2022-08671. Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Medical Exception Request

AGENCY:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION:

Notice of request for extension of OMB approval of information collection.

SUMMARY:

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, without change, under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), of a collection of information for its employees to request a medical exception to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted by May 25, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

A copy of the request will be posted on PBGC's website at https://www.pbgc.gov/​prac/​laws-and-regulation/​federal-register-notices-open-for-comment. It may also be obtained without charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the Office of the General Counsel of PBGC, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026; or, calling 202-229-4040 during normal business hours. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Melissa Rifkin ( [e-mail] ), Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026; 202-229-6563. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under Executive Order 14043, every Federal agency must “implement, to the extent consistent with applicable law, a program to require COVID-19 vaccination for all of its Federal employees, with exceptions only as required by law.” In following this directive, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) imposed a requirement that its employees must receive and submit proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. As required by 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. and 29 CFR part 1630, PBGC allows an exception from the vaccination requirement for employees who demonstrate medical reasons or disabilities that would make the COVID-19 vaccine unsafe for them. To obtain this exception, employees must complete the Request for Medical Exception to COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement form. PBGC uses the information on this form to verify employees' assertions that they are entitled to an exception to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement because of their medical or disability statuses.

The medical exception request collection of information has been approved by OMB under control number 1212-0075 (expires May 31, 2022). On February 14, 2022, PBGC published in the Federal Register (at 87 FR 8303) a notice informing the public of its intent to request an extension of this collection of information. PBGC received one comment, and the commenter expressed support for the exemption, noting that some employees may have disabling conditions. PBGC is requesting that OMB extend approval of the collection for 3 years. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

PBGC estimates that an average of 2 employees each year will submit Request for Medical Exception to COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement forms. The total estimated annual burden of the collection of information is 0.5 hours and $0.

A Notice Regarding Injunctions

As of the date that PBGC submitted this notice to the Federal Register , the vaccination requirement issued pursuant to E.O. 14043 is currently the subject of a nationwide injunction. While that injunction remains in place, PBGC will not process requests for a medical exception from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043. PBGC will also not request the submission of any medical information related to a request for an exception from the vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 while the injunction remains in place. But PBGC may nevertheless receive information regarding a medical exception. That is because, if PBGC were to receive a request for an exception from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 during the pendency of the injunction, PBGC will accept the request, hold it in abeyance, and notify the employee who submitted the request that implementation and enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 is currently enjoined and that an exception therefore is not necessary so long as the injunction is in place. In other words, during the pendency of the injunction, any information collection related to requests for medical exception from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 is not undertaken to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement.

Issued in Washington, DC.

Hilary Duke,

Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.