web page at http://www.osha.gov.

V. Authority and Signature

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

Signed at Washington, DC, on May 17, 2007.

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.