Overtime and Holiday Inspection Fee Reductions for Small and Very Small Establishments, 37276-37280 [2021-15011]
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[FR Doc. 2021–15012 Filed 7–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS–2021–0014]
Overtime and Holiday Inspection Fee
Reductions for Small and Very Small
Establishments
Food Safety and Inspection
Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In the American Rescue Plan
Act, enacted on March 11, 2021,
Congress provided the Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) with $100
million in budget authority to reduce
the costs of overtime inspection for
small and very small official meat and
poultry establishments and egg products
plants. FSIS will implement this
provision by reducing overtime and
holiday inspection fees for small
establishments by 30 percent and very
small establishments by 75 percent.
FSIS has developed an Overtime/
Holiday Rate Reduction form that
official establishments will need to
submit to request an overtime or holiday
inspection fee reduction. FSIS will
review the form to determine whether
an establishment qualifies for the fee
reduction. This notice contains
information on how to complete and
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SUMMARY:
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submit the form to FSIS and describes
the procedures FSIS will follow to
implement the American Rescue Plan
Act’s overtime and holiday inspection
fee reduction provisions.
DATES: Establishments are encouraged to
submit their completed Overtime/
Holiday Rate Reduction forms by
August 16, 2021 to expedite the process.
However, establishments may submit
their forms at any time. All
establishments that submit their forms
by March 11, 2022, and that qualify for
a fee reduction, will receive a partial
refund for overtime and holiday
inspection fees paid since October 11,
2020, i.e., the first day of the pay period
after beginning of Fiscal Year 2021.
ADDRESSES: Small and very small
establishments should submit their
completed forms to the FSIS inspection
personnel assigned to their
establishment or, alternatively, FAX the
completed form to the appropriate FSIS
District Office, ‘‘Attention Grant
Curator.’’ Contact information for the
FSIS District Offices, including FAX
numbers, is available at: https://
www.fsis.usda.gov/contactus/fsisoffices/office-field-operations-ofo.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rachel Edelstein, Assistant
Administrator, Office of Policy and
Program Development by telephone at
(202) 205–0495.
For billing issues and to request
refunds contact the Financial Service
Center Customer Contact Center: (515)
334–2000 option 1 or email at
fsis.billing@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Federal Meat Inspection Act
(FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA)
(21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) provide for
mandatory Federal inspection of
livestock and poultry slaughtered at
official establishments and of meat
(including Siluriformes) and poultry
processed at official establishments. The
Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21
U.S.C. 1031 et seq.) provides for
mandatory inspection of egg products
processed at official plants. Although
firms that process egg products are
defined as ‘‘plants’’ by the EPIA, when
generally discussing businesses affected
by the American Rescue Plan Act in this
document, we will refer to them as
‘‘establishments.’’ Under the FMIA,
PPIA, and EPIA, FSIS bears the cost of
mandatory inspection provided during
non-overtime and non-holiday hours of
operation, while official meat, poultry
and egg product establishments are
required to pay for inspection services
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requested and performed on an overtime
basis or on holidays (21 U.S.C. 468, 21
U.S.C. 695, and 21 U.S.C. 1053)).
FSIS’ regulations (9 CFR 391.3,
590.126, and 590.128) contain formulas
for calculating fees for overtime and
holiday inspection. FSIS uses these
formulas and publishes annual rates in
the Federal Register before the start of
each calendar year (see 85 FR 79992).
FSIS applies the rates on the first FSIS
pay period at the beginning of the
calendar year. The overtime and holiday
fees apply to all establishments
regardless of their size and average
annual sales.
The overtime and holiday inspection
fees for all establishments may have a
disproportionate financial impact on
small and very small establishments
compared to large establishments that
can more easily absorb the extra charges
due to their production volume.
Additionally, large establishments often
operate a full second shift, giving them
a total of 16 hours instead of 8 hours of
inspection per day before they would
have to pay for overtime. Higher
production volume and operation of a
second shift without additional cost for
large establishments may put smaller
establishments at a competitive
disadvantage. The resulting additional
cost per pound of product caused by
overtime and holiday fees is much
higher for smaller establishments. Thus,
the full fees may hamper their ability to
continue to operate, be competitive, and
expand operations.
II. Funding and Fee Reductions
In the American Rescue Plan Act of
2021 (Pub. L. 117–2, 135 Stat. 242),
Congress provided FSIS with $100
million in budget authority to reduce
the costs of overtime inspection for
federally-inspected small and very small
meat, poultry, and egg products
establishments. Under the American
Rescue Plan Act, the definitions of
‘‘small establishment’’ and ‘‘very small
establishment’’ have the meaning given
to those terms in FSIS’ final rule
‘‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Point (HACCP)’’
(PR/HACCP)(61 FR 38806, July 25,
1996). These definitions, and
refinements for assessing the number of
establishment employees and average
annual sales that FSIS has made for
purposes of implementing the overtime
and holiday inspection fee reduction,
are discussed in more detail in the
‘‘Eligibility’’ and ‘‘Overtime/Holiday
Rate Reduction form’’ sections below.
Although the American Rescue Plan
Act did not include specific amounts for
the overtime and holiday fee reduction,
in a March 15, 2021 letter to Secretary
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Vilsack, four members of Congress
urged the Secretary to prioritize
reducing overtime and holiday
inspection fees for very small and small
official establishments based off the
provisions included in legislation
introduced in the 116th Congress, the
Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee
Relief for COVID–19 Act of 2020.1 As
noted in the letter, this proposed
legislation would direct ‘‘USDA–FSIS to
reduce the fees charged to very small
establishments by at least 75 percent
and to small establishments by at least
30 percent.’’ The Congressional
representatives explained that these fee
reductions are necessary to address the
economic disincentives currently in
place for small and very small official
establishments to work longer hours.
They also stated that these fee
reductions would help to reduce the
disparity between very small and small
establishments versus large
establishments that are able to avoid
overtime inspection fees because they
have the capacity to operate two full
shifts.
Because the FMIA, PPIA, and EPIA
require that official establishments pay
for overtime and holiday inspection,
FSIS is obligated to charge small and
very small establishments for these
types of inspection services (21 U.S.C.
468, 21 U.S.C. 695, and 21 U.S.C. 1053).
Thus, providing a fee exemption to
these establishments is not an option.
Instead, FSIS will use the authority to
reduce overtime and holiday inspection
fees granted to the Agency by the
American Rescue Plan Act to reduce
overtime and holiday inspection fees for
small establishments by 30 percent and
very small establishments by 75 percent.
Consistent with the law, FSIS will offer
overtime and holiday inspection at the
reduced fees from FY 2021 to FY 2030,
or until all appropriated funds for
overtime and holiday inspection are
expended.
III. Eligibility
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Only small and very small official
meat, poultry, or egg products
establishments are eligible to receive
1 March 15, 2021, letter to Secretary Vilsack
available at: https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/
_cache/files/0/f/0f4997fc-e4ad-4d6f-9ef4b22ed44806b8/98F78F4F910F5AD3F9FC0F0
F5269FA1C.small-packer-overtime-letter-to-vilsack3.15.21.pdf.
H.R.6977—Small Packer Overtime and Holiday
Fee Relief for COVID–19 Act of 2020 (116th
Congress 2019–2020) available at: https://
www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/
6977.
S–3797—Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee
Relief for COVID–19 Act of 2020 (116th Congress
2019–2020 available at: https://www.congress.gov/
bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3797.
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overtime and holiday inspection at the
reduced rates discussed above. For
purposes of determining eligibility, an
official establishment is defined as any
entity that slaughters livestock or
poultry and/or processes meat, poultry,
or egg products at which inspection is
required by the FMIA, PPIA, or EPIA.
Facilities that receive voluntary
inspection services, establishments that
function solely as Official Import
Inspection Establishments, or solely as
exporting facilities are not eligible for
the fee reduction.
As noted above, under the American
Rescue Plan Act, ‘‘small establishment’’
and ‘‘very small establishment’’ have
the meaning given to those terms in
FSIS’ PR/HACCP final rule (see 61 FR
38806 and Pub. L. 117–2). As defined in
the PR/HACCP final rule, an
establishment is ‘‘small’’ if it has 10 or
more but fewer than 500 employees, and
an establishment is ‘‘very small’’ if it
has fewer than 10 employees or less
than $2.5 million in annual sales (61 FR
38806). Employees mean all individuals
employed on a full-time, part-time,
temporary, or other basis. The American
Rescue Plan Act directs USDA to
‘‘reduce the amount of overtime
inspection costs borne by federallyinspected small and very small
establishments engaged in meat,
poultry, and egg product processing’’
subject to the FMIA, PPIA, and EPIA,
providing the Secretary with discretion
to determine how to implement the
reductions (American Rescue Plan Act
of 2021, § 1001(d)).
The Secretary has determined that
§ 1001(d) forecloses USDA from offering
overtime discounts to establishments
that are not ‘‘small establishments’’ or
‘‘very small establishments,’’ as defined
in the PR/HACCP final rule. But
Congress did not specify how the
overtime discounts should be divided
among small and very small
establishments. This leaves it to the
Secretary’s discretion to determine
which individual establishments will
receive the discounts. Because the Act
grants the Secretary such broad
discretion and because funds for
reducing overtime and holiday
inspection costs are limited, FSIS will
apply the terms ‘‘small establishment’’
and ‘‘very small establishment,’’ as
defined in the PR/HACCP final rule, so
as to reduce overtime and holiday
inspection fees only for small and very
small establishments unaffiliated with
multiple or large businesses in a way
that would effectively place them
within the large establishment
definition. Otherwise, providing
overtime and holiday inspection fee
reductions to any establishment that
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simply meets the numerical definitions
of ‘‘very small’’ and ‘‘small’’ in the PR/
HACCP final rule would result in the
diversion of some of the assistance
funding to large businesses, depriving
small and very small establishments of
the maximum funding available.
Therefore, an application of the PR/
HACCP final rule business size
categories that considers affiliation with
multiple or large businesses is
consistent with the intent of the relevant
provisions of the American Rescue Plan
Act, i.e., to assist very small and small
businesses often disparately affected by
the COVID–19 pandemic. The definition
of an affiliated company and the method
FSIS will use to assess the number of
establishment employees and average
annual sales for purposes of the fee
reduction are discussed in more detail
below.
IV. Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction
Form
As noted above, FSIS has developed
an Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction
form to collect information to determine
whether an establishment inspected by
FSIS qualifies for an overtime and
holiday inspection fee reduction and, if
so, the amount of the reduction. FSIS
has developed this new form because
the Agency currently does not have
complete data on establishment size and
average annual sales, and the form will
allow the Agency to collect information
to determine whether an establishment
is a subsidiary, affiliate, or part of some
other business structure that would
prevent it from being eligible for a fee
reduction. The form also serves as an
attestation from the establishment that
the data provided are accurate. The form
is optional in that those small and very
small establishments that do not use
overtime or holiday inspection services,
or that are not interested in receiving a
fee reduction, are not required to
complete it. However, small and very
small official establishments that would
like to request a fee reduction must
complete the form to receive the benefit.
In addition to the definitions for
‘‘official establishment’’ and
‘‘employees’’ discussed above, the form
includes definitions for ‘‘affiliated
companies’’ and ‘‘company’’ for
purposes of determining whether an
official establishment qualifies for a fee
reduction. For purposes of the form,
companies are considered affiliated
with each other when one controls the
other or a third-party controls both. It
does not matter whether control is
exercised, so long as the power to
control exists. For example, a corporate
company that owns one or more
establishments is affiliated with those
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establishments, and the establishments
are affiliated with the corporate
company and each other. Affiliated
companies can be domestic or foreign.
Affiliated companies do not typically
include entities that perform contracted
administrative services, including
human resource support and cleaning
services, as defined by the Small
Business Administration (SBA) in 13
CFR 121.103. For purposes of the form,
a ‘‘company’’ is any organization or
entity (including an establishment) that
buys or sells good or services. A
company may be organized in various
forms, including partnerships and
corporations, and can be privately held
or publicly traded.
To complete the form, establishments
must answer a series of questions
designed to collect data on the total
number of employees employed by the
establishment and any affiliated
companies, as well as the average
annual sales for the establishment. As
stated in the form, the number of
employees is the average number of
employees. The average is calculated by
summing the number of employees at
the end of each pay period over the
preceding 52 weeks and dividing by the
total number of pay periods. In addition,
for purposes of the form, establishments
should determine their annual average
sales based on their sales over the past
five years or, for establishments that
have been in business for less than five
years, on the number of years they have
been in business. This is consistent with
the SBA’s regulations for calculating a
business’s annual receipts (13 CFR
121.104). Thus, under this approach, the
average annual sales of an establishment
that has been in business for five or
more completed fiscal years means the
establishment’s total sales over its most
recently completed five fiscal years
divided by five. Establishments that
have been in business fewer than five
years should use the annual sales for
their fully completed years in business
divided by their number of fully
completed fiscal years. Because FSIS
intends to use data collected on the
form to determine whether an official
establishment is qualified for a rate
reduction and the amount of the
reduction, the establishment must also
attest that data provided are accurate.
Official establishments that are not
affiliated with other companies will
only need to report the number of
employees employed by the
establishment and whether the
establishment’s average annual sales are
less than $2.5 million or $2.5 million or
more.
Establishments may obtain an
Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form
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from the FSIS inspection personnel
assigned to the establishment or may
download and print the form from
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/
files/2021-07/FSIS-5200-16OvertimeHolidayRateReductionForm_
v6-4re508.pdf. At this time, FSIS will
only be accepting paper forms, but will
work to provide for electronic
submission in the future.
Establishments should submit the
completed paper form to the FSIS front
line supervisor assigned to the
establishment. The frontline supervisor
will submit the completed form to the
District Office for processing.
Alternatively, establishments that prefer
to submit the form themselves may FAX
the completed form to the appropriate
District Office, ‘‘Attention Grant
Curator.’’
Submission dates and refunds.
Establishments are encouraged to
submit their completed Overtime/
Holiday Rate Reduction forms as soon
as possible but no later than August 16,
2021 to expedite the process. All
establishments that submit their forms
by March 11, 2022,2 and that qualify for
a fee reduction will receive a partial
refund for overtime and holiday
inspection fees paid since October 11,
2020, i.e., the first day of the first pay
period in fiscal year 2021.
Establishments may request that FSIS
provide the refund as a lump sum or as
a credit to be applied to future overtime
and holiday inspection fees. After
March 11, 2022, FSIS will continue to
reduce holiday and overtime inspection
fees for establishments that qualify but
will no longer provide partial refunds
for fees paid since October 11, 2020.
Establishments may submit a benefit
eligibility form to request an overtime
and holiday inspection fee reduction at
any time. If the establishment qualifies
for a fee reduction and submits its form
after March 11, 2022, it will receive the
reduction beginning on the date it
submitted its benefit eligibility form,
provided appropriated funds are still
available. As noted above, FSIS will
offer overtime and holiday inspection at
the reduced rates from FY 2021 to FY
2030, or until all appropriated funds for
overtime and holiday inspection are
expended.
V. Determining Establishment
Eligibility and Fee Reduction
After an establishment’s completed
Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form
is received by the District Office, the
District Office’s Grant Curator will
2 March 11, 2022 is one year from the date the
American Rescue Plan Act was enacted: March 11,
2021.
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review the form to determine whether
an official establishment is eligible for
an overtime and holiday inspection fee
reduction and, if so, whether the
establishment qualifies for the small
establishment or very small
establishment reduced fee.
When reviewing an establishment’s
form, the Grant Curator will first assess
the information to determine whether
the establishment is affiliated with other
companies, including other
establishments. If the establishment is
affiliated with other companies and the
total number of employees employed by
the establishment and its affiliated
companies is less than 500, the
establishment would qualify for an
overtime and holiday inspection fee
reduction. If the establishment together
with its affiliated companies employ
500 or more employees, the
establishment would not qualify for a
fee reduction.
If an establishment qualifies for a fee
reduction, the Grant Curator will
conduct an additional review to
determine if the establishment qualifies
for the small establishment or very
small establishment reduction rate. The
amount of the fee reduction will be
based on the number of employees or
average annual sales for the
establishment as a discrete entity
without considering employees or
average annual sales associated with
any affiliated companies. Thus, if the
establishment itself employs fewer than
10 employees or has less than $2.5
million in average annual sales, the
establishment would qualify as a ‘‘very
small establishment’’ for purposes of the
fee reduction and would receive a 75
percent reduction on overtime and
holiday inspection fees. The
establishment would qualify for the
‘‘very small establishment’’ fee
reduction even if the total number of
employees employed by all affiliated
companies is over 10, but less than 500,
and if the average annual sales for all
affiliated companies is greater than $2.5
million. If the establishment employs
more than 10 employees but fewer than
500 employees and its annual average
sales are greater than $2.5 million, it
would qualify as a ‘‘small
establishment’’ for purposes of the fee
reduction and would receive a 30
percent reduction on overtime and
holiday inspection fees. This approach
will allow FSIS to maintain and update
individual establishment HACCP size
information in the Public Health
Information System (PHIS), while also
providing the greatest fee reductions to
those establishments that would benefit
the most. See Table 1 for an overview
of applicant establishments that qualify
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for a fee reduction and the amount of
their reduction.
TABLE 1—OVERTIME AND HOLIDAY INSPECTION RATE REDUCTION: ELIGIBILITY AND FEE REDUCTION
Applicant average # of
employees
Applicant + affiliated
companies average #
of employees
Applicant HACCP
size in PHIS
Applicant average
annual income
≤ 9 ..............................
≤ 9 ..............................
≥10 and ≤ 499 ............
≤ 9 ..............................
≥10 and ≤ 499 ............
≥10 and ≤ 499 ............
≥10 and ≤ 499 ............
≥ 500 ..........................
≤ 9 .............................
≥10 and ≤ 499 ..........
≥10 and ≤ 499 ..........
≥ 500 .........................
≥10 and ≤ 499 ..........
≥ 500 .........................
≥ 500 .........................
≥500 ..........................
VS .............................
VS .............................
VS .............................
VS .............................
S ................................
VS .............................
S ................................
L ................................
Any ............................
Any ............................
<2.5 million ................
N/A ............................
≥2.5 million ................
<2.5 million ................
≥2.5 million ................
N/A ............................
Establishments that have questions
regarding their eligibility for a fee
reduction should contact their FSIS
District Office. Contact information for
the FSIS District Offices is available at:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/contactus/
fsis-offices/office-field-operations-ofo.
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Fee Reduction Eligibility Renewal, New
Establishments, and Change in Amount
of Fee Reduction
At a set date every three years, FSIS
will request that establishments
receiving an overtime and holiday
inspection fee reduction reaffirm their
fee reduction eligibility through a
notification to FSIS. FSIS will verify
information provided by establishments
to ensure that establishments remain
eligible for the fee reduction. The first
fee reduction renewal date will be June
30, 2024, which will be effective the
first full pay period (approximately two
weeks) after July 1, 2024, and every
three years after that. When it is time for
establishments to renew their fee
reduction eligibility, FSIS will include a
reminder to reaffirm the Overtime/
Holiday Rate Reduction in the
establishment’s account statement with
instructions on how to submit the
information to FSIS. The fee reduction
eligibility forms also will continue to be
available by request from FSIS
inspection personnel and online.
Establishments must reaffirm their
status by the renewal date to continue
to receive the fee reduction. Thus, for
the first renewal date, if an
establishment has not reaffirmed its
eligibility for fee reduction by June 30,
2024, FSIS will begin billing the full
overtime and holiday inspection rate on
the next full pay period after July 1,
2024. If an establishment reaffirms its
eligibility after the June 30, 2024,
renewal date and continues to qualify
for a fee reduction, FSIS will apply the
fee reduction as soon as possible after
the reaffirmation is received.
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New establishments that apply for a
grant of inspection before June 30, 2024,
and would like to request a holiday and
overtime fee reduction should submit an
Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form
along with their application for a
Federal grant of inspection. If the
establishment qualifies for a fee
reduction, FSIS will apply the fee
reduction when it issues the
establishment’s grant of inspection.
Such establishments also will need to
reaffirm their fee reduction eligibility by
the June 30, 2024, renewal date to
continue to receive the fee reduction
benefit.
An establishment that has a change
that would affect its eligibility or the
amount of its fee reduction, e.g., a small
establishment has a reduction in
employees or annual sales such that it
qualifies as very small, must submit a
new Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction
form to FSIS as close as possible to the
time the change occurs so that the
Agency may make the associated change
to the establishment’s fee reduction.
FSIS also will apply any new fee
reduction to qualified establishments as
soon as possible after it is notified of the
change. Establishments that submit
forms attesting to a change in eligibility
prior to June 30, 2024, will still be
required to reaffirm their eligibility by
the June 30, 2024 renewal date to
continue to receive a fee reduction.
Persons making false, fictitious, or
fraudulent statements or entries on the
form are subject to a $10,000 fine or
imprisonment for not more than 5 years
or both as prescribed by 18 U.S.C. 1001.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with section 3507(d) of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
the information collection or
recordkeeping requirements included in
this notice have been submitted for
approval to OMB.
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Applicant + affiliated
companies average
annual income
Any
Any
Any
N/A
Any
N/A
N/A
N/A
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
Applicant eligibility for
rate reduction/
percentage
Yes/75%.
Yes/75%.
Yes/75%.
No.
Yes/30%.
No.
No.
No.
Title: Overtime and Holiday
Inspection Fees for Small and Very
Small Establishments.
Type of Request: Request for a new
information collection.
Abstract: FSIS has been delegated the
authority to exercise the functions of the
Secretary (7 CFR 2.18, 2.53), as specified
in the Federal Meat Inspection Act
(FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601, et seq.), the
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA)
(21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.) and the Egg
Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21
U.S.C. 1031, et seq.). These statutes
mandate that FSIS protect the public by
verifying that meat, poultry, and egg
products are safe, wholesome,
unadulterated, and properly labeled and
packaged.
Under this notice, FSIS intends to
reduce overtime and holiday inspection
fees for small and very small meat,
poultry, and egg products
establishments. FSIS will collect
information on FSIS Form 5200–16,
Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction Form,
to determine whether an establishment
inspected by FSIS qualifies for an
overtime and holiday inspection fee
reduction, and, if so, the amount of the
reduction. If an establishment
experiences any change in qualifying
circumstances, it must notify FSIS by
resubmitting the FSIS Form 5200–16,
Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction Form.
This is a request for a new
information collection. FSIS has made
the following estimates based upon an
information collection assessment:
Estimate of burden: The public
reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 10
minutes per response.
Estimated total number of
respondents: 3,944.
Estimated number of responses per
respondent: 1–2.
Estimated annual number of
responses: 3,944.
Estimated initial annual burden on
respondents: 724 hours.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 133 / Thursday, July 15, 2021 / Notices
Copies of this information collection
assessment can be obtained from Gina
Kouba, Office of Policy and Program
Development, Food Safety and
Inspection Service, USDA, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop
3758, South Building, Washington, DC
20250–3700; (202) 720–5627.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Environmental Impact
Each USDA agency is required to
comply with 7 CFR part 1b of the
Departmental regulations, which
supplements the National
Environmental Policy Act regulations
published by the Council on
Environmental Quality. Under these
regulations, actions of certain USDA
agencies and agency units are
categorically excluded from the
preparation of an Environmental
Assessment (EA) or an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) unless the
agency head determines that an action
may have a significant environmental
effect (7 CFR 1b.4 (b)). FSIS is among
the agencies categorically excluded from
the preparation of an EA or EIS (7 CFR
1b.4 (b)(6)).
FSIS has determined that this notice,
which describes how FSIS will
implement the American Rescue Plan
Act’s small and very small
establishment overtime and holiday
inspection fee reduction, will not create
any extraordinary circumstances that
would result in this normally excluded
action having a significant individual or
cumulative effect on the human
environment. Therefore, this action is
appropriately subject to the categorical
exclusion from the preparation of an
environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement
provided under 7 CFR 1b.4(6) of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
regulations.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of
rulemaking and policy development is
important. Consequently, FSIS will
announce this Federal Register
publication on-line through the FSIS
website located at: https://
www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/federalregister-rulemaking.
FSIS will also announce and provide
a link to this Federal Register
publication through the FSIS
Constituent Update, which is used to
provide information regarding FSIS
policies, procedures, regulations,
Federal Register notices, FSIS public
meetings, and other types of information
that could affect or would be of interest
to our constituents and stakeholders.
The Constituent Update is available on
the FSIS website. Through the website,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:11 Jul 14, 2021
Jkt 253001
FSIS can provide information to a much
broader, more diverse audience. In
addition, FSIS offers an email
subscription service which provides
automatic and customized access to
selected food safety news and
information. This service is available at:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/
news-press-releases/news-feedssubscriptions. Options range from
recalls to export information,
regulations, directives, and notices.
Customers can add or delete
subscriptions themselves and have the
option to password protect their
accounts.
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil
rights law and USDA civil rights
regulations and policies, the USDA, its
Agencies, offices, and employees, and
institutions participating in or
administering USDA programs are
prohibited from discriminating based on
race, color, national origin, religion, sex,
gender identity (including gender
expression), sexual orientation,
disability, age, marital status, family/
parental status, income derived from a
public assistance program, political
beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior
civil rights activity, in any program or
activity conducted or funded by USDA
(not all bases apply to all programs).
Remedies and complaint filing
deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means of communication for
program information (e.g., Braille, large
print, audiotape, American Sign
Language, etc.) should contact the
responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET
Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and
TTY) or contact USDA through the
Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339.
Additionally, program information may
be made available in languages other
than English.
To file a program discrimination
complaint, complete the USDA Program
Discrimination Complaint Form, AD–
3027, found online at https://
www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-aprogram-discrimination-complaint and
at any USDA office or write a letter
addressed to USDA and provide in the
letter all of the information requested in
the form. To request a copy of the
complaint form, call (866) 632–9992.
Submit your completed form or letter
to USDA by: (1) Mail: USDA, Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,
1400 Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20250–9410; (2) fax:
(202) 690–7442; or (3) email:
program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
equal opportunity provider, employer,
and lender.
Paul Kiecker,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021–15011 Filed 7–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants
and Children (WIC); Food Delivery
Portal (FDP)
Food and Nutrition Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice invites the general public and
other public agencies to comment on
this proposed information collection.
This collection is a revision of a
currently approved collection to provide
FNS and WIC State agencies with an
ongoing/annual data set that can be
used to assess State agencies’
compliance with WIC vendor
management requirements and estimate
State agencies’ progress in eliminating
fraud, waste, and abuse.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before September 13,
2021.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted via email to the attention of
FDP Help Desk at SM.fn.FDPHelp@
usda.gov. Comments will also be
accepted through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://
www.regulations.gov, and follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments electronically.
All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for Office of Management and Budget
approval. All comments will be a matter
of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collection
should be directed to Amy Herring, at
amy.herring@usda.gov or (703) 305–
2376.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments
are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\15JYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 133 (Thursday, July 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37276-37280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15011]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2021-0014]
Overtime and Holiday Inspection Fee Reductions for Small and Very
Small Establishments
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted on March 11, 2021,
Congress provided the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) with
$100 million in budget authority to reduce the costs of overtime
inspection for small and very small official meat and poultry
establishments and egg products plants. FSIS will implement this
provision by reducing overtime and holiday inspection fees for small
establishments by 30 percent and very small establishments by 75
percent. FSIS has developed an Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form
that official establishments will need to submit to request an overtime
or holiday inspection fee reduction. FSIS will review the form to
determine whether an establishment qualifies for the fee reduction.
This notice contains information on how to complete and submit the form
to FSIS and describes the procedures FSIS will follow to implement the
American Rescue Plan Act's overtime and holiday inspection fee
reduction provisions.
DATES: Establishments are encouraged to submit their completed
Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction forms by August 16, 2021 to expedite
the process. However, establishments may submit their forms at any
time. All establishments that submit their forms by March 11, 2022, and
that qualify for a fee reduction, will receive a partial refund for
overtime and holiday inspection fees paid since October 11, 2020, i.e.,
the first day of the pay period after beginning of Fiscal Year 2021.
ADDRESSES: Small and very small establishments should submit their
completed forms to the FSIS inspection personnel assigned to their
establishment or, alternatively, FAX the completed form to the
appropriate FSIS District Office, ``Attention Grant Curator.'' Contact
information for the FSIS District Offices, including FAX numbers, is
available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/contactus/fsis-offices/office-field-operations-ofo.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Edelstein, Assistant
Administrator, Office of Policy and Program Development by telephone at
(202) 205-0495.
For billing issues and to request refunds contact the Financial
Service Center Customer Contact Center: (515) 334-2000 option 1 or
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and
the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.)
provide for mandatory Federal inspection of livestock and poultry
slaughtered at official establishments and of meat (including
Siluriformes) and poultry processed at official establishments. The Egg
Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.) provides for
mandatory inspection of egg products processed at official plants.
Although firms that process egg products are defined as ``plants'' by
the EPIA, when generally discussing businesses affected by the American
Rescue Plan Act in this document, we will refer to them as
``establishments.'' Under the FMIA, PPIA, and EPIA, FSIS bears the cost
of mandatory inspection provided during non-overtime and non-holiday
hours of operation, while official meat, poultry and egg product
establishments are required to pay for inspection services requested
and performed on an overtime basis or on holidays (21 U.S.C. 468, 21
U.S.C. 695, and 21 U.S.C. 1053)).
FSIS' regulations (9 CFR 391.3, 590.126, and 590.128) contain
formulas for calculating fees for overtime and holiday inspection. FSIS
uses these formulas and publishes annual rates in the Federal Register
before the start of each calendar year (see 85 FR 79992). FSIS applies
the rates on the first FSIS pay period at the beginning of the calendar
year. The overtime and holiday fees apply to all establishments
regardless of their size and average annual sales.
The overtime and holiday inspection fees for all establishments may
have a disproportionate financial impact on small and very small
establishments compared to large establishments that can more easily
absorb the extra charges due to their production volume. Additionally,
large establishments often operate a full second shift, giving them a
total of 16 hours instead of 8 hours of inspection per day before they
would have to pay for overtime. Higher production volume and operation
of a second shift without additional cost for large establishments may
put smaller establishments at a competitive disadvantage. The resulting
additional cost per pound of product caused by overtime and holiday
fees is much higher for smaller establishments. Thus, the full fees may
hamper their ability to continue to operate, be competitive, and expand
operations.
II. Funding and Fee Reductions
In the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-2, 135 Stat.
242), Congress provided FSIS with $100 million in budget authority to
reduce the costs of overtime inspection for federally-inspected small
and very small meat, poultry, and egg products establishments. Under
the American Rescue Plan Act, the definitions of ``small
establishment'' and ``very small establishment'' have the meaning given
to those terms in FSIS' final rule ``Pathogen Reduction; Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)'' (PR/HACCP)(61 FR 38806,
July 25, 1996). These definitions, and refinements for assessing the
number of establishment employees and average annual sales that FSIS
has made for purposes of implementing the overtime and holiday
inspection fee reduction, are discussed in more detail in the
``Eligibility'' and ``Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form'' sections
below.
Although the American Rescue Plan Act did not include specific
amounts for the overtime and holiday fee reduction, in a March 15, 2021
letter to Secretary
[[Page 37277]]
Vilsack, four members of Congress urged the Secretary to prioritize
reducing overtime and holiday inspection fees for very small and small
official establishments based off the provisions included in
legislation introduced in the 116th Congress, the Small Packer Overtime
and Holiday Fee Relief for COVID-19 Act of 2020.\1\ As noted in the
letter, this proposed legislation would direct ``USDA-FSIS to reduce
the fees charged to very small establishments by at least 75 percent
and to small establishments by at least 30 percent.'' The Congressional
representatives explained that these fee reductions are necessary to
address the economic disincentives currently in place for small and
very small official establishments to work longer hours. They also
stated that these fee reductions would help to reduce the disparity
between very small and small establishments versus large establishments
that are able to avoid overtime inspection fees because they have the
capacity to operate two full shifts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ March 15, 2021, letter to Secretary Vilsack available at:
https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/0/f/0f4997fc-e4ad-4d6f-9ef4-b22ed44806b8/98F78F4F910F5AD3F9FC0F0F5269FA1C.small-packer-overtime-letter-to-vilsack-3.15.21.pdf.
H.R.6977--Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee Relief for
COVID-19 Act of 2020 (116th Congress 2019-2020) available at:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6977.
S-3797--Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee Relief for COVID-
19 Act of 2020 (116th Congress 2019-2020 available at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3797.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because the FMIA, PPIA, and EPIA require that official
establishments pay for overtime and holiday inspection, FSIS is
obligated to charge small and very small establishments for these types
of inspection services (21 U.S.C. 468, 21 U.S.C. 695, and 21 U.S.C.
1053). Thus, providing a fee exemption to these establishments is not
an option. Instead, FSIS will use the authority to reduce overtime and
holiday inspection fees granted to the Agency by the American Rescue
Plan Act to reduce overtime and holiday inspection fees for small
establishments by 30 percent and very small establishments by 75
percent. Consistent with the law, FSIS will offer overtime and holiday
inspection at the reduced fees from FY 2021 to FY 2030, or until all
appropriated funds for overtime and holiday inspection are expended.
III. Eligibility
Only small and very small official meat, poultry, or egg products
establishments are eligible to receive overtime and holiday inspection
at the reduced rates discussed above. For purposes of determining
eligibility, an official establishment is defined as any entity that
slaughters livestock or poultry and/or processes meat, poultry, or egg
products at which inspection is required by the FMIA, PPIA, or EPIA.
Facilities that receive voluntary inspection services, establishments
that function solely as Official Import Inspection Establishments, or
solely as exporting facilities are not eligible for the fee reduction.
As noted above, under the American Rescue Plan Act, ``small
establishment'' and ``very small establishment'' have the meaning given
to those terms in FSIS' PR/HACCP final rule (see 61 FR 38806 and Pub.
L. 117-2). As defined in the PR/HACCP final rule, an establishment is
``small'' if it has 10 or more but fewer than 500 employees, and an
establishment is ``very small'' if it has fewer than 10 employees or
less than $2.5 million in annual sales (61 FR 38806). Employees mean
all individuals employed on a full-time, part-time, temporary, or other
basis. The American Rescue Plan Act directs USDA to ``reduce the amount
of overtime inspection costs borne by federally-inspected small and
very small establishments engaged in meat, poultry, and egg product
processing'' subject to the FMIA, PPIA, and EPIA, providing the
Secretary with discretion to determine how to implement the reductions
(American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Sec. 1001(d)).
The Secretary has determined that Sec. 1001(d) forecloses USDA
from offering overtime discounts to establishments that are not ``small
establishments'' or ``very small establishments,'' as defined in the
PR/HACCP final rule. But Congress did not specify how the overtime
discounts should be divided among small and very small establishments.
This leaves it to the Secretary's discretion to determine which
individual establishments will receive the discounts. Because the Act
grants the Secretary such broad discretion and because funds for
reducing overtime and holiday inspection costs are limited, FSIS will
apply the terms ``small establishment'' and ``very small
establishment,'' as defined in the PR/HACCP final rule, so as to reduce
overtime and holiday inspection fees only for small and very small
establishments unaffiliated with multiple or large businesses in a way
that would effectively place them within the large establishment
definition. Otherwise, providing overtime and holiday inspection fee
reductions to any establishment that simply meets the numerical
definitions of ``very small'' and ``small'' in the PR/HACCP final rule
would result in the diversion of some of the assistance funding to
large businesses, depriving small and very small establishments of the
maximum funding available. Therefore, an application of the PR/HACCP
final rule business size categories that considers affiliation with
multiple or large businesses is consistent with the intent of the
relevant provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act, i.e., to assist
very small and small businesses often disparately affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic. The definition of an affiliated company and the
method FSIS will use to assess the number of establishment employees
and average annual sales for purposes of the fee reduction are
discussed in more detail below.
IV. Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction Form
As noted above, FSIS has developed an Overtime/Holiday Rate
Reduction form to collect information to determine whether an
establishment inspected by FSIS qualifies for an overtime and holiday
inspection fee reduction and, if so, the amount of the reduction. FSIS
has developed this new form because the Agency currently does not have
complete data on establishment size and average annual sales, and the
form will allow the Agency to collect information to determine whether
an establishment is a subsidiary, affiliate, or part of some other
business structure that would prevent it from being eligible for a fee
reduction. The form also serves as an attestation from the
establishment that the data provided are accurate. The form is optional
in that those small and very small establishments that do not use
overtime or holiday inspection services, or that are not interested in
receiving a fee reduction, are not required to complete it. However,
small and very small official establishments that would like to request
a fee reduction must complete the form to receive the benefit.
In addition to the definitions for ``official establishment'' and
``employees'' discussed above, the form includes definitions for
``affiliated companies'' and ``company'' for purposes of determining
whether an official establishment qualifies for a fee reduction. For
purposes of the form, companies are considered affiliated with each
other when one controls the other or a third-party controls both. It
does not matter whether control is exercised, so long as the power to
control exists. For example, a corporate company that owns one or more
establishments is affiliated with those
[[Page 37278]]
establishments, and the establishments are affiliated with the
corporate company and each other. Affiliated companies can be domestic
or foreign. Affiliated companies do not typically include entities that
perform contracted administrative services, including human resource
support and cleaning services, as defined by the Small Business
Administration (SBA) in 13 CFR 121.103. For purposes of the form, a
``company'' is any organization or entity (including an establishment)
that buys or sells good or services. A company may be organized in
various forms, including partnerships and corporations, and can be
privately held or publicly traded.
To complete the form, establishments must answer a series of
questions designed to collect data on the total number of employees
employed by the establishment and any affiliated companies, as well as
the average annual sales for the establishment. As stated in the form,
the number of employees is the average number of employees. The average
is calculated by summing the number of employees at the end of each pay
period over the preceding 52 weeks and dividing by the total number of
pay periods. In addition, for purposes of the form, establishments
should determine their annual average sales based on their sales over
the past five years or, for establishments that have been in business
for less than five years, on the number of years they have been in
business. This is consistent with the SBA's regulations for calculating
a business's annual receipts (13 CFR 121.104). Thus, under this
approach, the average annual sales of an establishment that has been in
business for five or more completed fiscal years means the
establishment's total sales over its most recently completed five
fiscal years divided by five. Establishments that have been in business
fewer than five years should use the annual sales for their fully
completed years in business divided by their number of fully completed
fiscal years. Because FSIS intends to use data collected on the form to
determine whether an official establishment is qualified for a rate
reduction and the amount of the reduction, the establishment must also
attest that data provided are accurate. Official establishments that
are not affiliated with other companies will only need to report the
number of employees employed by the establishment and whether the
establishment's average annual sales are less than $2.5 million or $2.5
million or more.
Establishments may obtain an Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form
from the FSIS inspection personnel assigned to the establishment or may
download and print the form from https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2021-07/FSIS-5200-16-OvertimeHolidayRateReductionForm_v6-4re508.pdf. At this time, FSIS will only be accepting paper forms, but
will work to provide for electronic submission in the future.
Establishments should submit the completed paper form to the FSIS front
line supervisor assigned to the establishment. The frontline supervisor
will submit the completed form to the District Office for processing.
Alternatively, establishments that prefer to submit the form themselves
may FAX the completed form to the appropriate District Office,
``Attention Grant Curator.''
Submission dates and refunds. Establishments are encouraged to
submit their completed Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction forms as soon as
possible but no later than August 16, 2021 to expedite the process. All
establishments that submit their forms by March 11, 2022,\2\ and that
qualify for a fee reduction will receive a partial refund for overtime
and holiday inspection fees paid since October 11, 2020, i.e., the
first day of the first pay period in fiscal year 2021. Establishments
may request that FSIS provide the refund as a lump sum or as a credit
to be applied to future overtime and holiday inspection fees. After
March 11, 2022, FSIS will continue to reduce holiday and overtime
inspection fees for establishments that qualify but will no longer
provide partial refunds for fees paid since October 11, 2020.
Establishments may submit a benefit eligibility form to request an
overtime and holiday inspection fee reduction at any time. If the
establishment qualifies for a fee reduction and submits its form after
March 11, 2022, it will receive the reduction beginning on the date it
submitted its benefit eligibility form, provided appropriated funds are
still available. As noted above, FSIS will offer overtime and holiday
inspection at the reduced rates from FY 2021 to FY 2030, or until all
appropriated funds for overtime and holiday inspection are expended.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ March 11, 2022 is one year from the date the American Rescue
Plan Act was enacted: March 11, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
V. Determining Establishment Eligibility and Fee Reduction
After an establishment's completed Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction
form is received by the District Office, the District Office's Grant
Curator will review the form to determine whether an official
establishment is eligible for an overtime and holiday inspection fee
reduction and, if so, whether the establishment qualifies for the small
establishment or very small establishment reduced fee.
When reviewing an establishment's form, the Grant Curator will
first assess the information to determine whether the establishment is
affiliated with other companies, including other establishments. If the
establishment is affiliated with other companies and the total number
of employees employed by the establishment and its affiliated companies
is less than 500, the establishment would qualify for an overtime and
holiday inspection fee reduction. If the establishment together with
its affiliated companies employ 500 or more employees, the
establishment would not qualify for a fee reduction.
If an establishment qualifies for a fee reduction, the Grant
Curator will conduct an additional review to determine if the
establishment qualifies for the small establishment or very small
establishment reduction rate. The amount of the fee reduction will be
based on the number of employees or average annual sales for the
establishment as a discrete entity without considering employees or
average annual sales associated with any affiliated companies. Thus, if
the establishment itself employs fewer than 10 employees or has less
than $2.5 million in average annual sales, the establishment would
qualify as a ``very small establishment'' for purposes of the fee
reduction and would receive a 75 percent reduction on overtime and
holiday inspection fees. The establishment would qualify for the ``very
small establishment'' fee reduction even if the total number of
employees employed by all affiliated companies is over 10, but less
than 500, and if the average annual sales for all affiliated companies
is greater than $2.5 million. If the establishment employs more than 10
employees but fewer than 500 employees and its annual average sales are
greater than $2.5 million, it would qualify as a ``small
establishment'' for purposes of the fee reduction and would receive a
30 percent reduction on overtime and holiday inspection fees. This
approach will allow FSIS to maintain and update individual
establishment HACCP size information in the Public Health Information
System (PHIS), while also providing the greatest fee reductions to
those establishments that would benefit the most. See Table 1 for an
overview of applicant establishments that qualify
[[Page 37279]]
for a fee reduction and the amount of their reduction.
Table 1--Overtime and Holiday Inspection Rate Reduction: Eligibility and Fee Reduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicant + affiliated Applicant + Applicant eligibility
Applicant average # of employees companies average # of Applicant HACCP size Applicant average affiliated companies for rate reduction/
employees in PHIS annual income average annual income percentage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<= 9............................... <= 9.................. VS.................... Any.................. Any.................. Yes/75%.
<= 9............................... >=10 and <= 499....... VS.................... Any.................. Any.................. Yes/75%.
>=10 and <= 499.................... >=10 and <= 499....... VS.................... <2.5 million......... Any.................. Yes/75%.
<= 9............................... >= 500................ VS.................... N/A.................. N/A.................. No.
>=10 and <= 499.................... >=10 and <= 499....... S..................... >=2.5 million........ Any.................. Yes/30%.
>=10 and <= 499.................... >= 500................ VS.................... <2.5 million......... N/A.................. No.
>=10 and <= 499.................... >= 500................ S..................... >=2.5 million........ N/A.................. No.
>= 500............................. >=500................. L..................... N/A.................. N/A.................. No.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Establishments that have questions regarding their eligibility for
a fee reduction should contact their FSIS District Office. Contact
information for the FSIS District Offices is available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/contactus/fsis-offices/office-field-operations-ofo.
Fee Reduction Eligibility Renewal, New Establishments, and Change in
Amount of Fee Reduction
At a set date every three years, FSIS will request that
establishments receiving an overtime and holiday inspection fee
reduction reaffirm their fee reduction eligibility through a
notification to FSIS. FSIS will verify information provided by
establishments to ensure that establishments remain eligible for the
fee reduction. The first fee reduction renewal date will be June 30,
2024, which will be effective the first full pay period (approximately
two weeks) after July 1, 2024, and every three years after that. When
it is time for establishments to renew their fee reduction eligibility,
FSIS will include a reminder to reaffirm the Overtime/Holiday Rate
Reduction in the establishment's account statement with instructions on
how to submit the information to FSIS. The fee reduction eligibility
forms also will continue to be available by request from FSIS
inspection personnel and online. Establishments must reaffirm their
status by the renewal date to continue to receive the fee reduction.
Thus, for the first renewal date, if an establishment has not
reaffirmed its eligibility for fee reduction by June 30, 2024, FSIS
will begin billing the full overtime and holiday inspection rate on the
next full pay period after July 1, 2024. If an establishment reaffirms
its eligibility after the June 30, 2024, renewal date and continues to
qualify for a fee reduction, FSIS will apply the fee reduction as soon
as possible after the reaffirmation is received.
New establishments that apply for a grant of inspection before June
30, 2024, and would like to request a holiday and overtime fee
reduction should submit an Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form along
with their application for a Federal grant of inspection. If the
establishment qualifies for a fee reduction, FSIS will apply the fee
reduction when it issues the establishment's grant of inspection. Such
establishments also will need to reaffirm their fee reduction
eligibility by the June 30, 2024, renewal date to continue to receive
the fee reduction benefit.
An establishment that has a change that would affect its
eligibility or the amount of its fee reduction, e.g., a small
establishment has a reduction in employees or annual sales such that it
qualifies as very small, must submit a new Overtime/Holiday Rate
Reduction form to FSIS as close as possible to the time the change
occurs so that the Agency may make the associated change to the
establishment's fee reduction. FSIS also will apply any new fee
reduction to qualified establishments as soon as possible after it is
notified of the change. Establishments that submit forms attesting to a
change in eligibility prior to June 30, 2024, will still be required to
reaffirm their eligibility by the June 30, 2024 renewal date to
continue to receive a fee reduction. Persons making false, fictitious,
or fraudulent statements or entries on the form are subject to a
$10,000 fine or imprisonment for not more than 5 years or both as
prescribed by 18 U.S.C. 1001.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995, the information collection or recordkeeping requirements
included in this notice have been submitted for approval to OMB.
Title: Overtime and Holiday Inspection Fees for Small and Very
Small Establishments.
Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.
Abstract: FSIS has been delegated the authority to exercise the
functions of the Secretary (7 CFR 2.18, 2.53), as specified in the
Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601, et seq.), the
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.) and the
Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 U.S.C. 1031, et seq.). These
statutes mandate that FSIS protect the public by verifying that meat,
poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and
properly labeled and packaged.
Under this notice, FSIS intends to reduce overtime and holiday
inspection fees for small and very small meat, poultry, and egg
products establishments. FSIS will collect information on FSIS Form
5200-16, Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction Form, to determine whether an
establishment inspected by FSIS qualifies for an overtime and holiday
inspection fee reduction, and, if so, the amount of the reduction. If
an establishment experiences any change in qualifying circumstances, it
must notify FSIS by resubmitting the FSIS Form 5200-16, Overtime/
Holiday Rate Reduction Form.
This is a request for a new information collection. FSIS has made
the following estimates based upon an information collection
assessment:
Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection
of information is estimated to average 10 minutes per response.
Estimated total number of respondents: 3,944.
Estimated number of responses per respondent: 1-2.
Estimated annual number of responses: 3,944.
Estimated initial annual burden on respondents: 724 hours.
[[Page 37280]]
Copies of this information collection assessment can be obtained
from Gina Kouba, Office of Policy and Program Development, Food Safety
and Inspection Service, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop
3758, South Building, Washington, DC 20250-3700; (202) 720-5627.
Environmental Impact
Each USDA agency is required to comply with 7 CFR part 1b of the
Departmental regulations, which supplements the National Environmental
Policy Act regulations published by the Council on Environmental
Quality. Under these regulations, actions of certain USDA agencies and
agency units are categorically excluded from the preparation of an
Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) unless the agency head determines that an action may have a
significant environmental effect (7 CFR 1b.4 (b)). FSIS is among the
agencies categorically excluded from the preparation of an EA or EIS (7
CFR 1b.4 (b)(6)).
FSIS has determined that this notice, which describes how FSIS will
implement the American Rescue Plan Act's small and very small
establishment overtime and holiday inspection fee reduction, will not
create any extraordinary circumstances that would result in this
normally excluded action having a significant individual or cumulative
effect on the human environment. Therefore, this action is
appropriately subject to the categorical exclusion from the preparation
of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement
provided under 7 CFR 1b.4(6) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
regulations.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal
Register publication on-line through the FSIS website located at:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/federal-register-rulemaking.
FSIS will also announce and provide a link to this Federal Register
publication through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to
provide information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations,
Federal Register notices, FSIS public meetings, and other types of
information that could affect or would be of interest to our
constituents and stakeholders. The Constituent Update is available on
the FSIS website. Through the website, FSIS can provide information to
a much broader, more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an
email subscription service which provides automatic and customized
access to selected food safety news and information. This service is
available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/news-press-releases/news-feeds-subscriptions. Options range from recalls to export
information, regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can add or
delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to password protect
their accounts.
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights
regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and
employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA
programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender
expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status,
family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance
program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil
rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA
(not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing
deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of
communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible
Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or
contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages
other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at https://www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint and
at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in
the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a
copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992.
Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) Mail: USDA,
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3)
email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider,
employer, and lender.
Paul Kiecker,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021-15011 Filed 7-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P
