[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 179 (Monday, September 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75587-75588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21017]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0024]
Occupational Safety and Health Act Variance Regulations;
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 comments.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the
information collection requirements specified Occupational Safety and
Health Act Variance Regulations.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
November 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, however, some
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to
read or download through the websites. All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA
docket number (OSHA-2009-0024) for the Information Collection Request
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online.
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal
information such as social security numbers and birthdates.
For further information on submitting comments see the ``Public
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman Directorate of
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor. Telephone
(202)-693-2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of 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 (PRA) (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, the collection instruments are clearly understood, and
OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (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). The OSH Act also
requires that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The following sections describe who uses information collected
under each requirement, as well as how they use it. The purpose of
these requirements are Sections 6(b)(6)(A), 6(b)(6)(B), 6(b)(6)(C),
6(d), and 16 of the OSH Act, and 29 CFR 1905.10, 1905.11, and 1905.12,
specify the procedures that employers must follow to apply for a
variance from the requirements of an OSHA standard. OSHA uses the
information collected under these procedures to: (1) evaluate the
employer's claim that the alternative means of compliance would provide
affected employees with the requisite level of health and safety
protection; (2) assess the technical feasibility of the alternative
means of compliance; (3) determine that the employer properly notified
affected employees of the variance application and their right to a
hearing; and (4) verify that the application contains the
administrative information required by the applicable variance
regulation.
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 to
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
The accuracy of OSHA'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 that OMB extend the approval of the information
collection requirements contained in Occupational Safety and Health Act
Variance Regulations Sections 6(b)(6)(A), 6(b)(6)(B), 6(b)(6)(C), 6(d),
and 16 of the OSH Act, and 29 CFR 1905.10, 1905.11, and 1905.12. These
statutory and regulatory provisions specify the requirements for
submitting applications to OSHA for temporary, experimental, permanent,
and national defense variances.
There are no adjustments or program changes associated with this
ICR. The agency is proposing to retain the previous burden estimate of
366 hours.
OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this
notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend
the approval of the information collection requirements.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Variance Regulations.
OMB Control Number: 1218-0265.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 12.
Number of Responses: 12.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Various.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 366.
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 https://
www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal; or (2) by
facsimile (fax); if your comments, including attachments, are not
longer than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at
(202) 693-1648. All comments, attachments, and other materials must
identify the agency name and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket
No. OSHA-2009-0024). You may supplement electronic submissions by
uploading document files electronically.
Comments and submission are posted without change at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on
using the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627)
for information about materials not available from the website, and for
assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this
notice. The authority for is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3506 et seq.), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 (85 FR
58393).
Signed at Washington, DC, on September 10, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-21017 Filed 9-13-24; 8:45 am]
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