Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program 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. Currently, the Employment Standards Administration is soliciting comments concerning the proposed collection: Rehabilitation Maintenance Certificate (OWCP-17). A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this Notice.

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the addresses section below on or before May 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Ms. Hazel M. Bell, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Room S-3201, Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-0418, fax (202) 693-1451, E-mail hbell@fenix2.dol-esa.gov. Please use only one method of transmission for comments (mail, fax, or E-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) administers the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and the Federal Employees' Compensation Act. These Acts provide employment rehabilitation benefits to eligible injured workers. The OWCP-17 is a certificate which serves as a bill. It will be submitted, signed, and dated by an injured worker receiving rehabilitation services to request reimbursement from OWCP for expenses incurred as a result of participation in an approved rehabilitation effort. The form requires the signature of a facility official to verify that the employee is in attendance at the program. This information collection is currently approved for use through September 30, 2003.

II. Review Focus

The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments which:

• Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information 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 submissions of responses.

III. Current Actions

The Department of Labor seeks approval for the extension of this information collection in order to carry out its responsibility to provide vocational rehabilitation services to injured workers currently unemployed as a result of their injury, to enhance their employment potential.

Type of Review: Extension.

Agency: Employment Standards Administration.

Title: Rehabilitation Maintenance Certificate.

OMB Number: 1215-0161.

Agency Number: OWCP-17.

Affected Public: Individual or households; Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.

Total Respondents: 1,300.

Total Responses: 15,600.

Time per Response: 10 minutes.

Frequency: Monthly.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,605.

Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.

Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also become a matter of public record.