Proposed Renewal of the Approval of Information Collection Requirements; Comment Request, 58964-58980 [2016-20469]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 166 / Friday, August 26, 2016 / Notices
BLM will use fees collected to make
infrastructure improvements and for
expenses directly associated with
managing the campground. Fees will be
charged accordingly for any new
campsites added to the Oh Be Joyful
Campground and site amenities added
to existing campsites. The BLM posted
the Oh Be Joyful Campground Business
Plan in October 2015, which outlines
operational goals of the area and the
purpose of the fee program. The Oh Be
Joyful Campground Business Plan
describes recreation opportunities and
fees for camping. Prepared pursuant to
the REA and the BLM recreation fee
program policy, the Business Plan
establishes the rationale for charging
recreation fees, establishes a permit
process, and establishes the collection
of user fees. In accordance with the
BLM recreation fee program policy, the
Business Plan also outlines how the fees
would be used at the campground area.
The Business Plan also provides a
market analysis of local recreation sites
and sets the basis for the fee proposal.
Through onsite notifications and local
press releases, the BLM notified and
involved the public at each stage of the
planning process, including the
proposal to collect fees. During a field
office briefing in spring 2015, the
Southwest Colorado Resource Advisory
Council informally discussed and
verbally expressed their support of
charging a fee at the campground.
The BLM welcomes public comments
on this proposal. Before including your
address, phone number, email address,
or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6803 and 43 CFR part
2932.
Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
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BILLING CODE 4310–JB–P
21:17 Aug 25, 2016
National Park Service
[NPS–SERO–RTCA–21762;
PPMPSPD1T.Y00000; PPSESERO10]
Cancellation of September 7, 2016,
Meeting of the Wekiva River System
Advisory Management Committee
Jkt 238001
National Park Service, Interior.
Cancellation of meeting.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Notice is hereby given in
accordance with the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, (5 U.S.C. Appendix 1–
16), that the September 7, 2016, meeting
of the Wekiva River System Advisory
Management Committee previously
announced in the Federal Register, Vol.
81, February 2, 2016, pp. 5481, is
cancelled.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jaime Doubek-Racine, Community
Planner and Designated Federal Official,
Rivers, Trails, and Conservation
Assistance Program, Florida Field
Office, Southeast Region, 5342 Clark
Road, PMB #123, Sarasota, Florida
34233, or via telephone (941) 685–5912.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Wekiva River System Advisory
Management Committee was established
by Public Law 106–299 to assist in the
development of the comprehensive
management plan for the Wekiva River
System and provide advice to the
Secretary of the Interior in carrying out
management responsibilities of the
Secretary under the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274).
Alma Ripps,
Chief, Office of Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016–20448 Filed 8–25–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–EE–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs
Proposed Renewal of the Approval of
Information Collection Requirements;
Comment Request
ACTION:
[FR Doc. 2016–20450 Filed 8–25–16; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Notice.
The Department of Labor
(DOL), as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, conducts a pre-clearance
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
SUMMARY:
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(PRA), 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. The Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs is
soliciting comments concerning its
proposal to renew the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approval of the following information
collections: ‘‘38 U.S.C. 4212, Vietnam
Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance
Act, as Amended’’ (OMB Control No.
1250–0004) and ‘‘29 U.S.C. 793, Section
503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
Amended’’ (OMB Control No. 1250–
0005). The current OMB approval for
these information collections expires on
January 31, 2017. A copy of the
proposed information collection request
can be obtained by contacting the office
listed below in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
Notice or by accessing it at
www.regulations.gov.
Written comments must be
submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before
October 25, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by Control Number 1250–
0004 and/or 1250–0005, by one of the
following methods:
Electronic comments: Through the
federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Mail, Hand Delivery, Courier: Address
comments to Debra Carr, Director,
Division of Policy and Program
Development, Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs, 200 Constitution
Avenue NW., Room C3325, Washington,
DC 20210.
Instructions: Please submit one copy
of your comments by only one method.
All submissions received must include
the agency name and OMB Control
Number identified above for this
information collection. Commenters are
strongly encouraged to submit their
comments electronically via the
www.regulations.gov Web site or to mail
their comments early to ensure that they
are timely received. Comments,
including any personal information
provided, become a matter of public
record and will be posted to the
www.regulations.gov Web site. They
will also be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of the information collection
request.
DATES:
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Debra Carr, Director, Division of Policy
and Program Development, Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs,
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room
C3325, Washington, DC 20210.
Telephone: (202) 693–0103 (voice) or
(202) 693–1337 (TTY) (these are not tollfree numbers). Copies of this notice may
be obtained in alternative formats (e.g.,
large print, braille, audio recording),
upon request, by calling the numbers
listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background: The Office of Federal
Contractor Compliance Programs
(OFCCP) administers and enforces the
three nondiscrimination and equal
employment opportunity laws listed
below.
• Executive Order 11246, as amended
(E.O. 11246)
• Section 503 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 793
(Section 503)
• Vietnam Era Veterans’
Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as
amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA)
These authorities prohibit
employment discrimination by Federal
contractors and subcontractors and
require them to take affirmative action
to ensure that equal employment
opportunities are available regardless of
race, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, national
origin, disability, or status as a protected
veteran. Additionally, federal
contractors and subcontractors are
prohibited from discriminating against
applicants and employees for asking
about, discussing, or sharing
information about their pay or, in
certain circumstances, the pay of their
co-workers. This information collection
request covers the recordkeeping and
third party disclosure requirements for
Section 503 and VEVRAA. OFCCP is not
proposing to collect new information
with this renewal.
Section 503 prohibits employment
discrimination against applicants and
employees because of physical or
mental disability and requires
affirmative action to ensure that persons
are treated without regard to disability.
Section 503 applies to Federal
contractors and subcontractors with
contracts in excess of $15,000.1
VEVRAA prohibits employment
discrimination against protected
veterans and requires affirmative action
to ensure that persons are treated
1 Effective October 1, 2010, the coverage
threshold under Section 503 increased from
$10,000 to $15,000, in accordance with the
inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C.
1908.
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without regard to their status as a
protected veteran. VEVRAA applies to
Federal contractors and subcontractors
with contracts of $150,000 or more.2
II. Review Focus: DOL 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: DOL seeks the
approval of the extension of this
information in order to carry out its
responsibility to enforce the affirmative
action and nondiscrimination
provisions of Section 503 and VEVRAA,
which it administers.
Type of Review: Renewal.
Agency: Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs.
Title: 38 U.S.C. 4212, Vietnam Era
Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act,
as Amended.
OMB Number: 1250–0004.
Agency Number: None.
Affected Public: Business or other for
profit; individuals.
Total Respondents: 41,814,991.
Total Annual Responses: 41,814,991.
Average Time per Response: 7.75
minutes (0.13 hour).
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
5,427,933.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup):
$0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/
maintenance): $667,186.56.
Type of Review: Renewal.
Agency: Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs.
Title: 29 U.S.C. 793, Section 503 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
Amended.
OMB Number: 1250–0005.
2 Effective October 1, 2015, the coverage
threshold under VEVRAA increased from $100,000
to $150,000, in accordance with the inflationary
adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908.
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Agency Number: None.
Affected Public: Business or other for
profit; individuals.
Total Respondents: 41,814,991.
Total Annual Responses: 41,814,991.
Average Time per Response: 6.3
minutes (0.11 hour).
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
4,392,369.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup):
$0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/
maintenance): $667,186.56.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of the information collection
request; they will also become a matter
of public record.
Dated: August 22, 2016.
Debra A. Carr,
Director, Division of Policy and Program
Development, Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs.
Note to Reviewer
The Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requests
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval for 5,427,933 hours in
combined recordkeeping and third party
disclosure burden hours for compliance
by federal contractors and
subcontractors with the Vietnam Era
Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act
of 1974, as amended (38 U.S.C. 4212)
(VEVRAA). This compares with
10,546,660 hours in the most recently
approved clearance request in 2014, a
decrease of 5,118,727 (5,427,933
¥10,546,660 = ¥5,118,727) hours. This
decrease reflects an adjustment in the
number of affected federal contractors,
which was overestimated in the
previous information collection.
OFCCP will not be collecting any new
or different information. The burden
hours primarily represent those federal
contractors and subcontractors that are
required under VEVRAA to list their job
openings with the appropriate
employment service delivery system
and to develop, update, and maintain an
affirmative action program. Reporting
requirements under VEVRAA are not
included in this information collection,
but rather, are included in the
Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing
information collection request for
nonconstruction supply and service
Federal contractors, separately approved
under OMB Control Number 1250–0003.
As explained in Section 15 of this
supporting statement, the decrease in
burden hours for this information
collection is primarily a result of
OFCCP’s proposal to use data from
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Employer Information Report EEO–1
(EEO–1 Report) to determine the
number of covered federal contractors
and contractor establishments instead of
the methodology used in the previous
information collection, which averaged
data from multiple sources. That
methodology resulted in an
overestimation of the number of affected
contractors. The EEO–1 Report provides
a more accurate estimate of contractors
and establishments covered by
VEVRAA. EEO–1 Reports data from
fiscal year 2014 shows 23,960 federal
contractor parent companies filed
reports, with 115,831 total contractor
establishments. These numbers are
significantly less than the estimates
used in the previous information
collection (57,104 contractor companies
and 211,287 contractor establishments).
In addition, the decrease in burden
hours is a result of certain requirements
in the VEVRAA regulations that are only
applicable to new contractors.
Supporting Statement
Department of Labor, OFCCP
OFCCP Recordkeeping and Reporting
Requirements—38 U.S.C. 4212,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment
Assistance Act of 1974, as Amended
Control Number: 1250–0004
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A. Justification
The Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is
responsible for administering three
equal opportunity laws that prohibit
discrimination based on particular
protected categories and require
affirmative action to provide equal
employment opportunities:
• Executive Order 11246, as amended
(E.O. 11246),1
• Section 503 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 793
(Section 503),2 and
• Vietnam Era Veterans’
Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974,3
as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA).
E.O. 11246 prohibits covered federal
contractors 4 from discriminating against
applicants and employees based on
1 The regulations implementing Executive Order
11246 applicable to supply and service contractors
are found at 41 CFR parts 60–1, 60–2, 60–3, 60–20,
and 60–50.
2 The regulations implementing Section 503
applicable to supply and service contractors are
found at 41 CFR part 741.
3 The regulations implementing VEVRAA
applicable to supply and service contractors are
found at 41 CFR part 60–300.
4 As used herein and unless otherwise specified,
the term ‘‘contractors’’ refers to federal contractors
and subcontractors subject to the laws enforced by
OFCCP. For E.O. 11246, the term also included
federally assisted construction contractors and
subcontractors.
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21:17 Aug 25, 2016
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race, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, and
national origin. E.O. 11246 also
prohibits contractors from taking
discriminatory actions, including firing,
against applicants and employees for
asking about or sharing their own
compensation information and, in
certain instances, the compensation
information of their co-workers.5 E.O.
11246 applies contractors holding a
Government contract in excess of
$10,000, or Government contracts that
have, or can reasonably expect to have,
an aggregate total value exceeding
$10,000 in a 12-month period. E.O.
11246 also applies to Government bills
of lading, depositories of Federal funds
in any amount, and to financial
institutions that are paying agents for
U.S. Savings Bonds.
Section 503 prohibits employment
discrimination against applicants and
employees based on disability and
requires contractors to take affirmative
action to employ, advance in
employment, and otherwise treat
qualified individuals without
discrimination based on physical or
mental disabilities. Its requirements
apply to contractors with a Government
contract in excess of $15,000.6
VEVRAA prohibits employment
discrimination against protected
veterans, namely disabled veterans,
recently separated veterans, active duty
wartime or campaign badge veterans,
and Armed Forces service medal
veterans, and requires contractors to
take affirmative action to employ,
advance in employment, and otherwise
treat qualified individuals without
discrimination based on their status as
a protected veteran. Its requirements
apply to contractors with a Government
contract of $150,000 or more.7
OFCCP promulgated regulations
implementing these programs consistent
5 E.O. 13665 amended E.O. 11246 to include a
prohibition on discrimination against any employee
or applicant for inquiring about, discussing, or
disclosing compensation or the compensation of
another employee or applicant. Executive Order
13665, Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of
Compensation Information, 79 FR 20749 (April 11,
2014). The final rule published on September 11,
2015 and became effective on January 11, 2016. 80
FR 54934 (Sept. 11, 2015).
6 Effective October 1, 2010, the coverage
threshold under Section 503 increased from
$10,000 to $15,000, in accordance with the
inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C.
1908. See, Federal Acquisition Regulation; Inflation
Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds, 75
CFR 53129 (Aug. 30, 2010).
7 Effective October 1, 2015, the coverage
threshold under VEVRAA increased from $100,000
to $150,000, in accordance with the inflationary
adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908. See,
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Inflation
Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds, 80
FR 38293 (July 2, 2015).
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with the Administrative Procedure Act.
These regulations are found at Title 41
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
in Chapter 60 and are accessible on the
Web at https://www.dol.gov/dol/cfr/
Title_41/Chapter_60.htm.
For purposes of OFCCP’s
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements, the agency divides the
obligations under these authorities into
multiple information collection requests
(ICRs).8 These divisions are based on
OFCCP’s distinct enforcement
authorities (e.g., E.O. 11246 and Section
503 each has its own recordkeeping
ICR), programs, and related regulatory
requirements.
The reporting requirements under
VEVRAA are not included in this
information collection, but rather, are
included in the Scheduling Letter and
Itemized Listing ICR for
nonconstruction supply and service
contractors, separately approved under
OMB Control Number 1250–0003.
Due to the pending expiration of OMB
No. 1250–0004, OFCCP is seeking
approval of the agency’s VEVRAA
recordkeeping and third party
disclosure requirements.
1. Legal And Administrative
Requirements
VEVRAA
41 CFR Part 60–300—Affirmative
Action and Nondiscrimination
Obligations of Federal Contractors and
Subcontractors Regarding Disabled
Veterans, Recently Separated Veterans,
Active Duty Wartime or Campaign
Badge Veterans, and Armed Forces
Service Medal Veterans
These regulations establish the basic
nondiscrimination and affirmative
action requirements under the VEVRAA
program. They define coverage, specify
clauses to be included in contracts,
provide procedures to ensure
compliance by covered contractors,
specify reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, establish a benchmark for
veteran representation in the workforce,
and outline the basic requirements for
AAPs under VEVRAA.
8 OFCCP’s other current ICRs include:
Construction Recordkeeping Requirements (OMB
No. 1250–0001), Complaint Procedures (OMB No.
1250–0002), Supply and Service Program
(Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing) (OMB No.
1250–0003), Section 503 Recordkeeping
Requirements (OMB No. 1250–0005), Functional
Affirmative Action Program Agreement Procedures
(OMB No. 1250–0006), Government Contractors,
Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and
Actions (OMB No. 1250–0008), and Prohibiting
Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity by Contractors and Subcontractors
(OMB No. 1250–0009). In the future, and as
appropriate, OFCCP proposes to consolidate several
of these ICRs.
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Section 60–300.5 describes the equal
opportunity clause in Federal contracts.
Paragraphs 2 through 6 of the clause
pertain to the mandatory job listing
requirements. Each covered contractor
must list job openings with the
appropriate state or local employment
service delivery system (ESDS) in a
format permitted by the ESDS. Each
covered contractor must also provide
and update as necessary information to
the appropriate ESDS, including: Its
status as a Federal contractor; that it
desires priority referrals of protected
veterans from the ESDS; the name and
location of each hiring location within
the state; and the contact information
for the contractor official responsible for
hiring at each location as well as any
external job search organizations the
contractor uses to assist in its hiring.
Each contractor is required to include
the EO clause in each of its subcontracts
of $150,000 or more, although the clause
may be incorporated by reference or
operation.
Section 60–300.40 requires
contractors with 50 or more employees
and a contract of $150,000 or more to
develop a VEVRAA AAP.
Section 60–300.42 requires
contractors to invite job applicants at
the pre-offer and post-offer stages to
self-identify as protected veterans. The
invitations to self-identify must state
that the contractor is required to take
affirmative action to employ and
advance in employment protected
veterans, and that the information
sought is being requested on a voluntary
basis.
Section 60–300.44 identifies the
required elements of an AAP, including
those listed below.
• Develop and include an equal
opportunity policy statement in the
AAP.
• Review personnel processes to
ensure that qualified protected veterans
are provided equal opportunity
• Review all physical and mental job
qualification standards to ensure that, to
the extent any tend to screen out
qualified disabled veterans, that the
standards are job-related and consistent
with business necessity.
• Provide reasonable
accommodations for physical and
mental limitations.
• Develop and implement procedures
to ensure that employees are not
harassed because of their veteran status.
• Develop procedures and practices
to disseminate affirmative action
policies, both internally and externally,
and undertake appropriate outreach and
positive recruitment activities designed
to effectively recruit protected veterans.
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• Establish an audit and reporting
system to measure the effectiveness of
the AAP.
• Designate a responsible official to
implement and oversee the AAP.
• Provide training to all personnel
involved in the recruitment, screening,
selection, promotion, disciplinary, and
related processes to ensure that the
commitments in the contractor’s
affirmative action program are
implemented.
• Conduct data collection analysis
pertaining to applicants and hires on an
annual basis and maintain them for a
period of three (3) years, including: The
total number of job openings and total
number of jobs filled; the total number
of applicants for all jobs; the number of
protected veteran applicants hired; the
total number of applicants hired; and
the number of applicants who selfidentified as protected veterans or who
are otherwise known as protected
veterans.
Section 60–300.45 requires
contractors to either adopt the a hiring
benchmark equal to the national
percentage of veterans in the civilian
labor force, or establish a hiring
benchmark for protected veterans taking
into account five factors specified in the
regulation.
Section 60–300.60 identifies the
investigative methods OFCCP uses to
evaluate a contractor’s compliance with
the agency’s regulations. These methods
range from an in-depth comprehensive
evaluation of the contractor’s
employment practices (i.e., compliance
review) to a narrowly focused analysis
of a selected employment practice or
policy (i.e., compliance check), among
others. Evaluation of compliance with
VEVRAA is concurrent with evaluation
of the contractor’s compliance with E.O.
11246 and Section 503.
2. Use of Materials
The EO Clause, located at section 60–
300.5, requires contractors to list job
openings with the appropriate state or
local ESDS in a format permitted by the
ESDS. Each covered contractor must
also provide and update as necessary
information to the appropriate ESDS,
including: Its status as a Federal
contractor; that it desires priority
referrals of protected veterans from the
ESDS; the name and location of each
hiring location within the state; and the
contact information for the contractor
official responsible for hiring at each
location as well as any external job
search organizations the contractor uses
to assist in its hiring. The mandatory job
listing requirement is a critical
component to helping veterans find
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work with federal contractors. Providing
the ESDS with the name and location of
the contractor’s hiring locations and
contact information enables the ESDS to
develop a centralized list of federal
contractors and ensures that they have
appropriate contact information if there
are any questions that need to be
resolved in the job listing or priority
referral process.
Section 60–300.42 outlines the
requirements for contractors’ obligations
to invite individuals to self-identify as
a protected veteran. This process
enables the contractor and OFCCP to
collect valuable data on the number of
protected veterans who apply for or are
hired into federal contractor positions.
This allows for assessment of the
effectiveness of the contractor’s
recruitment and affirmative action
efforts over time, and promotes
successful recruitment and affirmative
action.
Section 60–300.44 describes the
required contents of a contractor’s
written affirmative action program.
During a compliance evaluation, OFCCP
reviews the contractor’s affirmative
action program to determine whether
the contractor is complying with its
obligations not to discriminate in
employment and to take affirmative
action to ensure equal employment
opportunity.
Section 60–300.45 requires
contractors to set a benchmark for hiring
protected veterans by using the national
average for the number of veterans in
the civilian labor force which OFCCP
will provide (and periodically update)
on its public Web site, or by setting a
benchmark that fits the company’s
specific needs. This requirement
provides contractors with a yardstick by
which they can objectively measure the
effectiveness of their efforts.
3. Improved Information Technology
In general, under OFCCP regulations
each contractor develops its own
methods for collecting and maintaining
information. Contractors have the
option to use methods that best suit
their needs as long as they can retrieve
and provide OFCCP with data upon
request during a compliance evaluation.
The majority of contractors are repeat
contractors. Since they are subject to
OFCCP’s regulatory requirements year
after year, most have developed their
information technology systems to
generate the data required by OFCCP
regulations.
Information technology systems used
to comply with data requirements under
OFCCP’s VEVRAA regulations should
be capable of performing the below
functions.
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• Collecting and analyzing employment
activity data related to VEVRAA
• Analyzing outreach and recruitment
• Tracking self-identification
• Disseminating internal and external
EO policies
• Providing notice to subcontractors
and vendors
• Facilitating calculation of VEVRAA
benchmarks
• Auditing and reporting of AAP
program elements
In addition, OFCCP provides
compliance assistance to all contractors,
including smaller contractors by
leveraging information technology. For
example, OFCCP’s Web site provides
access to compliance resources and
information, including the following.
• VEVRAA Contractor Resources https://
www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/
Resources.htm
• Fact Sheets, Frequently Asked
Questions and Webinar training
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/
compliance/vevraa.htm
• Sample AAPs https://www.dol.gov/
ofccp/regs/compliance/AAPs/AAPs.
htm
• Contractors’ VEVRAA Hiring
Benchmark Database https://
ofccp.dol-esa.gov/errd/VEVRAA.jsp
• Disability and Veterans Community
Resources Directory https://ofccp.dolesa.gov/errd/Resources.503VEVRAA.
html
• Employment Resource Referral
Directory https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/
errd/
OFCCP believes that advances in
technology make contractor compliance
with the recordkeeping and reporting
requirements easier and less
burdensome. However, in the absence of
empirical data, OFCCP is unable to
quantify the impact of improved
information technology and thus,
OFCCP does not include it in the
calculation of burden hours.
According to the Government
Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA, Pub.
L. 105–277, 1998), by October 2003,
Government agencies must generally
provide the option of using and
accepting electronic documents and
signatures, and electronic
recordkeeping, where practicable.
OFCCP fulfills its GPEA requirements
by permitting contractors to submit
AAPs and supporting documentation
via email or other electronic format.
4. Description of Efforts To Identify
Duplication
The recordkeeping requirements
contained in this request result
exclusively from the implementation of
VEVRAA. This authority uniquely
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empowers the Secretary of Labor, and
by a Secretary’s Order, the OFCCP, to
require the collection, analysis, and
reporting of data and other information
in connection with the enforcement of
the law and regulations requiring
contractors to take affirmative action to
ensure equal employment opportunity.
No duplication of effort exists because
no other Government agency has these
specific data collection requirements.
While contractors maintain other
employment data in the normal course
of business, affirmative action programs
under VEVRAA are unique in that
contractors create them specifically to
meet the requirements of OFCCP
regulations. This comprehensive
document is not available from any
other source. Therefore, no duplication
of effort exists.
contractor must be able to analyze
contractor actions taken and results
obtained. Additionally, the data
collection frequency for this ICR mirrors
that of OFCCP’s other programs,
particularly the E.O. 11246 and Section
503 supply and service program, as
VEVRAA compliance evaluations are
conducted concurrently with that
program.
As noted under Control Number
1250–0003, the older the data, the
greater the chances that more qualified
workers are the victims of any
discrimination that has occurred and
that the discrimination continues for a
longer period. A consequence of such
older data may be that the scope of the
violation, resulting harm and the overall
burden of contractor compliance are
greater.
5. Collection From Small Organizations
OFCCP’s information collection does
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small
entities. OFCCP minimizes the
information collection and
recordkeeping burden on a significant
number of small businesses by
exempting contractor establishments
with fewer than 50 employees from the
AAP requirement. However, once
OFCCP’s authority covers one
contractor’s establishment, all of its
employees must be accounted for in an
AAP whether or not each of the
contractor’s establishments meet the
minimum 50 employees threshold.9
7. Special Circumstances for the
Collection of Information
6. Consequences for Federal Programs if
This Information Is Collected Less
Frequently
The requirements outlined in this ICR
ensure that covered contractors meet
their equal opportunity obligations to
protected veterans. The
nondiscrimination requirements of
VEVRAA apply to all covered
contractors. See 41 CFR 60–300.4. The
requirement to prepare and maintain an
affirmative action program, the specific
obligations of which are detailed at 41
CFR 60–300.44, apply to those
contractors with a Government contract
of $150,000 or more and 50 or more
employees.
If this information is collected less
frequently than required, it could
compromise OFCCP’s enforcement of
VEVRAA and its implementing
regulations. OFCCP reviews contractor
compliance through its compliance
evaluation process. See 41 CFR 60–
300.60. In order to accurately determine
compliance, both OFCCP and the
9 41 CFR 60–300.40—Applicability of the
affirmative action program requirement.
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There are no special circumstances for
the collection of this information.
8. Consultation Outside the Agency
OFCCP publishes all regulations
containing recordkeeping or reporting
requirements in the Federal Register for
public comment before agency
adoption. In addition, OFCCP maintains
an ongoing dialogue, through
compliance assistance, with contractor
groups on a number of compliance
issues, among them reporting and
recordkeeping.
OFCCP will address comments
received from the public under this
paragraph at the end of the 60-day
Federal Register comment period.
9. Gift Giving
OFCCP provides neither payments
nor gifts to respondents.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality
Contractors who submit the required
information may view it as sensitive
information. OFCCP will evaluate all
information pursuant to the public
inspection and disclosure provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),
5 U.S.C. 552, and the Department of
Labor’s implementing regulations at 29
CFR part 70. OFCCP requires that a
contractor affected by a FOIA disclosure
request be notified in writing and no
decision to disclose information is made
until the contractor has an opportunity
to submit objections to the release of the
information. Furthermore, it is OFCCP’s
position that it does not release any data
obtained during the course of a
compliance evaluation until the matter
is completed.
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11. Sensitive Questions
VEVRAA requires contractors to
invite applicants to self-identify as a
protected veteran and indicate whether
a reasonable accommodation is
required. The protected veteran category
includes disabled veterans. Generally, a
contractor informs its protected veteran
employees that it collects and maintains
their data strictly for affirmative action
purposes. Race and sex data is not
required under VEVRAA.
12. Estimate of Annual Information
Collection Burden
The following is a summary of the
methodology for the calculation of the
recordkeeping and third party
disclosure requirements for OFCCP’s
VEVRAA ICR.
As noted at the beginning of this
supporting statement, the total in
combined recordkeeping and third party
disclosure burden hours for this ICR
(5,398,974) is less than total number of
hours approved in 2014 (10,546,660), as
detailed in Sec. 15 below.
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
A. Information Collections
Section 60–300.5 Equal Opportunity
Clause
Paragraph 2 of the Equal Opportunity
Clause (EO Clause) requires contractors
to list their job openings with the state
or local employment service delivery
system (employment service). OFCCP
estimates that gathering records and
providing the job listing to the
employment service will take 25
minutes for approximately 15 listings
per year. The burden for this third-party
disclosure is 723,944 hours (115,831
contractor establishments × 25 minutes
× 15 listings/60 = 723,944 hours).
Paragraph 4 of the EO Clause requires
contractors to provide the appropriate
employment service with the name and
location of each of the contractor’s
hiring locations, a statement of its status
as a federal contractor, the contact
information for the hiring official at
each location in the state, and a request
for priority referrals of protected
veterans. Paragraph 4 also requires
contractors that use job search
organizations to provide the
employment service with the contact
information for each job search
organization. These requirements apply
to new contractors, which OFCCP
estimates to be 1 percent of all covered
contractors. Existing contractors (or 99
percent of contractors) would have
already provided the required
information to the appropriate
employment service or job search
organization, as accounted for in the
previous information collection. OFCCP
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21:17 Aug 25, 2016
Jkt 238001
estimates a total of 15 minutes for a new
contractor to ensure that its information
is provided to the employment service.
The annual burden for this provision is
290 hours (1,158 new contractor
establishments × 15 minutes/60 = 290
hours). OFCCP further estimates that 25
percent of new contractors, or 290, will
use outside job search organizations and
incur an additional 5-minute burden to
notify the employment service of the
contact information for its outside job
search organizations. The annual
burden for this provision is 24 hours
(290 contractor establishments × 5
minutes/60 = 24 hours). This is a thirdparty disclosure.
Section 60–300.42 Invitation to SelfIdentify
Section 60–300.42(a) requires
contractors to extend a pre-offer
invitation to self-identify as a ‘‘protected
veteran.’’ In the previous information
collection, OFCCP estimated that
contractors working at the company
level will take 1.5 hours to review and
retrieve existing sample invitations to
self-identify, adopt the sample ‘‘as is’’ or
make revisions to their existing form,
save the invitation to self-identify and
incorporate the document in the
contractor’s application form. Existing
contractors will no longer need to take
these steps to comply with the pre-offer
invitation requirement, so the estimated
burden in this information collection
applies to only new contractor parent
companies, or 1 percent of the 23,960
contractor companies. The burden for
this provision is 360 hours (240 new
contractor companies × 1.5 hours = 360
hours).
Applicants for available positions
with covered contractors will have a
minimal burden complying with § 60–
300.42(a) in the course of completing
their application for employment with
the contractor. Section 60–300.42(a), on
pre-offer self-identification, requires
contractors to invite all applicants to
self-identify whether or not they are a
protected veteran. OFCCP estimates that
there will be an average of 24 applicants
per job vacancy for on average 15
vacancies per year. OFCCP further
estimates that it will take applicants
approximately 5 minutes to complete
the form. The burden for this provision,
assuming that all applicants complete
the form, is 3,474,930 hours (115,831
contractor establishments × 15 listings ×
24 applicants × 5 minutes/60 =
3,474,930 hours). This is a third-party
disclosure.
OFCCP further estimates that it will
take contractors 15 minutes to maintain
self-identification forms. This time
includes either manually storing the
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58969
forms in a filing cabinet or saving them
to an electronic database. The burden
for this provision is 28,958 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments × 15
minutes/60 = 28,958 hours).
Section 60–300.44 Required Contents
of the Affirmative Action Program
OFCCP estimates that it takes existing
contractors (99 percent of all contractor
establishments), or 114,673,
approximately 7.5 hours to document
and maintain material evidence of
annually updating a joint section 503
and VEVRAA affirmative action
program. The burden for this
requirement is 860,048 hours (114,673
contractor establishments × 7.5 hours =
860,048 hours).
OFCCP estimates that 1 percent of all
contractors, or 1,158, are new
contractors that will need to initially
develop a joint section 503 and
VEVRAA affirmative action program.
OFCCP estimates that it takes
approximately 18 hours to document
and maintain material evidence of
developing the program. Therefore, the
recordkeeping burden for this provision
is 20,844 hours (1,158 contractor
establishments × 18 hours = 20,844
hours).
60–300.44(f) External Dissemination of
Policy, Outreach and Positive
Recruitment
Section 60–300.44(f)(1)(ii) requires
contractors to send written notification
of the company’s affirmative action
program policies to subcontractors,
vendors, and suppliers. OFCCP
estimates that contractors will take 15
minutes to prepare the notification and
send it to subcontractors, vendors, and
suppliers, and an additional 15 minutes
to update email address changes in the
company’s email system. Likewise, the
burden for any information technology
assistance needed to send the written
communication is estimated at 15
minutes. The burden for this request is
86,873 hours (115,831 contractor
establishments × 45 minutes/60 =
86,873 hours). This is a third-party
disclosure.
Section 60–300.44(f)(4) requires
contractors to document all outreach
activities it undertakes for protected
veterans, and retain these documents for
a period of 3 years. OFCCP estimates
that it will take contractors 15 minutes
to retain the required documentation.
Retaining these records means storing
the records generated either
electronically or in hardcopy, consistent
with the contractor’s existing business
practices for how to store records. The
annual recordkeeping burden for this
provision is 28,958 hours (115,831
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contractor establishments × 15 minutes/
60 = 28,958 hour).
Section 60–300.44(h)
Reporting System
the relevant documentation would be 1
hour 25 minutes. Relevant
documentation could include the report
or other written documentation
generated by the calculations that
explain the methodology, the data used,
and the findings and conclusions; the
data used to conduct the calculations for
subsequent validation of the results; and
other material used by the contractor for
the calculations. The recurring burden
for this provision is 164,094 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments × 85
minutes/60 = 164,094 hours).
Audit and
Section 60–300.44(h)(1)(vi) requires
contractors to document the actions
taken to meet the requirements of 60–
300.44(h). OFCCP estimates that it will
take contractors 10 minutes to
document compliance with this
provision to create an audit and
reporting system. Documentation may
include, as an example, the standard
operating procedure of the system
including roles and responsibilities, and
audit and reporting timeframes and
lifecycles. The annual recordkeeping
burden of this provision is 19,305 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments × 10
minutes/60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60–300.44(k)
and Analysis
Section 60–300.45
Hiring
Data Collection
Section 60–300(k) requires contractors
to collect and analyze certain categories
of data. OFCCP believes that most
contractors have the capability to
conduct the required calculations
electronically. However, some
companies may have to calculate this
information manually. Therefore,
OFCCP estimates that the average time
to conduct the analysis and maintain
Benchmarks for
Section 60–300.45 requires the
contractor to establish benchmarks in
one of two ways. A contractor may use
as its benchmark the national average
number of veterans in the civilian labor
force, which OFCCP will provide (and
periodically update) on its public Web
site. Or, alternatively, the contractor
may establish its own individual
benchmark using the five-factor method
set forth in Section 60–300.45(b)(2)(i)–
(v). OFCCP estimates that it will take
contractors on average 10 minutes to
maintain material evidence of
compliance with this provision. The
burden of this provision would be
19,305 hours (115,831 establishments ×
10 minutes/60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60–300.81
Access to Records
Section 60–300.81 requires
contractors who are the subject of a
compliance evaluation or complaint
investigation to specify all available
record formats and allow OFCCP to
select preferred record formats from
those identified by the contractor during
a compliance evaluation. Pursuant to 5
CFR 1320.4(a)(2), this information
collection is excluded from the PRA
requirements because it is related to an
‘‘administrative action, investigation, or
audit involving an agency against
specific individuals or entities.’’
B. Summary of Costs
The estimated cost to contractors is
based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data
in the publication ‘‘Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation’’ (December
2015), which lists total compensation
for management, professional, and
related occupations as $55.47 per hour
and administrative support as $24.75
per hour. OFCCP estimates that 52
percent of the burden hours will be
management, professional, and related
occupations and 48 percent will be
administrative support, for a weighted
average of $40.72 per burden hour.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF RECORDKEEPING BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS FOR CONTRACTORS
Requirements
Burden hours
Burden costs
300.42 (Invitation to Self-Identify) ....................................................................................................................
300.44—Existing Contractors (Written Affirmative Action Program) ...............................................................
300.44—New Contractors (Written Affirmative Action Program) ....................................................................
300.44(f)(4) (Outreach and Recruitment Recordkeeping) ...............................................................................
300.44(h) (Audit & Reporting System Recordkeeping) ...................................................................................
300.44(k) (Data Collection Analysis) ...............................................................................................................
300.45 (Benchmarks Recordkeeping) .............................................................................................................
29,318
860,048
20,844
28,958
19,305
164,094
19,305
$14,659.20
35,021,154.56
848,767.68
1,179,169.76
786,099.60
6,681,907.68
786,099.60
Total ..........................................................................................................................................................
1,141,872
46,497,027.80
TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF THIRD PARTY DISCLOSURE BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS FOR CONTRACTORS
Requirements
Burden hours
Burden costs
300.5 (EO Clause, Parag 2—Mandatory Job Listing) .....................................................................................
300.5 (EO Clause, Parag 4—Contact Information) .........................................................................................
300.5 (EO Clause, Parag 4—Job Search Orgs Contact Information) ............................................................
300.44(f)(1) (Notice to Subcontractors, etc.) ...................................................................................................
723,944
290
24
86,873
$29,478,999.68
11,808.80
977.28
3,537,468.56
Total ..........................................................................................................................................................
811,131
33,029,254.32
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TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF THIRD PARTY DISCLOSURE BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS FOR NON-CONTRACTORS
Requirement
Burden hours
Section 60–300.42 (Self-Identification) ............................................................................................................
The total estimated cost for applicants
to fill out the self-identification form is
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Jkt 238001
based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data
in the publication ‘‘Employer Costs for
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
3,474,930
Burden costs
$116,688,149.40
Employee Compensation’’ (December
2015), which lists an average total
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58971
hourly compensation for all civilian
workers of $33.58.
TABLE 4—TOTAL BURDEN FOR §§ 60–300.5; 60–300.42; 60–300.44; AND 60–300.45
Recordkeeping Burden Hours .....................................................................................................................................................
Reporting Burden Hours ..............................................................................................................................................................
Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours ..........................................................................................................................................
1,141,872
0
4,286,061
Total Burden Hours ..............................................................................................................................................................
5,427,933
13. Operations and Maintenance Costs
OFCCP estimates that contractors will
have some operations and maintenance
costs in addition to the burden
calculated above.
60–300.42 Invitation To Self Identify
OFCCP estimates that the contractor
will have some operations and
maintenance cost associated with the
invitations to self-identify. The
contractor must invite all applicants to
self-identify at both the pre-offer and
post-offer stage of the employment
process. Given the increasingly
widespread use of electronic
applications, any contractor that uses
such applications would not incur copy
costs. However, to account for
contractors who may still choose to use
paper applications, we are including
printing and/or copying costs.
Therefore, we estimate a single one-page
form for both the pre- and post-offer
invitation. Assuming 20 percent of all
contractors will use a paper-based
application system, and receive 24
applications for an average of 15 listings
per establishment, the minimum
estimated total cost to contractors will
be $667,186.56 ((115,831 establishments
× 20 percent) × 360 copies × $0.08 =
$667,186.56).
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
14. Estimate of Annual Cost to Federal
Government
OFCCP associates no unique federal
costs with this information collection.
OMB Control Numbers 1250–0001 and
1250–0003 currently include the annual
costs of federal contractor compliance
evaluations to ensure their compliance
with the information collection
requirements contained herein.
15. Changes in Burden Hours
OFCCP is requesting OMB approval of
5,427,933 burden hours. The 2014
clearance contained approval of
10,546,660 hours. The decrease in hours
of the current request is attributable to
OFCCP’s proposal to use data from
EEO–1 Reports to determine the number
of covered contractors and contractor
establishments instead of the
methodology used in the previous
information collection, which averaged
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21:17 Aug 25, 2016
Jkt 238001
data from multiple sources. EEO–1 data
from fiscal year (FY) 2014 shows 23,960
federal contractor parent companies
filed reports, with 115,831 total
contractor establishments. These
numbers are significantly less than the
estimates used in the previous
information collection (57,104
contractor companies and 211,287
contractor establishments).
OFCCP believes that the EEO–1
Report provides the more accurate
estimate of Federal contractors and
establishments covered by this VEVRAA
information collection. Section 60–1.7
requires specified Federal prime
contractors and subcontractors to file an
EEO–1 Report annually.10
Employers use the EEO–1 Report
(question 3) to self-identify as federal
contractors and subcontractors and
indicate whether they meet the
thresholds under E.O. 11246 for AAP
coverage: 50 or more employees and
$50,000 or more contract value.11 The
$50,000 contract threshold is less than
the $150,000 contract value threshold
for AAP coverage under VEVRAA.
Thus, the number of contractors
identified in the EEO–1 Reports will be
greater than the number of contractors
required to establish a VEVRAA AAP.
Nevertheless, the number of contractors
identified in the EEO–1 Reports
provides a reasonable estimate for
calculating the burden in this
information collection, even if it
overestimates the universe of
contractors.12 Any overestimate will be
offset to some degree by the requirement
that covered contractors must develop
AAPs to cover employees at all of their
10 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) and OFCCP use EEO–1 Report
data to analyze employment patterns for women
and minorities and as a civil rights enforcement
tool. OMB approved the EEO–1 Report information
collection under OMB No. 3046–0007. The
information collection can be viewed at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_
nbr=201412-3046-001. It is currently in the renewal
process, and OMB most recently approved an
extension of the ICR expiration date of October 31,
2016.
11 41 CFR 60–1.7—Reports and other required
information.
12 The number of contractors with contracts of at
least $150,000 cannot be separately identified using
the EEO–1 survey.
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
establishments, even those with fewer
than 50 employees. Any overestimate
will be further offset to a small degree
by the estimates for section 60–300.5
(Equal Opportunity Clause), which
applies to contracts of $150,000 or more
but has no employee threshold. Taking
these considerations into account,
OFCCP believes that the 115,831
contractor establishment total is a
reasonable, if not perfect, estimate.
In the previous information collection
approved in 2014 and in the VEVRAA
final rule published in September 2013,
OFCCP estimated the number of affected
contractors and establishments to be
57,104 and 211,287, respectively.
OFCCP now believes that these figures
are an overestimate of the number of
contractors with recordkeeping and
third party disclosure burdens under
this information collection. The
numbers estimated in the final rule
derived from a combination of data from
FY 2009 EEO–1 Reports, the Federal
Procurement Data System, the Veterans
Employment and Training Services
annual report, and other sources. See 78
FR 58658. The data from these sources
is no longer current. Moreover, the
methodology used to arrive at the
estimates was based in large part on
how OFCCP develops its Scheduling
List of contractors for compliance
evaluations. OFCCP develops its list of
contractors for scheduling compliance
evaluations by using multiple sources of
information such as Federal acquisition
and procurement databases, EEO–1
Reports, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) data,
and the U.S. Census Bureau tabulations.
Statistical thresholds such as industry
type and employee counts of contractor
establishments are also used. The list
may be further refined by applying a
number of neutral factors such as
contract expiration date and contract
value on the number of establishments
per contractor that will be scheduled in
any one cycle. This methodology is
appropriate for scheduling compliance
evaluations, but it does not accurately
reflect the number of contractors
required to develop AAPs.
This distinction is recognized in the
most recent Scheduling Letter and
Itemized Listing ICR (Control Number
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1250–0003), in which OFCCP estimated
the number of contractors required to
develop AAPs under E.O. 11246 using
data from only the EEO–1 Reports,
instead of the more complex
methodology OFCCP uses to create its
Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing.
Thus, to be consistent with that
approach, OFCCP will now use data
from only the EEO–1 Reports to estimate
the number of contractors affected by
this information collection, which
consists primarily of recordkeeping and
third party disclosures resulting from
the VEVRAA AAP requirements.
A summary of the change in hours is
below.
a. Recordkeeping Burden Hours
The previous submission included
2,205,468 hours. The current request is
1,141,872 hours for an adjustment
decrease of 1,063,596 hours. This
decrease is primarily a result of the use
of the contractor totals from the EEO–1
Reports data, discussed above, but also
includes adjustments due to
requirements that are no longer
applicable to existing contractors.
b. Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours
The previous submission included
8,341,192 hours. The current request is
4,286,061 hours for an adjustment
decrease of 4,055,131 hours. This
decrease is primarily a result of the use
of the contractor totals from the EEO–1
Reports data, discussed above, but also
includes adjustments due to
requirements that are no longer
applicable to existing contractors.
c. Other Burden Hours and Costs
The previous submission included
1,670,297 hours in initial capital or
start-up costs and $1,217,002 in
printing/copying costs. The current
request no longer includes any initial
capital and start-up costs, and estimates
$667,186.56 for printing/copying. This
is an adjustment decrease of 1,670,294
hours and $549,815.44. This decrease in
printing/copying costs is exclusively a
result of the use of the contractor totals
from the EEO–1 Reports data, discussed
above.
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
16. Statistical Uses and Publication of
Data
OFCCP does not publish the data
collected by way of the items contained
in this request as statistical tables.
17. Approval Not To Display the
Expiration Date
OFCCP is not seeking such approval.
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21:17 Aug 25, 2016
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18. Exceptions to the Certification
Statement
OFCCP is able to certify compliance
with all provisions.
B. Collection of Information Employing
Statistical Methods
This information collection does not
employ statistical methods.
Note to Reviewer
The Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requests
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval for 4,392,369 hours in
combined recordkeeping and third party
disclosure burden hours for compliance
by federal contractors and
subcontractors with Section 503 of the
Rehabilitation Act, as amended (29
U.S.C. 793). This compares with
10,229,910 hours in the most recently
approved clearance request in 2014, a
decrease of 5,837,541 (6,629,073 ¥
10,229,910 = ¥5,837,541) hours. This
decrease reflects an adjustment in the
number of affected federal contractors,
which was overestimated in the
previous information collection.
OFCCP will not be collecting any new
or different information. The burden
hours primarily represent those federal
contractors and subcontractors that are
required under Section 503 to develop,
update, and maintain an affirmative
action program. Reporting requirements
under Section 503 are not included in
this information collection, but rather,
are included in the Scheduling Letter
and Itemized Listing information
collection request for nonconstruction
supply and service federal contractors,
separately approved under OMB Control
Number 1250–0003.
As explained in Section 15 of this
supporting statement, the decrease in
burden hours for this information
collection is largely a result of OFCCP’s
proposal to use data from Employer
Information Report EEO–1 (EEO–1
Report) to determine the number of
covered federal contractors and
contractor establishments instead of the
methodology used in the previous
information collection, which averaged
data from multiple sources. That
methodology resulted in an
overestimation of the number of affected
contractors. The EEO–1 Report provides
a more accurate estimate of contractors
and establishments covered by Section
503. EEO–1 Report data from fiscal 2014
shows 23,960 federal contractor parent
companies filed reports, with 115,831
total contractor establishments. These
numbers are significantly less than the
estimates used in the previous
information collection (57,104
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contractor companies and 211,287
contractor establishments). In addition,
the decrease in burden hours is a result
of adjustments in the estimated time
contractors need to complete the
employee self-identification survey, to
account for the five-year interval
between having to conduct surveys, and
for certain requirements in the Section
503 regulations that are only applicable
to new contractors.
Supporting Statement
Department of Labor, OFCCP
OFCCP Recordkeeping and Reporting
Requirements—29 U.S.C. 793 Section
503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
Amended
Control Number: 1250–0005
A. Justification
The Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is
responsible for administering three
equal opportunity laws that prohibit
discrimination based on particular
protected categories and require
affirmative action to provide equal
employment opportunities:
• Executive Order 11246, as amended
(E.O. 11246),1
• Section 503 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 793
(Section 503),2 and
• Vietnam Era Veterans’
Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974,3
as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA).
E.O. 11246 prohibits federal
contractors 4 from discriminating against
applicants and employees based on
race, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, and
national origin. E.O. 11246 also
prohibits contractors from taking
discriminatory actions, including firing,
against applicants and employees for
asking about or sharing information
about their own compensation and, in
certain instances, the compensation
information of their co-workers.5 E.O.
1 The regulations implementing Executive Order
11246 applicable to supply and service contractors
are found at 41 CFR parts 60–1, 60–2, 60–3, 60–20,
and 60–50.
2 The regulations implementing Section 503
applicable to supply and service contractors are
found at 41 CFR part 741.
3 The regulations implementing VEVRAA
applicable to supply and service contractors are
found at 41 CFR part 60–300.
4 As used herein and unless otherwise specified,
the term ‘‘contractors’’ refers to federal contractors
and subcontractors subject to the laws enforced by
OFCCP. For E.O. 11246, the term also included
federally assisted construction contractors and
subcontractors.
5 E.O. 13665 amended E.O. 11246 to include a
prohibition on discrimination against any employee
or applicant for inquiring about, discussing, or
disclosing compensation or the compensation of
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11246 applies to contractors holding a
Government contract in excess of
$10,000, or Government contracts that
have, or can reasonably expect to have,
an aggregate total value exceeding
$10,000 in a 12-month period. E.O.
11246 also applies to Government bills
of lading, depositories of Federal funds
in any amount, and to financial
institutions that are paying agents for
U.S. Savings Bonds.
Section 503 prohibits employment
discrimination against applicants and
employees based on disability and
requires contractors to take affirmative
action to employ, advance in
employment, and otherwise treat
qualified individuals without
discrimination based on physical or
mental disabilities. Its requirements
apply to contractors with a Government
contract in excess of $15,000.6
VEVRAA prohibits employment
discrimination against protected
veterans, namely disabled veterans,
recently separated veterans, active duty
wartime or campaign badge veterans,
and Armed Forces service medal
veterans, and requires contractors to
take affirmative action to employ,
advance in employment, and otherwise
treat qualified individuals without
discrimination based on their status as
a protected veteran. Its requirements
apply to contractors with a Government
contract of $150,000 or more.7
OFCCP promulgated regulations
implementing these programs consistent
with the Administrative Procedure Act.
These regulations are found at Title 41
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
in Chapter 60 and are accessible on the
Web at https://www.dol.gov/dol/cfr/
Title_41/Chapter_60.htm.
For purposes of OFCCP’s
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements, the agency divides the
obligations under these authorities into
multiple information collection requests
(ICRs).8 These divisions are based on
another employee or applicant. Executive Order
13665, Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of
Compensation Information, 79 FR 20749 (April 11,
2014). The final rule published on September 11,
2015 and became effective on January 11, 2016. 80
FR 54934 (Sept. 11, 2015).
6 Effective October 1, 2010, the coverage
threshold under Section 503 increased from
$10,000 to $15,000, in accordance with the
inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C.
1908. See, Federal Acquisition Regulation; Inflation
Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds, 75
CFR 53129 (Aug. 30, 2010).
7 Effective October 1, 2015, the coverage
threshold under VEVRAA increased from $100,000
to $150,000, in accordance with the inflationary
adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908. See,
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Inflation
Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds, 80
FR 38293 (July 2, 2015).
8 OFCCP’s other current ICRs include:
Construction Recordkeeping Requirements (OMB
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OFCCP’s distinct enforcement
authorities (e.g., E.O. 11246 and
VEVRAA each has its own
recordkeeping ICR), programs, and
related regulatory requirements.
The reporting requirements under
Section 503 are not included in this
information collection, but rather, are
included in the Scheduling Letter and
Itemized Listing ICR for
nonconstruction supply and service
contractors, separately approved under
OMB Control Number 1250–0003.
Due to the pending expiration of OMB
No. 1250–0005, OFCCP is seeking
approval of the agency’s Section 503
recordkeeping and third party
disclosure requirements.
1. Legal and Administrative
Requirements
Section 503
41 CFR 60–741—Affirmative Action and
Nondiscrimination Obligations of
Federal Contractors and Subcontractors
Regarding Individuals With Disabilities
These regulations address the
affirmative action and
nondiscrimination obligations of
contractors and subcontractors related
to individuals with disabilities. They
define coverage, specify clauses to be
included in contracts, provide a
procedure to ensure compliance by
covered contractors, and specify certain
reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, establish an aspirational
utilization goal of 7 percent, and specify
the basic requirements for AAPs under
Section 503.
Section 60–741.5 sets forth the equal
opportunity clause in Federal contracts.
Section 60–741.40 requires the
development and maintenance of a
Section 503 AAP. This regulation
requires each contractor and
subcontractor that has 50 or more
employees, and a contract of $50,000 or
more, to develop an AAP at each
establishment.
Section 60–741.42 requires
contractors to invite job applicants at
the pre-offer and post-offer stages to
self-identify as individuals with a
disability. In addition, the contractor is
required to invite each of its employees
No. 1250–0001), Complaint Procedures (OMB No.
1250–0002), Supply and Service Program
(Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing) (OMB No.
1250–0003), VEVRAA Recordkeeping Requirements
(OMB No. 1250–0004), Functional Affirmative
Action Program Agreement Procedures (OMB No.
1250–0006), Government Contractors, Prohibitions
Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions (OMB No.
1250–0008), and Prohibiting Discrimination Based
on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity by
Contractors and Subcontractors (OMB No. 1250–
0009). In the future, and as appropriate, OFCCP
proposes to consolidate several of these ICRs.
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58973
to voluntarily self-identify as an
individual with a disability. This
employee survey must be conducted at
five year intervals.
Section 60–741.44 identifies the
required elements of an AAP, including
those listed below.
• Develop and include an equal
opportunity policy statement in the
AAP.
• Review personnel processes to
ensure that qualified individuals with
disabilities are provided equal
opportunity.
• Review all physical and mental job
qualification standards to ensure that, to
the extent any tend to screen out
qualified individuals with disabilities
on the basis of disability, that the
standards are job-related and consistent
with business necessity.
• Provide reasonable
accommodations for physical and
mental limitations.
• Develop and implement procedures
to ensure that employees are not
harassed because of their disability.
• Develop procedures and practices
to disseminate affirmative action
policies, both internally and externally,
and undertake appropriate outreach and
positive recruitment activities designed
to effectively recruit qualified
individuals with disabilities.
• Establish an audit and reporting
system to measure the effectiveness of
the AAP.
• Designate a responsible official to
implement and oversee the AAP.
• Provide training to all personnel
involved in the recruitment, screening,
selection, promotion, disciplinary, and
related processes to ensure that the
commitments in the contractor’s
affirmative action program are
implemented.
• Conduct data collection analysis
pertaining to applicants and hires on an
annual basis and maintain them for a
period of three (3) years, including, the
number of applicants who selfidentified as individuals with
disabilities or who are otherwise known
to be individuals with disabilities; the
total number of job openings and total
number of jobs filled; the total number
of applicants for all jobs; the number of
applicants with disabilities hired; and
the total number of applicants hired.
Section 60–741.45 establishes a 7
percent utilization goal for employment
of individuals with disabilities for each
job group in the contractor’s workforce
or to the entire workforce if the
contractor has 100 or fewer employees.
Contractors must conduct an annual
utilization analysis and assessment of
problem areas, and establish specific
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action-oriented programs to address any
identified problems.
Section 60–741.60 identifies the
investigative methods OFCCP uses to
evaluate a contractor’s compliance with
the agency’s regulations. These methods
range from an in-depth comprehensive
evaluation of the contractor’s
employment practices (i.e. compliance
review) to a narrowly focused analysis
of a selected employment practice or
policy (i.e. compliance check).
Evaluation of compliance with Section
503 is concurrent with evaluation of a
contractor’s compliance with E.O. 11246
and VEVRAA.
2. Use of Materials
Section 60–741.42 outlines the
requirements for contractors’ obligations
to invite individuals to self-identify as
a person with a disability. This process
enables the contractor to collect
valuable data on the number of
individuals with disabilities who apply
for, are hired into, and are employed in
federal contractor positions. If this data
shows that the contractor is not meeting
the utilization goal, the contractor must
determine if impediments to equal
employment opportunity for individuals
with disabilities exist, and if so, develop
and execute action-oriented programs to
correct these problem areas.
The form that contractors use to invite
voluntary self-identification of disability
includes a field for applicants and
employees to provide their name and
the date. This is included to enable
contractors to identify the job groups
into which individuals should be placed
when performing their utilization
analysis. Identification by name enables
OFCCP to verify the accuracy of a
contractor’s utilization analysis during a
compliance evaluation.
Section 60–741.44 describes the
required contents of a contractor’s
written affirmative action program.
During a compliance evaluation, OFCCP
reviews the contractor’s affirmative
action program to determine whether
the contractor is complying with its
obligations not to discriminate in
employment and to take affirmative
action to ensure equal employment
opportunity.
Section 60–741.45 requires
contractors to establish a national goal
for the employment of individuals with
disabilities by contractors, sets out the
process contractors will use to assess
whether the goal has been met, and
requires contractors to maintain records
of their assessment. This requirement
provides contractors and OFCCP with a
yardstick to objectively measure the
effectiveness of nondiscrimination and
affirmative action efforts.
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3. Improved Information Technology
In general, under OFCCP regulations
each contractor develops its own
methods for collecting and maintaining
information. Contractors have the
option to use methods that best suit
their needs as long as they can retrieve
and provide OFCCP with the requested
data upon request during a compliance
evaluation.
The majority of contractors and
subcontractors are repeat contractors.
Since they are subject to OFCCP’s
regulatory requirements year after year,
most have developed their information
technology systems to generate the data
required by OFCCP regulations.
Information technology systems used
to comply with data requirements under
OFCCP’s regulations should be capable
of performing the below functions.
• Collecting employment activity data
related to Section 503
• Conducting Section 503 utilization
analysis
• Analyzing outreach and recruitment
• Tracking self-identification
• Disseminating internal and external
EO policies
• Providing notice to subcontractors
and vendors
• Auditing and reporting of AAP
program elements
In addition, OFCCP provides
compliance assistance to all contractors,
including smaller contractors by
leveraging information technology. For
example, OFCCP’s Web site provides
access to compliance resources and
information, including the following.
• Section 503 Contractor Resources
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/
compliance/Resources.htm
• Fact Sheets, Frequently Asked
Questions and Webinar training
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/
compliance/section503.htm
• Sample AAPs https://www.dol.gov/
ofccp/regs/compliance/AAPs/
AAPs.htm
• Disability and Veterans Community
Resources Directory: https://
ofccp.dol-esa.gov/errd/
Resources.503VEVRAA.html
• Employment Resource Referral
Directory: https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/
errd/
• Checklist for Compliance with
Section 503: https://www.dol.gov/
ofccp/regs/compliance/
ChecklistforCompliancewith
Section503_JRF_QA_508c.pdf
OFCCP believes that advances in
technology make contractor compliance
with the recordkeeping and reporting
requirements easier and less
burdensome. However, in the absence of
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empirical data, OFCCP is unable to
quantify the impact of improved
information technology and thus,
OFCCP does not include it in the
calculation of burden hours.
According to the Government
Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA, Pub.
L. 105–277, 1998), by October 2003,
Government agencies must generally
provide the option of using and
accepting electronic documents and
signatures, and electronic
recordkeeping, where practicable.
OFCCP fulfills its GPEA requirements
by permitting contractors to submit
AAPs and supporting documentation
via email or other electronic format.
4. Description of Efforts To Identify
Duplication
The recordkeeping requirements
contained in this request result
exclusively from the implementation of
Section 503. This authority uniquely
empowers the Secretary of Labor, and
by a Secretary’s Order, the OFCCP, to
require the collection, analysis, and
reporting of data and other information
in connection with the enforcement of
the law and regulations requiring
Government contractors to take
affirmative action to ensure equal
employment opportunity. No
duplication of effort exists because no
other Government agency has these
specific data collection requirements.
While contractors maintain other
employment data in the normal course
of business, affirmative action programs
under Section 503 are unique in that
contractors create them specifically to
meet the requirements of OFCCP
regulations. This comprehensive
document is not available from any
other source. Therefore, no duplication
of effort exists.
5. Collection From Small Organizations
OFCCP’s information collection does
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small
entities. OFCCP minimizes the
information collection and
recordkeeping burden on a significant
number of small businesses by
exempting contractor establishments
with fewer than 50 employees from the
AAP requirement. However, once
OFCCP’s authority covers one
contractor’s establishment, all of its
employees must be accounted for in an
AAP whether or not each of the
contractor’s establishments meet the
minimum 50 employees threshold.9
OFCCP also minimized the burden of
the information collection requirements
9 41 CFR 60–741.40—Applicability of the
affirmative action program.
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on small entities by giving contractors
with a total workforce of 100 or fewer
employees the option to compare the
individuals with disabilities in their
entire workforce to the 7 percent
utilization goal, whereas larger
contractors must measure utilization for
each job group. This will decrease the
burden of the utilization analysis.
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6. Consequences for Federal Programs if
This Information Is Collected Less
Frequently
The requirements outlined in this ICR
ensure that covered contractors and
subcontractors meet their equal
opportunity obligations to individuals
with disabilities as described in Section
503. The nondiscrimination
requirements and general affirmative
action requirements of Section 503
apply to all covered contractors. See 41
CFR 60–741.4. The requirement to
prepare and maintain an affirmative
action program, the specific obligations
of which are detailed at 41 CFR 60–
741.44, apply to those contractors with
a Government contract of $50,000 or
more and 50 or more employees.
If this information is collected less
frequently, it could compromise
OFCCP’s enforcement of Section 503
and its implementing regulations.
OFCCP reviews contractor compliance
through its compliance evaluation
process. See 41 CFR 60–741.60. In order
to accurately determine compliance,
both OFCCP and the contractor must be
able to analyze contractor actions taken
and results obtained. Additionally, the
data collection frequency for this ICR
largely mirrors that of OFCCP’s other
programs, particularly the E.O. 11246
supply and service program, as Section
503 compliance evaluations are
conducted concurrently with that
program.
As noted under the supply and
service ICR (OMB No. 1250–0003), the
older the data the greater the chances
are that more qualified workers are
victims of discrimination and that the
discrimination continues for a longer
period. A consequence of such older
data may be that the scope of the
violation, resulting harm and the overall
burden of contractor compliance are
greater.
7. Special Circumstances for the
Collection of Information
There are no special circumstances for
the collection of this information.
8. Consultation Outside the Agency
OFCCP publishes all regulations
containing recordkeeping or reporting
requirements in the Federal Register for
public comment before agency
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58975
adoption. In addition, OFCCP maintains
an ongoing dialogue, through
compliance assistance, with contractor
groups on a number of compliance
issues, among them reporting and
recordkeeping.
OFCCP will address comments
received from the public under this
paragraph at the end of the 60-day
Federal Register comment period.
disclosure requirements for OFCCP’s
Section 503 ICR.
As noted at the beginning of this
supporting statement, the total in
combined recordkeeping and third party
disclosure burden hours for this ICR
(4,392,369) is less than the total number
of hours approved in 2014 (10,229,910),
as detailed in Sec. 15 below.
9. Gift Giving
Standard Form—Voluntary SelfIdentification of Disability
OFCCP provides neither payments
nor gifts to respondents.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality
Contractors who submit the required
information may view it as sensitive
information. OFCCP will evaluate all
information pursuant to the public
inspection and disclosure provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),
5 U.S.C. 552, and the Department of
Labor’s implementing regulations at 29
CFR part 70. OFCCP requires that a
contractor affected by a FOIA disclosure
request be notified in writing and no
decision to disclose information is made
until the contractor has an opportunity
to submit objections to the release of the
information. Furthermore, it is OFCCP’s
position that it does not release any data
obtained during the course of a
compliance evaluation until the matter
is completed.
11. Sensitive Questions
Section 503 requires contractors to
provide a form to applicants and
employees asking them to voluntarily
self-identify as an individual with a
disability and informing them of their
right to request reasonable
accommodation, if it is needed. This
data is necessary to enable OFCCP to
assess contractors’ compliance with
Section 503 and ensure that individuals
with disabilities are being accorded
equal employment opportunity. The
information will also enable contractors
to assess their utilization of qualified
individuals with disabilities and their
outreach efforts and recruitment of such
individuals with disabilities. The form
states clearly that the submission of the
requested information is voluntary, and
that the data is collected and
maintained strictly for affirmative action
purposes and will otherwise be kept
confidential. Race and sex data are not
required under the Section 503
regulations.
12. Estimate of Annual Information
Collection Burden
The following is a summary of the
methodology for the calculation of the
recordkeeping and third party
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A. Information Collections
Pursuant to § 60–741.42, contractors
use the standard form entitled
‘‘Voluntary Self-Identification of
Disability’’ to invite applicants, hires,
and employees to identify as an
individual with a disability pre-offer,
post-offer, and through periodic
invitations to all employees.
Section 60–741.42(a) requires
contractors to extend a pre-offer
invitation to self-identify as an
‘‘individual with a disability.’’ In the
previous information collection, OFCCP
estimated that contractors working at
the company level will take 1.5 hours to
review and retrieve existing sample
invitations to self-identify, adopt the
sample ‘‘as is’’ or make revisions to their
existing form, save the invitation to selfidentify and incorporate the document
in the contractor’s application form.
Existing contractors will no longer need
to take these steps to comply with the
pre-offer invitation requirement, so the
estimated burden in this information
collection applies to only new
contractor parent companies, or 1
percent of the 23,960 contractor
companies. The burden for this
provision is 360 hours (240 new
contractor companies × 1.5 hours = 360
hours).
Applicants for available positions
with covered contractors will have a
minimal burden complying with § 60–
741.42(a) in the course of completing
their application for employment with
the contractor. Section 60–741.42(a), on
pre-offer self-identification, requires
contractors to invite all applicants to
self-identify whether or not they are an
individual with a disability. OFCCP
estimates that there will be an average
of 24 applicants per job vacancy for on
average 15 vacancies per year. OFCCP
further estimates that it will take
applicants approximately 5 minutes to
complete the form. The burden for this
provision is 3,474,930 hours (115,831
contractor establishments × 15 listings ×
24 applicants × 5 minutes/60 =
3,474,930 hours). This is a third-party
disclosure.
In the previous information
collection, OFCCP estimated that it will
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take contractors 1.5 hours to conduct
the invitation to self-identify employee
survey. This includes the time needed
to set up procedures to conduct the
invitation, distribute communications,
and collect and track self-identification
forms. OFCCP believed this process
would become much more streamlined
over time and require significantly less
than 1.5 hours in subsequent years.
Therefore, for this information
collection, OFCCP estimates that it will
take contractors 1 hour to conduct the
invitation to self-identify survey.
Contractors are required to conduct the
survey at five-year intervals. The
estimated annual burden for this
provision is 23,166 hours (115,831
contractor establishments × 1 hour/5
years = 23,166 hours).
Contractor employees will have to
spend some time reviewing and/or
completing the survey. There are
approximately 31,626,890 contractor
employees. OFCCP estimates that
employees will take 5 minutes to
complete the self-identification form.
The burden for this provision, assuming
every employee completes the form, is
527,115 hours ((31,626,890 employees ×
5 minutes/60)/5 years = 527,115 hours).
Utilizing Bureau of Labor Statistics data
in the publication ‘‘Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation’’ (December
2015), which lists an average total
compensation for all civilian workers as
$33.58 per hour, the cost of this
provision would be $17,700,521.70.
This is a third-party disclosure.
OFCCP further estimates that it will
take contractors 15 minutes to maintain
self-identification forms. This time
includes either manually storing the
forms in a filing cabinet or saving them
to an electronic database. The burden
for this provision is 28,958 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments × 15
minutes/60 = 28,958 hours).
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Section 60–741.44 Required Contents
of the Affirmative Action Program
OMB Control Number 1250–0004
contains the burden estimates for
documenting and maintaining material
evidence of annually updating and, for
new contractors, developing parts of a
joint Section 503 and VEVRAA
affirmative action program. Therefore,
there is no additional burden for those
parts of the Section 503 AAP in this
information collection request. OFCCP
separately identifies provisions below
that are not included in burden
estimates currently approved by 1250–
0004.
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Section 60–741.44(f) External
Dissemination of Policy, Outreach and
Positive Recruitment
Section 60–741.44(f)(1)(ii) requires
contractors to send written notification
of the company’s affirmative action
program policies to subcontractors,
vendors, and suppliers. Section 60–
300.44(f)(1)(ii) of the VEVRAA
regulations also requires contractors to
send written notification of the
company policy related to its affirmative
action efforts to all subcontractors,
including subcontracting vendors and
suppliers. OFCCP therefore expects that
contractors will send a single, combined
notice, informing subcontractors,
vendors and suppliers of their VEVRAA
and Section 503 policies. Accordingly,
OFCCP estimates that there is no
additional burden for this provision
than what was already calculated in the
companion ICR for VEVRAA
Recordkeeping Requirements (OMB No.
1250–0004).
Section 60–741.44(f)(4) requires a
contractor to document all outreach
activities it undertakes for individuals
with disabilities, and retain these
documents for a period of 3 years.
OFCCP estimates that it will take
contractors 10 minutes to maintain the
outreach and recruitment
documentation that would typically be
generated as a result of their obligations
pursuant to other provisions in the
regulations. This does not include any
additional time to make the software
configuration needed on the contractor’s
computer system to store data for an
additional year, as this burden was
previously accounted for in the
VEVRAA ICR’s burden analysis of § 60–
300.80(b). Therefore, the recurring
burden for this provision is 19,305
hours (115,831 contractor
establishments × 10 minutes/60 =
19,305 hours).
Section 60–741.44(h)
Reporting System
Audit and
Section 60–741.44(h)(1)(vi) requires
contractors to document the actions
taken to meet the requirements of 60–
741.44(h), as mandated in the current
regulations. OFCCP estimates that it will
take contractors 10 minutes to
document compliance with this existing
provision. Documentation may include,
as an example, the standard operating
procedure of the system including roles
and responsibilities, and audit and
reporting timeframes and lifecycles. The
annual recordkeeping burden of this
provision is 19,305 hours (115,831
contractor establishments × 10 minutes/
60 = 19,305 hours).
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Section 60–741.44(k) Data Collection
and Analysis
Section 60–741.44(k) requires
contractors to collect and analyze
certain categories of data. OFCCP
believes that most contractors have the
capability to conduct the required
calculations electronically. However,
some companies may have to calculate
this information manually. Therefore,
OFCCP estimates that the average time
to conduct the analysis and maintain
the relevant documentation would be 1
hour 25 minutes. Relevant
documentation could include the report
or other written documentation
generated by the calculations that
explain the methodology, the data used,
and the findings and conclusions; the
data used to conduct the calculations for
subsequent validation of the results; and
other material used by the contractor for
the calculations. The recurring burden
for this provision is 164,094 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments × 85
minutes/60 = 164,094 hours).
Section 60–741.45 Utilization Goal
Section 60–741.45 requires
contractors to conduct a utilization
analysis to evaluate the representation
of individuals with disabilities in each
job group within the contractor’s
workforce with the utilization goal
established in paragraph (a) of this
section. OFCCP estimates that
contractors will take 1 hour to conduct
the utilization analysis. The burden for
this provision is 115,831 hours (115,831
contractor establishments × 1 hour =
115,831 hours).
OFCCP further estimates that it will
take contractors an additional 10
minutes to maintain records of the
utilization analysis. The recordkeeping
burden is 19,305 hours (115,831
contractor establishments × 10 minutes/
60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60–741.81 Access to Records
Section 60–741.81 requires
contractors who are the subject of a
compliance evaluation or complaint
investigation to specify all available
record formats and allow OFCCP to
select preferred record formats from
those identified by the contractor during
a compliance evaluation. Pursuant to
the regulations implementing the PRA
at 5 CFR 1320.4(a)(2), this information
collection is excluded from the PRA
requirements because it is related to an
‘‘administrative action, investigation, or
audit involving an agency against
specific individuals or entities.’’
B. Summary of Costs
The estimated recordkeeping cost to
contractors is based on Bureau of Labor
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Statistics data in the publication
‘‘Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation’’ (December 2015), which
lists total compensation for
management, professional, and related
occupations as $55.47 per hour and
administrative support as $24.75 per
hour. OFCCP estimates that 52 percent
of the burden hours will be
management, professional, and related
occupations and 48 percent will be
administrative support, for a weighted
average of $40.72 per burden hour.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF RECORDKEEPING BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS FOR CONTRACTORS
Requirements
Burden hours
Burden costs
741.42 (Employee Survey) ..............................................................................................................................
741.42 (Modifying Application System) ...........................................................................................................
741.42 (Self-Identification Recordkeeping) .....................................................................................................
741.44(f)(4) (Recordkeeping Outreach Activities) ...........................................................................................
741.44(h) (Recordkeeping Affirmative Action Program Audit) ........................................................................
741.44(k) (Data Collection and Analysis) ........................................................................................................
741.45 (Utilization Analysis) ............................................................................................................................
741.45 (Utilization Analysis Recordkeeping) ...................................................................................................
23,166
360
28,958
19,305
19,305
164,094
115,831
19,305
$943,319.52
14,659.20
1,179,169.76
786,099.60
786,099.60
6,681,907.68
4,716,638.32
786,099.60
Total ..........................................................................................................................................................
390,324
15,893,993.28
TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF THIRD PARTY DISCLOSURE BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS FOR CONTRACTORS
Requirement
Burden hours
Burden costs
741.42 (Employee Survey) ..........................................................................................................................
527,115
$17,700,521.70
The estimated cost for contractor
employees to complete the selfidentification survey is based on Bureau
of Labor Statistics data in the
publication ‘‘Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation’’ (December
2015), which lists an average total
hourly compensation for all civilian
workers of $33.58.
TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF THIRD PARTY DISCLOSURE BURDEN HOURS AND COSTS FOR NON-CONTRACTORS
Requirement
Burden hours
Burden costs
Section 60–741.42 (Self-Identification) ........................................................................................................
3,474,930
$116,688,149.40
contractor must invite all applicants to
self-identify at both the pre-offer and
post-offer stage of the employment
process. Given the increasingly
widespread use of electronic
applications, any contractor that uses
such applications would not incur copy
costs. However, to account for
contractors who may still choose to use
TABLE 4—TOTAL BURDEN FOR §§ 60– paper applications, we are including
741.42; 60–741.44; AND 60–741.45 printing and/or copying costs.
Therefore, we estimate a single one page
Recordkeeping Burden
form for both the pre- and post-offer
Hours .................................
390,324 invitation. Assuming 20 percent of all
Reporting Burden Hours .......
0 contractors will use a paper-based
Third Party Disclosure Burapplication system, and receive 24
den Hours .........................
4,002,045
applications for an average of 15 listings
Total Burden Hours ..............
4,392,369
per establishment, the minimum
estimated total cost to contractors will
13. Operations and Maintenance Costs
be $667,186.56 ((115,831 establishments
OFCCP estimates that contractors will × 20 percent) × 360 copies × $0.08 =
$667,186.56).
have some operations and maintenance
costs in addition to the burden
14. Estimate of Annual Cost to Federal
calculated above.
Government
60–741.42 Invitation to Self Identify
OFCCP associates no unique federal
OFCCP estimates that the contractor
costs with this information collection.
will have some operations and
OMB Control Numbers 1250–0001 and
maintenance cost associated with the
1250–0003 currently include the annual
invitations to self-identify. The
costs of federal contractor compliance
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The total estimated cost for applicants
to fill out the self-identification form is
based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data
in the publication ‘‘Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation’’ (December
2015), which lists an average total
hourly compensation for all civilian
workers of $33.58.
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evaluations to ensure their compliance
with the information collection
requirements contained herein.
15. Changes in Burden Hours
OFCCP is requesting OMB approval of
4,392,369 burden hours. The 2014
clearance contained approval of
10,229,910 hours. The decrease in hours
of the current request is attributable
largely to OFCCP’s proposal to use data
from EEO–1 Reports to determine the
number of covered contractors and
contractor establishments instead of the
methodology used in the previous
information collection, which averaged
data from multiple sources. EEO–1 data
from FY 2014 shows 23,960 contractor
parent companies filed reports, with
115,831 total contractor establishments.
These numbers are significantly less
than the estimates used in the previous
information collection (57,104
contractor companies and 211,287
contractor establishments).
OFCCP believes that the EEO–1
Report provides the more accurate
estimate of contractors and
establishments covered by this Section
503 information collection. Section 60–
1.7 requires specified Federal prime
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contractors and subcontractors to file an
EEO–1 Report annually.10
Employers use the EEO–1 Report
(question 3) to self-identify as
contractors and subcontractors and
indicate whether they meet the
thresholds under E.O. 11246 for AAP
coverage: 50 or more employees and
$50,000 or more contract value.11 This
employee and contract value threshold
is the same jurisdictional threshold for
AAP coverage under Section 503. Thus,
the number of contractors identified in
the EEO–1 Reports should be equal to
the number of contractors required to
establish a Section 503 AAP, making the
EEO–1 Reports the most accurate source
for estimating the number of covered
contractors subject to this information
collection.
In the previous information collection
approved in 2014 and in the Section 503
final rule published in September 2013,
OFCCP had estimated the number of
affected contractors and establishments
to be 57,104 and 211,287, respectively.
OFCCP now believes that these figures
are an overestimate of the number of
contractors with recordkeeping and
third party disclosure burdens under
this information collection. The
numbers estimated in the final rule
derived from a combination of data from
FY 2009 EEO–1 Reports, the Federal
Procurement Data System, the Veterans
Employment and Training Services
annual report, and other sources. See 78
FR 58729. The data from these sources
is no longer current. Moreover, the
methodology used to arrive at the
estimates was based in large part on
how OFCCP develops its Scheduling
List of contractors for compliance
evaluations. OFCCP develops its list of
contractors for scheduling compliance
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) and OFCCP use EEO–1 Report
data to analyze employment patterns for women
and minorities and as a civil rights enforcement
tool. OMB approved the EEO–1 Report information
collection under OMB No. 3046–0007. The
information collection can be viewed at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_
nbr=201412-3046-001. It is currently in the renewal
process, and OMB most recently approved an
extension of the ICR expiration date of October 31,
2016.
11 41 CFR 60–1.7—Reports and other required
information.
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10 The
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evaluations by using multiple sources of
information such as Federal acquisition
and procurement databases, EEO–1
Reports, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) data,
and the U.S. Census Bureau tabulations.
Statistical thresholds such as industry
type and employee counts of contractor
establishments are also used. The list
may be further refined by applying a
number of neutral factors such as
contract expiration date and contract
value on the number of establishments
per contractor that will be scheduled in
any one cycle. This methodology is
appropriate for scheduling compliance
evaluations, but it does not accurately
reflect the number of contractors
required to develop AAPs.
This distinction is recognized in the
most recent Scheduling Letter and
Itemized Listing ICR (Control Number
1250–0003), in which OFCCP estimated
the number of contractors required to
develop AAPs under E.O. 11246 using
data from only the EEO–1 Reports,
instead of the more complex
methodology OFCCP uses to create its
Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing.
Thus, to be consistent with that
approach, OFCCP will now use data
from only the EEO–1 Reports to estimate
the number of contractors affected by
this information collection, which
consists of recordkeeping and third part
disclosures resulting from the Section
503 AAP requirements.
In addition, the decrease in burden
hours is a result of adjustments in the
estimated time contractors need to
complete the employee selfidentification survey, to account for the
five-year interval between having to
conduct surveys, and for certain
requirements in the Section 503
regulations that are only applicable to
new contractors.
A summary of the change in hours is
below.
as adjustments in the time estimated for
contractors to conduct the invitation to
self-identify survey under section 60–
741.42(a), to reflect that the survey is to
be completed at five-year intervals, and
to account for requirements that are
applicable only to new contractors.
a. Recordkeeping Burden Hours
OFCCP is able to certify compliance
with all provisions.
The previous submission included
862,756 hours. The current request is
390,324 hours for an adjustment
decrease of 472,432 hours. This
decrease is a result of the use of the
contractor totals from the EEO–1
Reports data, discussed above, as well
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b. Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours
The previous submission included
9,367,154 hours. The current request is
4,002,045 hours for an adjustment
decrease of 5,365,109 hours. This
decrease is primarily a result of the use
of the contractor totals from the EEO–1
Reports data, discussed above, as well
as an adjustment to account for the
requirement that contractor employees
are invited to complete the selfidentification survey only once every
five years.
c. Other Burden Hours and Costs
The previous submission included
1,556,089 hours in initial capital or
start-up costs and $1,217,002 in
printing/copying costs. The current
request no longer includes any initial
capital and start-up costs, and estimates
$667,186.56 for printing/copying. This
is an adjustment decrease of 1,556,089
hours and $549,815.44. This decrease in
printing/copying costs is exclusively a
result of the use of the contractor totals
from the EEO–1 Reports data, discussed
above.
16. Statistical Uses and Publication of
Data
OFCCP does not publish the data
collected by way of the items contained
in this request as statistical tables.
17. Approval not to Display the
Expiration Date
OFCCP is not seeking such approval.
18. Exceptions to the Certification
Statement
B. Collection of Information Employing
Statistical Methods
This information collection does not
employ statistical methods.
BILLING CODE 4510–CM–P
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58979
Voluntary Self-Identification ofDisability
Form CC-305
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
lete this form?
Because we do business with the government, we must reach out to, hire, and provide equal opportunity to
qualified people with disabilities.; To help us measure how well we are doing, we are asking you to tell us if
you have a disability or if you ever had a disability. Completing this form is voluntary, but we hope that you
will choose to fill it out If you are applying for a job, any answer you give will be kept private and will not be
used against you in any way.
If you already work for us, your answer will not be used against you in any way. Because a person may become
disabled at any time, we are required to ask all of our employees to update their information every five years.
You may voluntarily self-identify as having a disability on this form without fear of any punishment because
you did not identify as having a disability earlier.
II
How do I know if I have a disability?
You are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that
substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical
condition.
Disabilities include, but are not limited to:
• Blindness • Autism
• Deafness • Cerebral palsy
• Cancer
• HIV/AIDS
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Schizophrenia
• Muscular
dystrophy
• Bipolar disorder
• Major depression
• Multiple sclerosis
(MS)
• Missing limbs or
partially missing limbs
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Impairments requiring the use of a wheelchair
• Intellectual disability (previously called mental
retardation)
Please check one of the boxes below:
D
YES, 1 HAVE A DISABILITY (or previously had a disability)
NO, I DON'T HAVE A DISABILITY
I DON'T WISH TO ANSWER
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Your Name
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D
D
58980
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 166 / Friday, August 26, 2016 / Notices
BILLING CODE 4510–CM–C
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary, DOL
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Registered
Apprenticeship College Consortium
ACTION:
Notice.
The Department of Labor
(DOL) will submit the Employment and
Training Administration (ETA)
sponsored information collection
request (ICR) revision titled, ‘‘Registered
Apprenticeship College Consortium,’’ to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) on August 31, 2016, for review
and approval for use in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Public
comments on the ICR are invited.
DATES: The OMB will consider all
written comments that agency receives
on or before September 30, 2016.
ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with
applicable supporting documentation;
including a description of the likely
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SUMMARY:
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respondents, proposed frequency of
response, and estimated total burden
may be obtained free of charge from the
RegInfo.gov Web site at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201607-1205-003
(this link will only become active on
September 1, 2016) or by contacting
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202–693–
4129, TTY 202–693–8064, (these are not
toll-free numbers) or sending an email
to DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
Submit comments about this request
by mail or courier to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL–ETA,
Office of Management and Budget,
Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202–
395–5806 (this is not a toll-free
number); or by email: OIRA_
submission@omb.eop.gov. Commenters
are encouraged, but not required, to
send a courtesy copy of any comments
by mail or courier to the U.S.
Department of Labor—OASAM, Office
of the Chief Information Officer, Attn:
Departmental Information Compliance
Management Program, Room N1301,
200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20210; or by email:
DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
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Contact
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202–693–
4129, TTY 202–693–8064, (these are not
toll-free numbers) or sending an email
to DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
AUTHORITY: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).
This ICR
seeks approval under the PRA for
revisions to the Registered
Apprenticeship College Consortium
(RACC) information collection that
facilitates awarding a registered
apprenticeship completion certificate
towards college credit. RACC postsecondary educational institution
members agree to accept apprentice
graduates from member registered
apprenticeship sponsors with the
approximate amount of credit towards
college that has been designated by a
third party evaluator. The information
collection includes three application
forms to join the consortium; there are
three types of membership and separate
applications for each type of member.
This information collection has been
classified as a revision, because the ETA
has decided not to pursue completion of
an on-line registration system. National
Apprenticeship Act section 1 authorizes
this information collection. See 29
U.S.C. 50.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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[FR Doc. 2016–20469 Filed 8–25–16; 8:45 a.m.]
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 166 (Friday, August 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58964-58980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20469]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
Proposed Renewal of the Approval of Information Collection
Requirements; Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-
clearance 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 (PRA), 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. The
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is soliciting comments
concerning its proposal to renew the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval of the following information collections: ``38 U.S.C.
4212, Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, as Amended''
(OMB Control No. 1250-0004) and ``29 U.S.C. 793, Section 503 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended'' (OMB Control No. 1250-0005).
The current OMB approval for these information collections expires on
January 31, 2017. A copy of the proposed information collection request
can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Notice or by accessing it
at www.regulations.gov.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before October 25, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Control Number 1250-
0004 and/or 1250-0005, by one of the following methods:
Electronic comments: Through the federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail, Hand Delivery, Courier: Address comments to Debra Carr,
Director, Division of Policy and Program Development, Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room C3325,
Washington, DC 20210.
Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only one
method. All submissions received must include the agency name and OMB
Control Number identified above for this information collection.
Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit their comments
electronically via the www.regulations.gov Web site or to mail their
comments early to ensure that they are timely received. Comments,
including any personal information provided, become a matter of public
record and will be posted to the www.regulations.gov Web site. They
will also be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval
of the information collection request.
[[Page 58965]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Carr, Director, Division of
Policy and Program Development, Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room C3325, Washington, DC
20210. Telephone: (202) 693-0103 (voice) or (202) 693-1337 (TTY) (these
are not toll-free numbers). Copies of this notice may be obtained in
alternative formats (e.g., large print, braille, audio recording), upon
request, by calling the numbers listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background: The Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs
(OFCCP) administers and enforces the three nondiscrimination and equal
employment opportunity laws listed below.
Executive Order 11246, as amended (E.O. 11246)
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended,
29 U.S.C. 793 (Section 503)
Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974,
as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA)
These authorities prohibit employment discrimination by Federal
contractors and subcontractors and require them to take affirmative
action to ensure that equal employment opportunities are available
regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected
veteran. Additionally, federal contractors and subcontractors are
prohibited from discriminating against applicants and employees for
asking about, discussing, or sharing information about their pay or, in
certain circumstances, the pay of their co-workers. This information
collection request covers the recordkeeping and third party disclosure
requirements for Section 503 and VEVRAA. OFCCP is not proposing to
collect new information with this renewal.
Section 503 prohibits employment discrimination against applicants
and employees because of physical or mental disability and requires
affirmative action to ensure that persons are treated without regard to
disability. Section 503 applies to Federal contractors and
subcontractors with contracts in excess of $15,000.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Effective October 1, 2010, the coverage threshold under
Section 503 increased from $10,000 to $15,000, in accordance with
the inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VEVRAA prohibits employment discrimination against protected
veterans and requires affirmative action to ensure that persons are
treated without regard to their status as a protected veteran. VEVRAA
applies to Federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts of
$150,000 or more.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Effective October 1, 2015, the coverage threshold under
VEVRAA increased from $100,000 to $150,000, in accordance with the
inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Review Focus: DOL 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: DOL seeks the approval of the extension of
this information in order to carry out its responsibility to enforce
the affirmative action and nondiscrimination provisions of Section 503
and VEVRAA, which it administers.
Type of Review: Renewal.
Agency: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Title: 38 U.S.C. 4212, Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment
Assistance Act, as Amended.
OMB Number: 1250-0004.
Agency Number: None.
Affected Public: Business or other for profit; individuals.
Total Respondents: 41,814,991.
Total Annual Responses: 41,814,991.
Average Time per Response: 7.75 minutes (0.13 hour).
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,427,933.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $667,186.56.
Type of Review: Renewal.
Agency: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Title: 29 U.S.C. 793, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as Amended.
OMB Number: 1250-0005.
Agency Number: None.
Affected Public: Business or other for profit; individuals.
Total Respondents: 41,814,991.
Total Annual Responses: 41,814,991.
Average Time per Response: 6.3 minutes (0.11 hour).
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,392,369.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $667,186.56.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the information
collection request; they will also become a matter of public record.
Dated: August 22, 2016.
Debra A. Carr,
Director, Division of Policy and Program Development, Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs.
Note to Reviewer
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requests
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for 5,427,933 hours in
combined recordkeeping and third party disclosure burden hours for
compliance by federal contractors and subcontractors with the Vietnam
Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended (38
U.S.C. 4212) (VEVRAA). This compares with 10,546,660 hours in the most
recently approved clearance request in 2014, a decrease of 5,118,727
(5,427,933 -10,546,660 = -5,118,727) hours. This decrease reflects an
adjustment in the number of affected federal contractors, which was
overestimated in the previous information collection.
OFCCP will not be collecting any new or different information. The
burden hours primarily represent those federal contractors and
subcontractors that are required under VEVRAA to list their job
openings with the appropriate employment service delivery system and to
develop, update, and maintain an affirmative action program. Reporting
requirements under VEVRAA are not included in this information
collection, but rather, are included in the Scheduling Letter and
Itemized Listing information collection request for nonconstruction
supply and service Federal contractors, separately approved under OMB
Control Number 1250-0003.
As explained in Section 15 of this supporting statement, the
decrease in burden hours for this information collection is primarily a
result of OFCCP's proposal to use data from
[[Page 58966]]
Employer Information Report EEO-1 (EEO-1 Report) to determine the
number of covered federal contractors and contractor establishments
instead of the methodology used in the previous information collection,
which averaged data from multiple sources. That methodology resulted in
an overestimation of the number of affected contractors. The EEO-1
Report provides a more accurate estimate of contractors and
establishments covered by VEVRAA. EEO-1 Reports data from fiscal year
2014 shows 23,960 federal contractor parent companies filed reports,
with 115,831 total contractor establishments. These numbers are
significantly less than the estimates used in the previous information
collection (57,104 contractor companies and 211,287 contractor
establishments). In addition, the decrease in burden hours is a result
of certain requirements in the VEVRAA regulations that are only
applicable to new contractors.
Supporting Statement
Department of Labor, OFCCP
OFCCP Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements--38 U.S.C. 4212, Vietnam
Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as Amended
Control Number: 1250-0004
A. Justification
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is
responsible for administering three equal opportunity laws that
prohibit discrimination based on particular protected categories and
require affirmative action to provide equal employment opportunities:
Executive Order 11246, as amended (E.O. 11246),\1\
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\1\ The regulations implementing Executive Order 11246
applicable to supply and service contractors are found at 41 CFR
parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-20, and 60-50.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended,
29 U.S.C. 793 (Section 503),\2\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The regulations implementing Section 503 applicable to
supply and service contractors are found at 41 CFR part 741.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of
1974,\3\ as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The regulations implementing VEVRAA applicable to supply and
service contractors are found at 41 CFR part 60-300.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.O. 11246 prohibits covered federal contractors \4\ from
discriminating against applicants and employees based on race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national
origin. E.O. 11246 also prohibits contractors from taking
discriminatory actions, including firing, against applicants and
employees for asking about or sharing their own compensation
information and, in certain instances, the compensation information of
their co-workers.\5\ E.O. 11246 applies contractors holding a
Government contract in excess of $10,000, or Government contracts that
have, or can reasonably expect to have, an aggregate total value
exceeding $10,000 in a 12-month period. E.O. 11246 also applies to
Government bills of lading, depositories of Federal funds in any
amount, and to financial institutions that are paying agents for U.S.
Savings Bonds.
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\4\ As used herein and unless otherwise specified, the term
``contractors'' refers to federal contractors and subcontractors
subject to the laws enforced by OFCCP. For E.O. 11246, the term also
included federally assisted construction contractors and
subcontractors.
\5\ E.O. 13665 amended E.O. 11246 to include a prohibition on
discrimination against any employee or applicant for inquiring
about, discussing, or disclosing compensation or the compensation of
another employee or applicant. Executive Order 13665, Non-
Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information, 79 FR 20749
(April 11, 2014). The final rule published on September 11, 2015 and
became effective on January 11, 2016. 80 FR 54934 (Sept. 11, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 503 prohibits employment discrimination against applicants
and employees based on disability and requires contractors to take
affirmative action to employ, advance in employment, and otherwise
treat qualified individuals without discrimination based on physical or
mental disabilities. Its requirements apply to contractors with a
Government contract in excess of $15,000.\6\
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\6\ Effective October 1, 2010, the coverage threshold under
Section 503 increased from $10,000 to $15,000, in accordance with
the inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908. See,
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-
Related Thresholds, 75 CFR 53129 (Aug. 30, 2010).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VEVRAA prohibits employment discrimination against protected
veterans, namely disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active
duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal
veterans, and requires contractors to take affirmative action to
employ, advance in employment, and otherwise treat qualified
individuals without discrimination based on their status as a protected
veteran. Its requirements apply to contractors with a Government
contract of $150,000 or more.\7\
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\7\ Effective October 1, 2015, the coverage threshold under
VEVRAA increased from $100,000 to $150,000, in accordance with the
inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908. See, Federal
Acquisition Regulation; Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related
Thresholds, 80 FR 38293 (July 2, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFCCP promulgated regulations implementing these programs
consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act. These regulations are
found at Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in Chapter
60 and are accessible on the Web at https://www.dol.gov/dol/cfr/Title_41/Chapter_60.htm.
For purposes of OFCCP's recordkeeping and reporting requirements,
the agency divides the obligations under these authorities into
multiple information collection requests (ICRs).\8\ These divisions are
based on OFCCP's distinct enforcement authorities (e.g., E.O. 11246 and
Section 503 each has its own recordkeeping ICR), programs, and related
regulatory requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ OFCCP's other current ICRs include: Construction
Recordkeeping Requirements (OMB No. 1250-0001), Complaint Procedures
(OMB No. 1250-0002), Supply and Service Program (Scheduling Letter
and Itemized Listing) (OMB No. 1250-0003), Section 503 Recordkeeping
Requirements (OMB No. 1250-0005), Functional Affirmative Action
Program Agreement Procedures (OMB No. 1250-0006), Government
Contractors, Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions
(OMB No. 1250-0008), and Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity by Contractors and Subcontractors
(OMB No. 1250-0009). In the future, and as appropriate, OFCCP
proposes to consolidate several of these ICRs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reporting requirements under VEVRAA are not included in this
information collection, but rather, are included in the Scheduling
Letter and Itemized Listing ICR for nonconstruction supply and service
contractors, separately approved under OMB Control Number 1250-0003.
Due to the pending expiration of OMB No. 1250-0004, OFCCP is
seeking approval of the agency's VEVRAA recordkeeping and third party
disclosure requirements.
1. Legal And Administrative Requirements
VEVRAA
41 CFR Part 60-300--Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination
Obligations of Federal Contractors and Subcontractors Regarding
Disabled Veterans, Recently Separated Veterans, Active Duty Wartime or
Campaign Badge Veterans, and Armed Forces Service Medal Veterans
These regulations establish the basic nondiscrimination and
affirmative action requirements under the VEVRAA program. They define
coverage, specify clauses to be included in contracts, provide
procedures to ensure compliance by covered contractors, specify
reporting and recordkeeping requirements, establish a benchmark for
veteran representation in the workforce, and outline the basic
requirements for AAPs under VEVRAA.
[[Page 58967]]
Section 60-300.5 describes the equal opportunity clause in Federal
contracts. Paragraphs 2 through 6 of the clause pertain to the
mandatory job listing requirements. Each covered contractor must list
job openings with the appropriate state or local employment service
delivery system (ESDS) in a format permitted by the ESDS. Each covered
contractor must also provide and update as necessary information to the
appropriate ESDS, including: Its status as a Federal contractor; that
it desires priority referrals of protected veterans from the ESDS; the
name and location of each hiring location within the state; and the
contact information for the contractor official responsible for hiring
at each location as well as any external job search organizations the
contractor uses to assist in its hiring. Each contractor is required to
include the EO clause in each of its subcontracts of $150,000 or more,
although the clause may be incorporated by reference or operation.
Section 60-300.40 requires contractors with 50 or more employees
and a contract of $150,000 or more to develop a VEVRAA AAP.
Section 60-300.42 requires contractors to invite job applicants at
the pre-offer and post-offer stages to self-identify as protected
veterans. The invitations to self-identify must state that the
contractor is required to take affirmative action to employ and advance
in employment protected veterans, and that the information sought is
being requested on a voluntary basis.
Section 60-300.44 identifies the required elements of an AAP,
including those listed below.
Develop and include an equal opportunity policy statement
in the AAP.
Review personnel processes to ensure that qualified
protected veterans are provided equal opportunity
Review all physical and mental job qualification standards
to ensure that, to the extent any tend to screen out qualified disabled
veterans, that the standards are job-related and consistent with
business necessity.
Provide reasonable accommodations for physical and mental
limitations.
Develop and implement procedures to ensure that employees
are not harassed because of their veteran status.
Develop procedures and practices to disseminate
affirmative action policies, both internally and externally, and
undertake appropriate outreach and positive recruitment activities
designed to effectively recruit protected veterans.
Establish an audit and reporting system to measure the
effectiveness of the AAP.
Designate a responsible official to implement and oversee
the AAP.
Provide training to all personnel involved in the
recruitment, screening, selection, promotion, disciplinary, and related
processes to ensure that the commitments in the contractor's
affirmative action program are implemented.
Conduct data collection analysis pertaining to applicants
and hires on an annual basis and maintain them for a period of three
(3) years, including: The total number of job openings and total number
of jobs filled; the total number of applicants for all jobs; the number
of protected veteran applicants hired; the total number of applicants
hired; and the number of applicants who self-identified as protected
veterans or who are otherwise known as protected veterans.
Section 60-300.45 requires contractors to either adopt the a hiring
benchmark equal to the national percentage of veterans in the civilian
labor force, or establish a hiring benchmark for protected veterans
taking into account five factors specified in the regulation.
Section 60-300.60 identifies the investigative methods OFCCP uses
to evaluate a contractor's compliance with the agency's regulations.
These methods range from an in-depth comprehensive evaluation of the
contractor's employment practices (i.e., compliance review) to a
narrowly focused analysis of a selected employment practice or policy
(i.e., compliance check), among others. Evaluation of compliance with
VEVRAA is concurrent with evaluation of the contractor's compliance
with E.O. 11246 and Section 503.
2. Use of Materials
The EO Clause, located at section 60-300.5, requires contractors to
list job openings with the appropriate state or local ESDS in a format
permitted by the ESDS. Each covered contractor must also provide and
update as necessary information to the appropriate ESDS, including: Its
status as a Federal contractor; that it desires priority referrals of
protected veterans from the ESDS; the name and location of each hiring
location within the state; and the contact information for the
contractor official responsible for hiring at each location as well as
any external job search organizations the contractor uses to assist in
its hiring. The mandatory job listing requirement is a critical
component to helping veterans find work with federal contractors.
Providing the ESDS with the name and location of the contractor's
hiring locations and contact information enables the ESDS to develop a
centralized list of federal contractors and ensures that they have
appropriate contact information if there are any questions that need to
be resolved in the job listing or priority referral process.
Section 60-300.42 outlines the requirements for contractors'
obligations to invite individuals to self-identify as a protected
veteran. This process enables the contractor and OFCCP to collect
valuable data on the number of protected veterans who apply for or are
hired into federal contractor positions. This allows for assessment of
the effectiveness of the contractor's recruitment and affirmative
action efforts over time, and promotes successful recruitment and
affirmative action.
Section 60-300.44 describes the required contents of a contractor's
written affirmative action program. During a compliance evaluation,
OFCCP reviews the contractor's affirmative action program to determine
whether the contractor is complying with its obligations not to
discriminate in employment and to take affirmative action to ensure
equal employment opportunity.
Section 60-300.45 requires contractors to set a benchmark for
hiring protected veterans by using the national average for the number
of veterans in the civilian labor force which OFCCP will provide (and
periodically update) on its public Web site, or by setting a benchmark
that fits the company's specific needs. This requirement provides
contractors with a yardstick by which they can objectively measure the
effectiveness of their efforts.
3. Improved Information Technology
In general, under OFCCP regulations each contractor develops its
own methods for collecting and maintaining information. Contractors
have the option to use methods that best suit their needs as long as
they can retrieve and provide OFCCP with data upon request during a
compliance evaluation.
The majority of contractors are repeat contractors. Since they are
subject to OFCCP's regulatory requirements year after year, most have
developed their information technology systems to generate the data
required by OFCCP regulations.
Information technology systems used to comply with data
requirements under OFCCP's VEVRAA regulations should be capable of
performing the below functions.
[[Page 58968]]
Collecting and analyzing employment activity data related to
VEVRAA
Analyzing outreach and recruitment
Tracking self-identification
Disseminating internal and external EO policies
Providing notice to subcontractors and vendors
Facilitating calculation of VEVRAA benchmarks
Auditing and reporting of AAP program elements
In addition, OFCCP provides compliance assistance to all
contractors, including smaller contractors by leveraging information
technology. For example, OFCCP's Web site provides access to compliance
resources and information, including the following.
VEVRAA Contractor Resources https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/Resources.htm
Fact Sheets, Frequently Asked Questions and Webinar training
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/vevraa.htm
Sample AAPs https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/AAPs/AAPs.htm
Contractors' VEVRAA Hiring Benchmark Database https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/errd/VEVRAA.jsp
Disability and Veterans Community Resources Directory https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/errd/Resources.503VEVRAA.html
Employment Resource Referral Directory https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/errd/
OFCCP believes that advances in technology make contractor
compliance with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements easier and
less burdensome. However, in the absence of empirical data, OFCCP is
unable to quantify the impact of improved information technology and
thus, OFCCP does not include it in the calculation of burden hours.
According to the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA, Pub.
L. 105-277, 1998), by October 2003, Government agencies must generally
provide the option of using and accepting electronic documents and
signatures, and electronic recordkeeping, where practicable. OFCCP
fulfills its GPEA requirements by permitting contractors to submit AAPs
and supporting documentation via email or other electronic format.
4. Description of Efforts To Identify Duplication
The recordkeeping requirements contained in this request result
exclusively from the implementation of VEVRAA. This authority uniquely
empowers the Secretary of Labor, and by a Secretary's Order, the OFCCP,
to require the collection, analysis, and reporting of data and other
information in connection with the enforcement of the law and
regulations requiring contractors to take affirmative action to ensure
equal employment opportunity. No duplication of effort exists because
no other Government agency has these specific data collection
requirements.
While contractors maintain other employment data in the normal
course of business, affirmative action programs under VEVRAA are unique
in that contractors create them specifically to meet the requirements
of OFCCP regulations. This comprehensive document is not available from
any other source. Therefore, no duplication of effort exists.
5. Collection From Small Organizations
OFCCP's information collection does not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. OFCCP minimizes the
information collection and recordkeeping burden on a significant number
of small businesses by exempting contractor establishments with fewer
than 50 employees from the AAP requirement. However, once OFCCP's
authority covers one contractor's establishment, all of its employees
must be accounted for in an AAP whether or not each of the contractor's
establishments meet the minimum 50 employees threshold.\9\
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\9\ 41 CFR 60-300.40--Applicability of the affirmative action
program requirement.
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6. Consequences for Federal Programs if This Information Is Collected
Less Frequently
The requirements outlined in this ICR ensure that covered
contractors meet their equal opportunity obligations to protected
veterans. The nondiscrimination requirements of VEVRAA apply to all
covered contractors. See 41 CFR 60-300.4. The requirement to prepare
and maintain an affirmative action program, the specific obligations of
which are detailed at 41 CFR 60-300.44, apply to those contractors with
a Government contract of $150,000 or more and 50 or more employees.
If this information is collected less frequently than required, it
could compromise OFCCP's enforcement of VEVRAA and its implementing
regulations. OFCCP reviews contractor compliance through its compliance
evaluation process. See 41 CFR 60-300.60. In order to accurately
determine compliance, both OFCCP and the contractor must be able to
analyze contractor actions taken and results obtained. Additionally,
the data collection frequency for this ICR mirrors that of OFCCP's
other programs, particularly the E.O. 11246 and Section 503 supply and
service program, as VEVRAA compliance evaluations are conducted
concurrently with that program.
As noted under Control Number 1250-0003, the older the data, the
greater the chances that more qualified workers are the victims of any
discrimination that has occurred and that the discrimination continues
for a longer period. A consequence of such older data may be that the
scope of the violation, resulting harm and the overall burden of
contractor compliance are greater.
7. Special Circumstances for the Collection of Information
There are no special circumstances for the collection of this
information.
8. Consultation Outside the Agency
OFCCP publishes all regulations containing recordkeeping or
reporting requirements in the Federal Register for public comment
before agency adoption. In addition, OFCCP maintains an ongoing
dialogue, through compliance assistance, with contractor groups on a
number of compliance issues, among them reporting and recordkeeping.
OFCCP will address comments received from the public under this
paragraph at the end of the 60-day Federal Register comment period.
9. Gift Giving
OFCCP provides neither payments nor gifts to respondents.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality
Contractors who submit the required information may view it as
sensitive information. OFCCP will evaluate all information pursuant to
the public inspection and disclosure provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, and the Department of Labor's
implementing regulations at 29 CFR part 70. OFCCP requires that a
contractor affected by a FOIA disclosure request be notified in writing
and no decision to disclose information is made until the contractor
has an opportunity to submit objections to the release of the
information. Furthermore, it is OFCCP's position that it does not
release any data obtained during the course of a compliance evaluation
until the matter is completed.
[[Page 58969]]
11. Sensitive Questions
VEVRAA requires contractors to invite applicants to self-identify
as a protected veteran and indicate whether a reasonable accommodation
is required. The protected veteran category includes disabled veterans.
Generally, a contractor informs its protected veteran employees that it
collects and maintains their data strictly for affirmative action
purposes. Race and sex data is not required under VEVRAA.
12. Estimate of Annual Information Collection Burden
The following is a summary of the methodology for the calculation
of the recordkeeping and third party disclosure requirements for
OFCCP's VEVRAA ICR.
As noted at the beginning of this supporting statement, the total
in combined recordkeeping and third party disclosure burden hours for
this ICR (5,398,974) is less than total number of hours approved in
2014 (10,546,660), as detailed in Sec. 15 below.
A. Information Collections
Section 60-300.5 Equal Opportunity Clause
Paragraph 2 of the Equal Opportunity Clause (EO Clause) requires
contractors to list their job openings with the state or local
employment service delivery system (employment service). OFCCP
estimates that gathering records and providing the job listing to the
employment service will take 25 minutes for approximately 15 listings
per year. The burden for this third-party disclosure is 723,944 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments x 25 minutes x 15 listings/60 =
723,944 hours).
Paragraph 4 of the EO Clause requires contractors to provide the
appropriate employment service with the name and location of each of
the contractor's hiring locations, a statement of its status as a
federal contractor, the contact information for the hiring official at
each location in the state, and a request for priority referrals of
protected veterans. Paragraph 4 also requires contractors that use job
search organizations to provide the employment service with the contact
information for each job search organization. These requirements apply
to new contractors, which OFCCP estimates to be 1 percent of all
covered contractors. Existing contractors (or 99 percent of
contractors) would have already provided the required information to
the appropriate employment service or job search organization, as
accounted for in the previous information collection. OFCCP estimates a
total of 15 minutes for a new contractor to ensure that its information
is provided to the employment service. The annual burden for this
provision is 290 hours (1,158 new contractor establishments x 15
minutes/60 = 290 hours). OFCCP further estimates that 25 percent of new
contractors, or 290, will use outside job search organizations and
incur an additional 5-minute burden to notify the employment service of
the contact information for its outside job search organizations. The
annual burden for this provision is 24 hours (290 contractor
establishments x 5 minutes/60 = 24 hours). This is a third-party
disclosure.
Section 60-300.42 Invitation to Self-Identify
Section 60-300.42(a) requires contractors to extend a pre-offer
invitation to self-identify as a ``protected veteran.'' In the previous
information collection, OFCCP estimated that contractors working at the
company level will take 1.5 hours to review and retrieve existing
sample invitations to self-identify, adopt the sample ``as is'' or make
revisions to their existing form, save the invitation to self-identify
and incorporate the document in the contractor's application form.
Existing contractors will no longer need to take these steps to comply
with the pre-offer invitation requirement, so the estimated burden in
this information collection applies to only new contractor parent
companies, or 1 percent of the 23,960 contractor companies. The burden
for this provision is 360 hours (240 new contractor companies x 1.5
hours = 360 hours).
Applicants for available positions with covered contractors will
have a minimal burden complying with Sec. 60-300.42(a) in the course
of completing their application for employment with the contractor.
Section 60-300.42(a), on pre-offer self-identification, requires
contractors to invite all applicants to self-identify whether or not
they are a protected veteran. OFCCP estimates that there will be an
average of 24 applicants per job vacancy for on average 15 vacancies
per year. OFCCP further estimates that it will take applicants
approximately 5 minutes to complete the form. The burden for this
provision, assuming that all applicants complete the form, is 3,474,930
hours (115,831 contractor establishments x 15 listings x 24 applicants
x 5 minutes/60 = 3,474,930 hours). This is a third-party disclosure.
OFCCP further estimates that it will take contractors 15 minutes to
maintain self-identification forms. This time includes either manually
storing the forms in a filing cabinet or saving them to an electronic
database. The burden for this provision is 28,958 hours (115,831
contractor establishments x 15 minutes/60 = 28,958 hours).
Section 60-300.44 Required Contents of the Affirmative Action Program
OFCCP estimates that it takes existing contractors (99 percent of
all contractor establishments), or 114,673, approximately 7.5 hours to
document and maintain material evidence of annually updating a joint
section 503 and VEVRAA affirmative action program. The burden for this
requirement is 860,048 hours (114,673 contractor establishments x 7.5
hours = 860,048 hours).
OFCCP estimates that 1 percent of all contractors, or 1,158, are
new contractors that will need to initially develop a joint section 503
and VEVRAA affirmative action program. OFCCP estimates that it takes
approximately 18 hours to document and maintain material evidence of
developing the program. Therefore, the recordkeeping burden for this
provision is 20,844 hours (1,158 contractor establishments x 18 hours =
20,844 hours).
60-300.44(f) External Dissemination of Policy, Outreach and Positive
Recruitment
Section 60-300.44(f)(1)(ii) requires contractors to send written
notification of the company's affirmative action program policies to
subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers. OFCCP estimates that
contractors will take 15 minutes to prepare the notification and send
it to subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers, and an additional 15
minutes to update email address changes in the company's email system.
Likewise, the burden for any information technology assistance needed
to send the written communication is estimated at 15 minutes. The
burden for this request is 86,873 hours (115,831 contractor
establishments x 45 minutes/60 = 86,873 hours). This is a third-party
disclosure.
Section 60-300.44(f)(4) requires contractors to document all
outreach activities it undertakes for protected veterans, and retain
these documents for a period of 3 years. OFCCP estimates that it will
take contractors 15 minutes to retain the required documentation.
Retaining these records means storing the records generated either
electronically or in hardcopy, consistent with the contractor's
existing business practices for how to store records. The annual
recordkeeping burden for this provision is 28,958 hours (115,831
[[Page 58970]]
contractor establishments x 15 minutes/60 = 28,958 hour).
Section 60-300.44(h) Audit and Reporting System
Section 60-300.44(h)(1)(vi) requires contractors to document the
actions taken to meet the requirements of 60-300.44(h). OFCCP estimates
that it will take contractors 10 minutes to document compliance with
this provision to create an audit and reporting system. Documentation
may include, as an example, the standard operating procedure of the
system including roles and responsibilities, and audit and reporting
timeframes and lifecycles. The annual recordkeeping burden of this
provision is 19,305 hours (115,831 contractor establishments x 10
minutes/60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60-300.44(k) Data Collection and Analysis
Section 60-300(k) requires contractors to collect and analyze
certain categories of data. OFCCP believes that most contractors have
the capability to conduct the required calculations electronically.
However, some companies may have to calculate this information
manually. Therefore, OFCCP estimates that the average time to conduct
the analysis and maintain the relevant documentation would be 1 hour 25
minutes. Relevant documentation could include the report or other
written documentation generated by the calculations that explain the
methodology, the data used, and the findings and conclusions; the data
used to conduct the calculations for subsequent validation of the
results; and other material used by the contractor for the
calculations. The recurring burden for this provision is 164,094 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments x 85 minutes/60 = 164,094 hours).
Section 60-300.45 Benchmarks for Hiring
Section 60-300.45 requires the contractor to establish benchmarks
in one of two ways. A contractor may use as its benchmark the national
average number of veterans in the civilian labor force, which OFCCP
will provide (and periodically update) on its public Web site. Or,
alternatively, the contractor may establish its own individual
benchmark using the five-factor method set forth in Section 60-
300.45(b)(2)(i)-(v). OFCCP estimates that it will take contractors on
average 10 minutes to maintain material evidence of compliance with
this provision. The burden of this provision would be 19,305 hours
(115,831 establishments x 10 minutes/60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60-300.81 Access to Records
Section 60-300.81 requires contractors who are the subject of a
compliance evaluation or complaint investigation to specify all
available record formats and allow OFCCP to select preferred record
formats from those identified by the contractor during a compliance
evaluation. Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.4(a)(2), this information collection
is excluded from the PRA requirements because it is related to an
``administrative action, investigation, or audit involving an agency
against specific individuals or entities.''
B. Summary of Costs
The estimated cost to contractors is based on Bureau of Labor
Statistics data in the publication ``Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation'' (December 2015), which lists total compensation for
management, professional, and related occupations as $55.47 per hour
and administrative support as $24.75 per hour. OFCCP estimates that 52
percent of the burden hours will be management, professional, and
related occupations and 48 percent will be administrative support, for
a weighted average of $40.72 per burden hour.
Table 1--Summary of Recordkeeping Burden Hours and Costs for Contractors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirements Burden hours Burden costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
300.42 (Invitation to Self-Identify) 29,318 $14,659.20
300.44--Existing Contractors 860,048 35,021,154.56
(Written Affirmative Action
Program)...........................
300.44--New Contractors (Written 20,844 848,767.68
Affirmative Action Program)........
300.44(f)(4) (Outreach and 28,958 1,179,169.76
Recruitment Recordkeeping).........
300.44(h) (Audit & Reporting System 19,305 786,099.60
Recordkeeping).....................
300.44(k) (Data Collection Analysis) 164,094 6,681,907.68
300.45 (Benchmarks Recordkeeping)... 19,305 786,099.60
-----------------------------------
Total........................... 1,141,872 46,497,027.80
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2--Summary of Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours and Costs for
Contractors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirements Burden hours Burden costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
300.5 (EO Clause, Parag 2--Mandatory 723,944 $29,478,999.68
Job Listing).......................
300.5 (EO Clause, Parag 4--Contact 290 11,808.80
Information).......................
300.5 (EO Clause, Parag 4--Job 24 977.28
Search Orgs Contact Information)...
300.44(f)(1) (Notice to 86,873 3,537,468.56
Subcontractors, etc.)..............
-----------------------------------
Total........................... 811,131 33,029,254.32
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3--Summary of Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours and Costs for
Non-Contractors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Burden hours Burden costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 60-300.42 (Self- 3,474,930 $116,688,149.40
Identification)....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total estimated cost for applicants to fill out the self-
identification form is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data in the
publication ``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' (December
2015), which lists an average total
[[Page 58971]]
hourly compensation for all civilian workers of $33.58.
Table 4--Total Burden for Sec. Sec. 60-300.5; 60-300.42; 60-300.44;
and 60-300.45
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recordkeeping Burden Hours.......................... 1,141,872
Reporting Burden Hours.............................. 0
Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours................. 4,286,061
-------------------
Total Burden Hours.............................. 5,427,933
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13. Operations and Maintenance Costs
OFCCP estimates that contractors will have some operations and
maintenance costs in addition to the burden calculated above.
60-300.42 Invitation To Self Identify
OFCCP estimates that the contractor will have some operations and
maintenance cost associated with the invitations to self-identify. The
contractor must invite all applicants to self-identify at both the pre-
offer and post-offer stage of the employment process. Given the
increasingly widespread use of electronic applications, any contractor
that uses such applications would not incur copy costs. However, to
account for contractors who may still choose to use paper applications,
we are including printing and/or copying costs. Therefore, we estimate
a single one-page form for both the pre- and post-offer invitation.
Assuming 20 percent of all contractors will use a paper-based
application system, and receive 24 applications for an average of 15
listings per establishment, the minimum estimated total cost to
contractors will be $667,186.56 ((115,831 establishments x 20 percent)
x 360 copies x $0.08 = $667,186.56).
14. Estimate of Annual Cost to Federal Government
OFCCP associates no unique federal costs with this information
collection. OMB Control Numbers 1250-0001 and 1250-0003 currently
include the annual costs of federal contractor compliance evaluations
to ensure their compliance with the information collection requirements
contained herein.
15. Changes in Burden Hours
OFCCP is requesting OMB approval of 5,427,933 burden hours. The
2014 clearance contained approval of 10,546,660 hours. The decrease in
hours of the current request is attributable to OFCCP's proposal to use
data from EEO-1 Reports to determine the number of covered contractors
and contractor establishments instead of the methodology used in the
previous information collection, which averaged data from multiple
sources. EEO-1 data from fiscal year (FY) 2014 shows 23,960 federal
contractor parent companies filed reports, with 115,831 total
contractor establishments. These numbers are significantly less than
the estimates used in the previous information collection (57,104
contractor companies and 211,287 contractor establishments).
OFCCP believes that the EEO-1 Report provides the more accurate
estimate of Federal contractors and establishments covered by this
VEVRAA information collection. Section 60-1.7 requires specified
Federal prime contractors and subcontractors to file an EEO-1 Report
annually.\10\
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\10\ The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and
OFCCP use EEO-1 Report data to analyze employment patterns for women
and minorities and as a civil rights enforcement tool. OMB approved
the EEO-1 Report information collection under OMB No. 3046-0007. The
information collection can be viewed at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201412-3046-001. It is currently in the
renewal process, and OMB most recently approved an extension of the
ICR expiration date of October 31, 2016.
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Employers use the EEO-1 Report (question 3) to self-identify as
federal contractors and subcontractors and indicate whether they meet
the thresholds under E.O. 11246 for AAP coverage: 50 or more employees
and $50,000 or more contract value.\11\ The $50,000 contract threshold
is less than the $150,000 contract value threshold for AAP coverage
under VEVRAA. Thus, the number of contractors identified in the EEO-1
Reports will be greater than the number of contractors required to
establish a VEVRAA AAP. Nevertheless, the number of contractors
identified in the EEO-1 Reports provides a reasonable estimate for
calculating the burden in this information collection, even if it
overestimates the universe of contractors.\12\ Any overestimate will be
offset to some degree by the requirement that covered contractors must
develop AAPs to cover employees at all of their establishments, even
those with fewer than 50 employees. Any overestimate will be further
offset to a small degree by the estimates for section 60-300.5 (Equal
Opportunity Clause), which applies to contracts of $150,000 or more but
has no employee threshold. Taking these considerations into account,
OFCCP believes that the 115,831 contractor establishment total is a
reasonable, if not perfect, estimate.
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\11\ 41 CFR 60-1.7--Reports and other required information.
\12\ The number of contractors with contracts of at least
$150,000 cannot be separately identified using the EEO-1 survey.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the previous information collection approved in 2014 and in the
VEVRAA final rule published in September 2013, OFCCP estimated the
number of affected contractors and establishments to be 57,104 and
211,287, respectively. OFCCP now believes that these figures are an
overestimate of the number of contractors with recordkeeping and third
party disclosure burdens under this information collection. The numbers
estimated in the final rule derived from a combination of data from FY
2009 EEO-1 Reports, the Federal Procurement Data System, the Veterans
Employment and Training Services annual report, and other sources. See
78 FR 58658. The data from these sources is no longer current.
Moreover, the methodology used to arrive at the estimates was based in
large part on how OFCCP develops its Scheduling List of contractors for
compliance evaluations. OFCCP develops its list of contractors for
scheduling compliance evaluations by using multiple sources of
information such as Federal acquisition and procurement databases, EEO-
1 Reports, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) data, and the U.S. Census Bureau
tabulations. Statistical thresholds such as industry type and employee
counts of contractor establishments are also used. The list may be
further refined by applying a number of neutral factors such as
contract expiration date and contract value on the number of
establishments per contractor that will be scheduled in any one cycle.
This methodology is appropriate for scheduling compliance evaluations,
but it does not accurately reflect the number of contractors required
to develop AAPs.
This distinction is recognized in the most recent Scheduling Letter
and Itemized Listing ICR (Control Number
[[Page 58972]]
1250-0003), in which OFCCP estimated the number of contractors required
to develop AAPs under E.O. 11246 using data from only the EEO-1
Reports, instead of the more complex methodology OFCCP uses to create
its Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing. Thus, to be consistent with
that approach, OFCCP will now use data from only the EEO-1 Reports to
estimate the number of contractors affected by this information
collection, which consists primarily of recordkeeping and third party
disclosures resulting from the VEVRAA AAP requirements.
A summary of the change in hours is below.
a. Recordkeeping Burden Hours
The previous submission included 2,205,468 hours. The current
request is 1,141,872 hours for an adjustment decrease of 1,063,596
hours. This decrease is primarily a result of the use of the contractor
totals from the EEO-1 Reports data, discussed above, but also includes
adjustments due to requirements that are no longer applicable to
existing contractors.
b. Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours
The previous submission included 8,341,192 hours. The current
request is 4,286,061 hours for an adjustment decrease of 4,055,131
hours. This decrease is primarily a result of the use of the contractor
totals from the EEO-1 Reports data, discussed above, but also includes
adjustments due to requirements that are no longer applicable to
existing contractors.
c. Other Burden Hours and Costs
The previous submission included 1,670,297 hours in initial capital
or start-up costs and $1,217,002 in printing/copying costs. The current
request no longer includes any initial capital and start-up costs, and
estimates $667,186.56 for printing/copying. This is an adjustment
decrease of 1,670,294 hours and $549,815.44. This decrease in printing/
copying costs is exclusively a result of the use of the contractor
totals from the EEO-1 Reports data, discussed above.
16. Statistical Uses and Publication of Data
OFCCP does not publish the data collected by way of the items
contained in this request as statistical tables.
17. Approval Not To Display the Expiration Date
OFCCP is not seeking such approval.
18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement
OFCCP is able to certify compliance with all provisions.
B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
This information collection does not employ statistical methods.
Note to Reviewer
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requests
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for 4,392,369 hours in
combined recordkeeping and third party disclosure burden hours for
compliance by federal contractors and subcontractors with Section 503
of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended (29 U.S.C. 793). This compares
with 10,229,910 hours in the most recently approved clearance request
in 2014, a decrease of 5,837,541 (6,629,073 - 10,229,910 = -5,837,541)
hours. This decrease reflects an adjustment in the number of affected
federal contractors, which was overestimated in the previous
information collection.
OFCCP will not be collecting any new or different information. The
burden hours primarily represent those federal contractors and
subcontractors that are required under Section 503 to develop, update,
and maintain an affirmative action program. Reporting requirements
under Section 503 are not included in this information collection, but
rather, are included in the Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing
information collection request for nonconstruction supply and service
federal contractors, separately approved under OMB Control Number 1250-
0003.
As explained in Section 15 of this supporting statement, the
decrease in burden hours for this information collection is largely a
result of OFCCP's proposal to use data from Employer Information Report
EEO-1 (EEO-1 Report) to determine the number of covered federal
contractors and contractor establishments instead of the methodology
used in the previous information collection, which averaged data from
multiple sources. That methodology resulted in an overestimation of the
number of affected contractors. The EEO-1 Report provides a more
accurate estimate of contractors and establishments covered by Section
503. EEO-1 Report data from fiscal 2014 shows 23,960 federal contractor
parent companies filed reports, with 115,831 total contractor
establishments. These numbers are significantly less than the estimates
used in the previous information collection (57,104 contractor
companies and 211,287 contractor establishments). In addition, the
decrease in burden hours is a result of adjustments in the estimated
time contractors need to complete the employee self-identification
survey, to account for the five-year interval between having to conduct
surveys, and for certain requirements in the Section 503 regulations
that are only applicable to new contractors.
Supporting Statement
Department of Labor, OFCCP
OFCCP Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements--29 U.S.C. 793 Section
503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended
Control Number: 1250-0005
A. Justification
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is
responsible for administering three equal opportunity laws that
prohibit discrimination based on particular protected categories and
require affirmative action to provide equal employment opportunities:
Executive Order 11246, as amended (E.O. 11246),\1\
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\1\ The regulations implementing Executive Order 11246
applicable to supply and service contractors are found at 41 CFR
parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-20, and 60-50.
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Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended,
29 U.S.C. 793 (Section 503),\2\ and
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\2\ The regulations implementing Section 503 applicable to
supply and service contractors are found at 41 CFR part 741.
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Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of
1974,\3\ as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The regulations implementing VEVRAA applicable to supply and
service contractors are found at 41 CFR part 60-300.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.O. 11246 prohibits federal contractors \4\ from discriminating
against applicants and employees based on race, color, religion, sex,
sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin. E.O. 11246
also prohibits contractors from taking discriminatory actions,
including firing, against applicants and employees for asking about or
sharing information about their own compensation and, in certain
instances, the compensation information of their co-workers.\5\ E.O.
[[Page 58973]]
11246 applies to contractors holding a Government contract in excess of
$10,000, or Government contracts that have, or can reasonably expect to
have, an aggregate total value exceeding $10,000 in a 12-month period.
E.O. 11246 also applies to Government bills of lading, depositories of
Federal funds in any amount, and to financial institutions that are
paying agents for U.S. Savings Bonds.
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\4\ As used herein and unless otherwise specified, the term
``contractors'' refers to federal contractors and subcontractors
subject to the laws enforced by OFCCP. For E.O. 11246, the term also
included federally assisted construction contractors and
subcontractors.
\5\ E.O. 13665 amended E.O. 11246 to include a prohibition on
discrimination against any employee or applicant for inquiring
about, discussing, or disclosing compensation or the compensation of
another employee or applicant. Executive Order 13665, Non-
Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information, 79 FR 20749
(April 11, 2014). The final rule published on September 11, 2015 and
became effective on January 11, 2016. 80 FR 54934 (Sept. 11, 2015).
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Section 503 prohibits employment discrimination against applicants
and employees based on disability and requires contractors to take
affirmative action to employ, advance in employment, and otherwise
treat qualified individuals without discrimination based on physical or
mental disabilities. Its requirements apply to contractors with a
Government contract in excess of $15,000.\6\
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\6\ Effective October 1, 2010, the coverage threshold under
Section 503 increased from $10,000 to $15,000, in accordance with
the inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908. See,
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-
Related Thresholds, 75 CFR 53129 (Aug. 30, 2010).
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VEVRAA prohibits employment discrimination against protected
veterans, namely disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active
duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal
veterans, and requires contractors to take affirmative action to
employ, advance in employment, and otherwise treat qualified
individuals without discrimination based on their status as a protected
veteran. Its requirements apply to contractors with a Government
contract of $150,000 or more.\7\
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\7\ Effective October 1, 2015, the coverage threshold under
VEVRAA increased from $100,000 to $150,000, in accordance with the
inflationary adjustment requirements in 41 U.S.C. 1908. See, Federal
Acquisition Regulation; Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related
Thresholds, 80 FR 38293 (July 2, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFCCP promulgated regulations implementing these programs
consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act. These regulations are
found at Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in Chapter
60 and are accessible on the Web at https://www.dol.gov/dol/cfr/Title_41/Chapter_60.htm.
For purposes of OFCCP's recordkeeping and reporting requirements,
the agency divides the obligations under these authorities into
multiple information collection requests (ICRs).\8\ These divisions are
based on OFCCP's distinct enforcement authorities (e.g., E.O. 11246 and
VEVRAA each has its own recordkeeping ICR), programs, and related
regulatory requirements.
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\8\ OFCCP's other current ICRs include: Construction
Recordkeeping Requirements (OMB No. 1250-0001), Complaint Procedures
(OMB No. 1250-0002), Supply and Service Program (Scheduling Letter
and Itemized Listing) (OMB No. 1250-0003), VEVRAA Recordkeeping
Requirements (OMB No. 1250-0004), Functional Affirmative Action
Program Agreement Procedures (OMB No. 1250-0006), Government
Contractors, Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions
(OMB No. 1250-0008), and Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity by Contractors and Subcontractors
(OMB No. 1250-0009). In the future, and as appropriate, OFCCP
proposes to consolidate several of these ICRs.
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The reporting requirements under Section 503 are not included in
this information collection, but rather, are included in the Scheduling
Letter and Itemized Listing ICR for nonconstruction supply and service
contractors, separately approved under OMB Control Number 1250-0003.
Due to the pending expiration of OMB No. 1250-0005, OFCCP is
seeking approval of the agency's Section 503 recordkeeping and third
party disclosure requirements.
1. Legal and Administrative Requirements
Section 503
41 CFR 60-741--Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of
Federal Contractors and Subcontractors Regarding Individuals With
Disabilities
These regulations address the affirmative action and
nondiscrimination obligations of contractors and subcontractors related
to individuals with disabilities. They define coverage, specify clauses
to be included in contracts, provide a procedure to ensure compliance
by covered contractors, and specify certain reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, establish an aspirational utilization goal of 7 percent,
and specify the basic requirements for AAPs under Section 503.
Section 60-741.5 sets forth the equal opportunity clause in Federal
contracts.
Section 60-741.40 requires the development and maintenance of a
Section 503 AAP. This regulation requires each contractor and
subcontractor that has 50 or more employees, and a contract of $50,000
or more, to develop an AAP at each establishment.
Section 60-741.42 requires contractors to invite job applicants at
the pre-offer and post-offer stages to self-identify as individuals
with a disability. In addition, the contractor is required to invite
each of its employees to voluntarily self-identify as an individual
with a disability. This employee survey must be conducted at five year
intervals.
Section 60-741.44 identifies the required elements of an AAP,
including those listed below.
Develop and include an equal opportunity policy statement
in the AAP.
Review personnel processes to ensure that qualified
individuals with disabilities are provided equal opportunity.
Review all physical and mental job qualification standards
to ensure that, to the extent any tend to screen out qualified
individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability, that the
standards are job-related and consistent with business necessity.
Provide reasonable accommodations for physical and mental
limitations.
Develop and implement procedures to ensure that employees
are not harassed because of their disability.
Develop procedures and practices to disseminate
affirmative action policies, both internally and externally, and
undertake appropriate outreach and positive recruitment activities
designed to effectively recruit qualified individuals with
disabilities.
Establish an audit and reporting system to measure the
effectiveness of the AAP.
Designate a responsible official to implement and oversee
the AAP.
Provide training to all personnel involved in the
recruitment, screening, selection, promotion, disciplinary, and related
processes to ensure that the commitments in the contractor's
affirmative action program are implemented.
Conduct data collection analysis pertaining to applicants
and hires on an annual basis and maintain them for a period of three
(3) years, including, the number of applicants who self-identified as
individuals with disabilities or who are otherwise known to be
individuals with disabilities; the total number of job openings and
total number of jobs filled; the total number of applicants for all
jobs; the number of applicants with disabilities hired; and the total
number of applicants hired.
Section 60-741.45 establishes a 7 percent utilization goal for
employment of individuals with disabilities for each job group in the
contractor's workforce or to the entire workforce if the contractor has
100 or fewer employees. Contractors must conduct an annual utilization
analysis and assessment of problem areas, and establish specific
[[Page 58974]]
action-oriented programs to address any identified problems.
Section 60-741.60 identifies the investigative methods OFCCP uses
to evaluate a contractor's compliance with the agency's regulations.
These methods range from an in-depth comprehensive evaluation of the
contractor's employment practices (i.e. compliance review) to a
narrowly focused analysis of a selected employment practice or policy
(i.e. compliance check). Evaluation of compliance with Section 503 is
concurrent with evaluation of a contractor's compliance with E.O. 11246
and VEVRAA.
2. Use of Materials
Section 60-741.42 outlines the requirements for contractors'
obligations to invite individuals to self-identify as a person with a
disability. This process enables the contractor to collect valuable
data on the number of individuals with disabilities who apply for, are
hired into, and are employed in federal contractor positions. If this
data shows that the contractor is not meeting the utilization goal, the
contractor must determine if impediments to equal employment
opportunity for individuals with disabilities exist, and if so, develop
and execute action-oriented programs to correct these problem areas.
The form that contractors use to invite voluntary self-
identification of disability includes a field for applicants and
employees to provide their name and the date. This is included to
enable contractors to identify the job groups into which individuals
should be placed when performing their utilization analysis.
Identification by name enables OFCCP to verify the accuracy of a
contractor's utilization analysis during a compliance evaluation.
Section 60-741.44 describes the required contents of a contractor's
written affirmative action program. During a compliance evaluation,
OFCCP reviews the contractor's affirmative action program to determine
whether the contractor is complying with its obligations not to
discriminate in employment and to take affirmative action to ensure
equal employment opportunity.
Section 60-741.45 requires contractors to establish a national goal
for the employment of individuals with disabilities by contractors,
sets out the process contractors will use to assess whether the goal
has been met, and requires contractors to maintain records of their
assessment. This requirement provides contractors and OFCCP with a
yardstick to objectively measure the effectiveness of nondiscrimination
and affirmative action efforts.
3. Improved Information Technology
In general, under OFCCP regulations each contractor develops its
own methods for collecting and maintaining information. Contractors
have the option to use methods that best suit their needs as long as
they can retrieve and provide OFCCP with the requested data upon
request during a compliance evaluation.
The majority of contractors and subcontractors are repeat
contractors. Since they are subject to OFCCP's regulatory requirements
year after year, most have developed their information technology
systems to generate the data required by OFCCP regulations.
Information technology systems used to comply with data
requirements under OFCCP's regulations should be capable of performing
the below functions.
Collecting employment activity data related to Section 503
Conducting Section 503 utilization analysis
Analyzing outreach and recruitment
Tracking self-identification
Disseminating internal and external EO policies
Providing notice to subcontractors and vendors
Auditing and reporting of AAP program elements
In addition, OFCCP provides compliance assistance to all
contractors, including smaller contractors by leveraging information
technology. For example, OFCCP's Web site provides access to compliance
resources and information, including the following.
Section 503 Contractor Resources https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/Resources.htm
Fact Sheets, Frequently Asked Questions and Webinar training
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/section503.htm
Sample AAPs https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/AAPs/AAPs.htm
Disability and Veterans Community Resources Directory: https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/errd/Resources.503VEVRAA.html
Employment Resource Referral Directory: https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/errd/
Checklist for Compliance with Section 503: https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/ChecklistforCompliancewithSection503_JRF_QA_508c.pdf
OFCCP believes that advances in technology make contractor
compliance with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements easier and
less burdensome. However, in the absence of empirical data, OFCCP is
unable to quantify the impact of improved information technology and
thus, OFCCP does not include it in the calculation of burden hours.
According to the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA, Pub.
L. 105-277, 1998), by October 2003, Government agencies must generally
provide the option of using and accepting electronic documents and
signatures, and electronic recordkeeping, where practicable. OFCCP
fulfills its GPEA requirements by permitting contractors to submit AAPs
and supporting documentation via email or other electronic format.
4. Description of Efforts To Identify Duplication
The recordkeeping requirements contained in this request result
exclusively from the implementation of Section 503. This authority
uniquely empowers the Secretary of Labor, and by a Secretary's Order,
the OFCCP, to require the collection, analysis, and reporting of data
and other information in connection with the enforcement of the law and
regulations requiring Government contractors to take affirmative action
to ensure equal employment opportunity. No duplication of effort exists
because no other Government agency has these specific data collection
requirements.
While contractors maintain other employment data in the normal
course of business, affirmative action programs under Section 503 are
unique in that contractors create them specifically to meet the
requirements of OFCCP regulations. This comprehensive document is not
available from any other source. Therefore, no duplication of effort
exists.
5. Collection From Small Organizations
OFCCP's information collection does not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. OFCCP minimizes the
information collection and recordkeeping burden on a significant number
of small businesses by exempting contractor establishments with fewer
than 50 employees from the AAP requirement. However, once OFCCP's
authority covers one contractor's establishment, all of its employees
must be accounted for in an AAP whether or not each of the contractor's
establishments meet the minimum 50 employees threshold.\9\
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\9\ 41 CFR 60-741.40--Applicability of the affirmative action
program.
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OFCCP also minimized the burden of the information collection
requirements
[[Page 58975]]
on small entities by giving contractors with a total workforce of 100
or fewer employees the option to compare the individuals with
disabilities in their entire workforce to the 7 percent utilization
goal, whereas larger contractors must measure utilization for each job
group. This will decrease the burden of the utilization analysis.
6. Consequences for Federal Programs if This Information Is Collected
Less Frequently
The requirements outlined in this ICR ensure that covered
contractors and subcontractors meet their equal opportunity obligations
to individuals with disabilities as described in Section 503. The
nondiscrimination requirements and general affirmative action
requirements of Section 503 apply to all covered contractors. See 41
CFR 60-741.4. The requirement to prepare and maintain an affirmative
action program, the specific obligations of which are detailed at 41
CFR 60-741.44, apply to those contractors with a Government contract of
$50,000 or more and 50 or more employees.
If this information is collected less frequently, it could
compromise OFCCP's enforcement of Section 503 and its implementing
regulations. OFCCP reviews contractor compliance through its compliance
evaluation process. See 41 CFR 60-741.60. In order to accurately
determine compliance, both OFCCP and the contractor must be able to
analyze contractor actions taken and results obtained. Additionally,
the data collection frequency for this ICR largely mirrors that of
OFCCP's other programs, particularly the E.O. 11246 supply and service
program, as Section 503 compliance evaluations are conducted
concurrently with that program.
As noted under the supply and service ICR (OMB No. 1250-0003), the
older the data the greater the chances are that more qualified workers
are victims of discrimination and that the discrimination continues for
a longer period. A consequence of such older data may be that the scope
of the violation, resulting harm and the overall burden of contractor
compliance are greater.
7. Special Circumstances for the Collection of Information
There are no special circumstances for the collection of this
information.
8. Consultation Outside the Agency
OFCCP publishes all regulations containing recordkeeping or
reporting requirements in the Federal Register for public comment
before agency adoption. In addition, OFCCP maintains an ongoing
dialogue, through compliance assistance, with contractor groups on a
number of compliance issues, among them reporting and recordkeeping.
OFCCP will address comments received from the public under this
paragraph at the end of the 60-day Federal Register comment period.
9. Gift Giving
OFCCP provides neither payments nor gifts to respondents.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality
Contractors who submit the required information may view it as
sensitive information. OFCCP will evaluate all information pursuant to
the public inspection and disclosure provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, and the Department of Labor's
implementing regulations at 29 CFR part 70. OFCCP requires that a
contractor affected by a FOIA disclosure request be notified in writing
and no decision to disclose information is made until the contractor
has an opportunity to submit objections to the release of the
information. Furthermore, it is OFCCP's position that it does not
release any data obtained during the course of a compliance evaluation
until the matter is completed.
11. Sensitive Questions
Section 503 requires contractors to provide a form to applicants
and employees asking them to voluntarily self-identify as an individual
with a disability and informing them of their right to request
reasonable accommodation, if it is needed. This data is necessary to
enable OFCCP to assess contractors' compliance with Section 503 and
ensure that individuals with disabilities are being accorded equal
employment opportunity. The information will also enable contractors to
assess their utilization of qualified individuals with disabilities and
their outreach efforts and recruitment of such individuals with
disabilities. The form states clearly that the submission of the
requested information is voluntary, and that the data is collected and
maintained strictly for affirmative action purposes and will otherwise
be kept confidential. Race and sex data are not required under the
Section 503 regulations.
12. Estimate of Annual Information Collection Burden
The following is a summary of the methodology for the calculation
of the recordkeeping and third party disclosure requirements for
OFCCP's Section 503 ICR.
As noted at the beginning of this supporting statement, the total
in combined recordkeeping and third party disclosure burden hours for
this ICR (4,392,369) is less than the total number of hours approved in
2014 (10,229,910), as detailed in Sec. 15 below.
A. Information Collections
Standard Form--Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability
Pursuant to Sec. 60-741.42, contractors use the standard form
entitled ``Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability'' to invite
applicants, hires, and employees to identify as an individual with a
disability pre-offer, post-offer, and through periodic invitations to
all employees.
Section 60-741.42(a) requires contractors to extend a pre-offer
invitation to self-identify as an ``individual with a disability.'' In
the previous information collection, OFCCP estimated that contractors
working at the company level will take 1.5 hours to review and retrieve
existing sample invitations to self-identify, adopt the sample ``as
is'' or make revisions to their existing form, save the invitation to
self-identify and incorporate the document in the contractor's
application form. Existing contractors will no longer need to take
these steps to comply with the pre-offer invitation requirement, so the
estimated burden in this information collection applies to only new
contractor parent companies, or 1 percent of the 23,960 contractor
companies. The burden for this provision is 360 hours (240 new
contractor companies x 1.5 hours = 360 hours).
Applicants for available positions with covered contractors will
have a minimal burden complying with Sec. 60-741.42(a) in the course
of completing their application for employment with the contractor.
Section 60-741.42(a), on pre-offer self-identification, requires
contractors to invite all applicants to self-identify whether or not
they are an individual with a disability. OFCCP estimates that there
will be an average of 24 applicants per job vacancy for on average 15
vacancies per year. OFCCP further estimates that it will take
applicants approximately 5 minutes to complete the form. The burden for
this provision is 3,474,930 hours (115,831 contractor establishments x
15 listings x 24 applicants x 5 minutes/60 = 3,474,930 hours). This is
a third-party disclosure.
In the previous information collection, OFCCP estimated that it
will
[[Page 58976]]
take contractors 1.5 hours to conduct the invitation to self-identify
employee survey. This includes the time needed to set up procedures to
conduct the invitation, distribute communications, and collect and
track self-identification forms. OFCCP believed this process would
become much more streamlined over time and require significantly less
than 1.5 hours in subsequent years. Therefore, for this information
collection, OFCCP estimates that it will take contractors 1 hour to
conduct the invitation to self-identify survey. Contractors are
required to conduct the survey at five-year intervals. The estimated
annual burden for this provision is 23,166 hours (115,831 contractor
establishments x 1 hour/5 years = 23,166 hours).
Contractor employees will have to spend some time reviewing and/or
completing the survey. There are approximately 31,626,890 contractor
employees. OFCCP estimates that employees will take 5 minutes to
complete the self-identification form. The burden for this provision,
assuming every employee completes the form, is 527,115 hours
((31,626,890 employees x 5 minutes/60)/5 years = 527,115 hours).
Utilizing Bureau of Labor Statistics data in the publication ``Employer
Costs for Employee Compensation'' (December 2015), which lists an
average total compensation for all civilian workers as $33.58 per hour,
the cost of this provision would be $17,700,521.70. This is a third-
party disclosure.
OFCCP further estimates that it will take contractors 15 minutes to
maintain self-identification forms. This time includes either manually
storing the forms in a filing cabinet or saving them to an electronic
database. The burden for this provision is 28,958 hours (115,831
contractor establishments x 15 minutes/60 = 28,958 hours).
Section 60-741.44 Required Contents of the Affirmative Action Program
OMB Control Number 1250-0004 contains the burden estimates for
documenting and maintaining material evidence of annually updating and,
for new contractors, developing parts of a joint Section 503 and VEVRAA
affirmative action program. Therefore, there is no additional burden
for those parts of the Section 503 AAP in this information collection
request. OFCCP separately identifies provisions below that are not
included in burden estimates currently approved by 1250-0004.
Section 60-741.44(f) External Dissemination of Policy, Outreach and
Positive Recruitment
Section 60-741.44(f)(1)(ii) requires contractors to send written
notification of the company's affirmative action program policies to
subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers. Section 60-300.44(f)(1)(ii) of
the VEVRAA regulations also requires contractors to send written
notification of the company policy related to its affirmative action
efforts to all subcontractors, including subcontracting vendors and
suppliers. OFCCP therefore expects that contractors will send a single,
combined notice, informing subcontractors, vendors and suppliers of
their VEVRAA and Section 503 policies. Accordingly, OFCCP estimates
that there is no additional burden for this provision than what was
already calculated in the companion ICR for VEVRAA Recordkeeping
Requirements (OMB No. 1250-0004).
Section 60-741.44(f)(4) requires a contractor to document all
outreach activities it undertakes for individuals with disabilities,
and retain these documents for a period of 3 years. OFCCP estimates
that it will take contractors 10 minutes to maintain the outreach and
recruitment documentation that would typically be generated as a result
of their obligations pursuant to other provisions in the regulations.
This does not include any additional time to make the software
configuration needed on the contractor's computer system to store data
for an additional year, as this burden was previously accounted for in
the VEVRAA ICR's burden analysis of Sec. 60-300.80(b). Therefore, the
recurring burden for this provision is 19,305 hours (115,831 contractor
establishments x 10 minutes/60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60-741.44(h) Audit and Reporting System
Section 60-741.44(h)(1)(vi) requires contractors to document the
actions taken to meet the requirements of 60-741.44(h), as mandated in
the current regulations. OFCCP estimates that it will take contractors
10 minutes to document compliance with this existing provision.
Documentation may include, as an example, the standard operating
procedure of the system including roles and responsibilities, and audit
and reporting timeframes and lifecycles. The annual recordkeeping
burden of this provision is 19,305 hours (115,831 contractor
establishments x 10 minutes/60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60-741.44(k) Data Collection and Analysis
Section 60-741.44(k) requires contractors to collect and analyze
certain categories of data. OFCCP believes that most contractors have
the capability to conduct the required calculations electronically.
However, some companies may have to calculate this information
manually. Therefore, OFCCP estimates that the average time to conduct
the analysis and maintain the relevant documentation would be 1 hour 25
minutes. Relevant documentation could include the report or other
written documentation generated by the calculations that explain the
methodology, the data used, and the findings and conclusions; the data
used to conduct the calculations for subsequent validation of the
results; and other material used by the contractor for the
calculations. The recurring burden for this provision is 164,094 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments x 85 minutes/60 = 164,094 hours).
Section 60-741.45 Utilization Goal
Section 60-741.45 requires contractors to conduct a utilization
analysis to evaluate the representation of individuals with
disabilities in each job group within the contractor's workforce with
the utilization goal established in paragraph (a) of this section.
OFCCP estimates that contractors will take 1 hour to conduct the
utilization analysis. The burden for this provision is 115,831 hours
(115,831 contractor establishments x 1 hour = 115,831 hours).
OFCCP further estimates that it will take contractors an additional
10 minutes to maintain records of the utilization analysis. The
recordkeeping burden is 19,305 hours (115,831 contractor establishments
x 10 minutes/60 = 19,305 hours).
Section 60-741.81 Access to Records
Section 60-741.81 requires contractors who are the subject of a
compliance evaluation or complaint investigation to specify all
available record formats and allow OFCCP to select preferred record
formats from those identified by the contractor during a compliance
evaluation. Pursuant to the regulations implementing the PRA at 5 CFR
1320.4(a)(2), this information collection is excluded from the PRA
requirements because it is related to an ``administrative action,
investigation, or audit involving an agency against specific
individuals or entities.''
B. Summary of Costs
The estimated recordkeeping cost to contractors is based on Bureau
of Labor
[[Page 58977]]
Statistics data in the publication ``Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation'' (December 2015), which lists total compensation for
management, professional, and related occupations as $55.47 per hour
and administrative support as $24.75 per hour. OFCCP estimates that 52
percent of the burden hours will be management, professional, and
related occupations and 48 percent will be administrative support, for
a weighted average of $40.72 per burden hour.
Table 1--Summary of Recordkeeping Burden Hours and Costs for Contractors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirements Burden hours Burden costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
741.42 (Employee Survey)............ 23,166 $943,319.52
741.42 (Modifying Application 360 14,659.20
System)............................
741.42 (Self-Identification 28,958 1,179,169.76
Recordkeeping).....................
741.44(f)(4) (Recordkeeping Outreach 19,305 786,099.60
Activities)........................
741.44(h) (Recordkeeping Affirmative 19,305 786,099.60
Action Program Audit)..............
741.44(k) (Data Collection and 164,094 6,681,907.68
Analysis)..........................
741.45 (Utilization Analysis)....... 115,831 4,716,638.32
741.45 (Utilization Analysis 19,305 786,099.60
Recordkeeping).....................
-----------------------------------
Total........................... 390,324 15,893,993.28
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2--Summary of Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours and Costs for
Contractors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Burden hours Burden costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
741.42 (Employee Survey)........ 527,115 $17,700,521.70
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The estimated cost for contractor employees to complete the self-
identification survey is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data in
the publication ``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' (December
2015), which lists an average total hourly compensation for all
civilian workers of $33.58.
Table 3--Summary of Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours and Costs for
Non-Contractors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Burden hours Burden costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 60-741.42 (Self- 3,474,930 $116,688,149.40
Identification)................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total estimated cost for applicants to fill out the self-
identification form is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data in the
publication ``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' (December
2015), which lists an average total hourly compensation for all
civilian workers of $33.58.
Table 4--Total Burden for Sec. Sec. 60-741.42; 60-741.44; and 60-
741.45
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recordkeeping Burden Hours.............................. 390,324
Reporting Burden Hours.................................. 0
Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours..................... 4,002,045
Total Burden Hours...................................... 4,392,369
------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Operations and Maintenance Costs
OFCCP estimates that contractors will have some operations and
maintenance costs in addition to the burden calculated above.
60-741.42 Invitation to Self Identify
OFCCP estimates that the contractor will have some operations and
maintenance cost associated with the invitations to self-identify. The
contractor must invite all applicants to self-identify at both the pre-
offer and post-offer stage of the employment process. Given the
increasingly widespread use of electronic applications, any contractor
that uses such applications would not incur copy costs. However, to
account for contractors who may still choose to use paper applications,
we are including printing and/or copying costs. Therefore, we estimate
a single one page form for both the pre- and post-offer invitation.
Assuming 20 percent of all contractors will use a paper-based
application system, and receive 24 applications for an average of 15
listings per establishment, the minimum estimated total cost to
contractors will be $667,186.56 ((115,831 establishments x 20 percent)
x 360 copies x $0.08 = $667,186.56).
14. Estimate of Annual Cost to Federal Government
OFCCP associates no unique federal costs with this information
collection. OMB Control Numbers 1250-0001 and 1250-0003 currently
include the annual costs of federal contractor compliance evaluations
to ensure their compliance with the information collection requirements
contained herein.
15. Changes in Burden Hours
OFCCP is requesting OMB approval of 4,392,369 burden hours. The
2014 clearance contained approval of 10,229,910 hours. The decrease in
hours of the current request is attributable largely to OFCCP's
proposal to use data from EEO-1 Reports to determine the number of
covered contractors and contractor establishments instead of the
methodology used in the previous information collection, which averaged
data from multiple sources. EEO-1 data from FY 2014 shows 23,960
contractor parent companies filed reports, with 115,831 total
contractor establishments. These numbers are significantly less than
the estimates used in the previous information collection (57,104
contractor companies and 211,287 contractor establishments).
OFCCP believes that the EEO-1 Report provides the more accurate
estimate of contractors and establishments covered by this Section 503
information collection. Section 60-1.7 requires specified Federal prime
[[Page 58978]]
contractors and subcontractors to file an EEO-1 Report annually.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and
OFCCP use EEO-1 Report data to analyze employment patterns for women
and minorities and as a civil rights enforcement tool. OMB approved
the EEO-1 Report information collection under OMB No. 3046-0007. The
information collection can be viewed at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201412-3046-001. It is currently in the
renewal process, and OMB most recently approved an extension of the
ICR expiration date of October 31, 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employers use the EEO-1 Report (question 3) to self-identify as
contractors and subcontractors and indicate whether they meet the
thresholds under E.O. 11246 for AAP coverage: 50 or more employees and
$50,000 or more contract value.\11\ This employee and contract value
threshold is the same jurisdictional threshold for AAP coverage under
Section 503. Thus, the number of contractors identified in the EEO-1
Reports should be equal to the number of contractors required to
establish a Section 503 AAP, making the EEO-1 Reports the most accurate
source for estimating the number of covered contractors subject to this
information collection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ 41 CFR 60-1.7--Reports and other required information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the previous information collection approved in 2014 and in the
Section 503 final rule published in September 2013, OFCCP had estimated
the number of affected contractors and establishments to be 57,104 and
211,287, respectively. OFCCP now believes that these figures are an
overestimate of the number of contractors with recordkeeping and third
party disclosure burdens under this information collection. The numbers
estimated in the final rule derived from a combination of data from FY
2009 EEO-1 Reports, the Federal Procurement Data System, the Veterans
Employment and Training Services annual report, and other sources. See
78 FR 58729. The data from these sources is no longer current.
Moreover, the methodology used to arrive at the estimates was based in
large part on how OFCCP develops its Scheduling List of contractors for
compliance evaluations. OFCCP develops its list of contractors for
scheduling compliance evaluations by using multiple sources of
information such as Federal acquisition and procurement databases, EEO-
1 Reports, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) data, and the U.S. Census Bureau
tabulations. Statistical thresholds such as industry type and employee
counts of contractor establishments are also used. The list may be
further refined by applying a number of neutral factors such as
contract expiration date and contract value on the number of
establishments per contractor that will be scheduled in any one cycle.
This methodology is appropriate for scheduling compliance evaluations,
but it does not accurately reflect the number of contractors required
to develop AAPs.
This distinction is recognized in the most recent Scheduling Letter
and Itemized Listing ICR (Control Number 1250-0003), in which OFCCP
estimated the number of contractors required to develop AAPs under E.O.
11246 using data from only the EEO-1 Reports, instead of the more
complex methodology OFCCP uses to create its Scheduling Letter and
Itemized Listing. Thus, to be consistent with that approach, OFCCP will
now use data from only the EEO-1 Reports to estimate the number of
contractors affected by this information collection, which consists of
recordkeeping and third part disclosures resulting from the Section 503
AAP requirements.
In addition, the decrease in burden hours is a result of
adjustments in the estimated time contractors need to complete the
employee self-identification survey, to account for the five-year
interval between having to conduct surveys, and for certain
requirements in the Section 503 regulations that are only applicable to
new contractors.
A summary of the change in hours is below.
a. Recordkeeping Burden Hours
The previous submission included 862,756 hours. The current request
is 390,324 hours for an adjustment decrease of 472,432 hours. This
decrease is a result of the use of the contractor totals from the EEO-1
Reports data, discussed above, as well as adjustments in the time
estimated for contractors to conduct the invitation to self-identify
survey under section 60-741.42(a), to reflect that the survey is to be
completed at five-year intervals, and to account for requirements that
are applicable only to new contractors.
b. Third Party Disclosure Burden Hours
The previous submission included 9,367,154 hours. The current
request is 4,002,045 hours for an adjustment decrease of 5,365,109
hours. This decrease is primarily a result of the use of the contractor
totals from the EEO-1 Reports data, discussed above, as well as an
adjustment to account for the requirement that contractor employees are
invited to complete the self-identification survey only once every five
years.
c. Other Burden Hours and Costs
The previous submission included 1,556,089 hours in initial capital
or start-up costs and $1,217,002 in printing/copying costs. The current
request no longer includes any initial capital and start-up costs, and
estimates $667,186.56 for printing/copying. This is an adjustment
decrease of 1,556,089 hours and $549,815.44. This decrease in printing/
copying costs is exclusively a result of the use of the contractor
totals from the EEO-1 Reports data, discussed above.
16. Statistical Uses and Publication of Data
OFCCP does not publish the data collected by way of the items
contained in this request as statistical tables.
17. Approval not to Display the Expiration Date
OFCCP is not seeking such approval.
18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement
OFCCP is able to certify compliance with all provisions.
B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
This information collection does not employ statistical methods.
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[FR Doc. 2016-20469 Filed 8-25-16; 8:45 a.m.]
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