Submission for OMB Review; Overseas Employment Agreement; GSA Form 5040, 37542-37543 [2023-12256]

Agencies

• General Services Administration

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 110 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37542-37543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12256]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 3090-XXXX; Docket No. 2023-0001; Sequence No. 1]


Submission for OMB Review; Overseas Employment Agreement; GSA 
Form 5040

AGENCY: Office of Human Resources Management, General Services 
Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Notice of the results of public comments regarding a request 
for a new OMB clearance.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a new 
information collection requirement.

DATES: Submit comments on or before July 10, 2023.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colin C. Bennett, Senior Policy 
Specialist, Office of Human Resources Management, at telephone (717)-
359-7735, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The General Services Administration 
routinely hires, reassigns, promotes, or transfers Federal employees to 
duty stations in foreign areas (i.e., outside of the United States and 
its territories and possessions). Under the Administrative Expenses Act 
of 1946 (60 stat. 808), as amended, agencies are permitted to use 
appropriated funds to pay for the various costs incurred for permanent 
change of station (PCS) to the foreign area (see further 5 U.S.C. 5722 
et seq.). Such costs include: (1) travel and relocation expenses of the 
new appointee (or employee) and his or her immediate family from the 
place of actual residence in the U.S. to the place of employment 
outside the U.S.; (2) return travel and relocation expenses for an 
employee and his family from his

[[Page 37543]]

post outside the U.S. to his or her actual place of residence in the 
U.S.; and (3) the additional expenses of transporting a privately owned 
motor vehicle, as authorized under 5 U.S.C. 5723 and 5727(c). Under 
these relocation authorities, in return for these benefits, the job 
candidate (or employee) must agree to remain in the agency's service 
for at least 12 months (i.e., 1 year). Additional information 
concerning this authority is found within the GSA Government Travel 
Regulations at 41 CFR part 302-3, subpart F.
    To more effectively memorialize the agency costs incurred, and the 
appointee's (or employee's) resulting service obligation, GSA has 
redeveloped its existing form GSA 5040, Overseas Employment Services 
Agreement. This form serves as: (1) an information collection device to 
determine eligibility for, and then memorialize, the compensation, 
foreign allowances, and travel and transportation benefits provided, 
and (2) an enforceable service agreement for PCS travel and 
transportation costs, pursuant to the Federal Claims Collection Act of 
1966 and the Debt Collection Act Amendments of 1996 (see further 31 
U.S.C. 3711 et seq.).

C. Annual Burden

    Respondents: 25.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Annual Responses: 25.
    Hours per Response: 1.
    Total Burden Hours: 25.

D. Public Comment

    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register at 88 FR 
9521, on February 14, 2023.
    A total of nine (9) comments were received; however, they involved 
proposed wording changes for the form and did not address, or change, 
the original estimate of the administrative burden. A summary of the 
comments, and our responses, are as follows.
    Comment 1: A commenter suggested that the nomenclature of military 
bases in Box 6 be revised to reflect military ``installations.''
    Response: This response is accepted, and the names will be changed 
to reflect military installations.
    Comment 2: A commenter suggested that a general response, such as 
``Nationwide,'' be permissible for writing into Box 8b, which describes 
the anticipated U.S. duty station upon conclusion of overseas duty.
    Response: This response is accepted and the Instruction for Box 8b 
will be revised to suggest that users can use descriptive, but generic, 
responses when appropriate.
    Comment 3: A commenter noted that there was an erroneous reference 
to direct-deposit forms in the Privacy Act Statement.
    Response: This response is accepted. We will have the form 
corrected to have this reference removed.
    Comment 4: A commenter questioned the authority for Box 11 as well 
as the information provided in the Instruction for that question at the 
back of the form. Box 11 discusses the employee benefits known as 
``home leave'' and the 45-day (i.e., 360 hour) annual leave accrual 
ceiling. These two authorities are related because to be eligible for 
home leave, the job candidate must first be eligible for the 45-day 
leave accrual ceiling under 5 U.S.C. 6304(b). Both the 45-day leave 
ceiling and home leave are reserved for employees that are originally 
hired, reassigned, or transferred from the United States and then 
placed into a foreign area. Generally, job candidates already in a 
foreign area are not eligible for either benefit unless they can 
demonstrate that they were originally hired from the United States, 
have been in continuous employment with the U.S. government or a U.S. 
entity, and have return relocation benefits memorialized by written 
transportation agreements during all periods of foreign service.
    Response: The eligibility requirements discussed in Box 11 and the 
Instruction are an explication of the governing statute (5 U.S.C. 
6304(b)) and Civil Service regulation (5 CFR 630.602). We have decided 
to keep the narrative language within Box 11 the same, however, we have 
decided to shorten the language within the Instruction statement 
related to Box 11 to reduce possible confusion.
    Comment 5: A commenter suggested that Box 12 be removed from the 
form and that the form be signed not by a human resources specialist 
but instead by the hiring manager. Box 12 concerns documentation of 
which overseas allowances and differentials are authorized for the job 
candidate.
    Response: We partially accept the comment and will change the 
form's signature to that of the hiring manager, as the commenter 
suggested. We note that under GSA administrative order 5450.39D ADM 
CHGE 1 that generally the hiring manager's organization decides which 
overseas allowances are appropriate to provide, based upon the lexicon 
of those that are available based on eligibility. Generally, the hiring 
manager's organization is responsible for paying for the allowances 
offered, since the allowances are used as optional tools for 
recruitment and retention. We will not remove Box 12, however, because 
it is important to document on this form which allowances and 
differentials are approved and then offered to the job candidate.
    Comment 6: A commenter from GSA's human resources function 
recommended that Box 11 be removed from the form. Box 11, as discussed 
above, concerns home leave and the 45-day annual leave accrual ceiling. 
The commenter believed that human resources specialists are unfamiliar 
with paid leave authorities and do not have sufficient background to 
understand how to assist with, or administer, these leave authorities.
    Response: We have chosen not to accept this comment. It is 
important to have Box 11 to both review the eligibility, and then to 
document that eligibility, for home leave as well as for the 45-day 
annual leave ceiling. We also believe that current skills gaps can be 
addressed and ameliorated through a proper future training regimen.
    Comment 7: A commenter suggested that in Box 9 a reference be 
removed to obsolete Form 5042, Overseas Employment Transportation 
Agreement.
    Response: We agree that the reference to the obsolete form should 
be removed. The historical business purpose of Form 5042 (that of a 
transportation agreement) has been fully merged into the new Form 5040, 
the subject of this Federal Register notice.
    Comments 8 and 9: One commenter submitted two substantially similar 
comments essentially suggesting that the main certifying signature on 
the form be applied by the hiring manager rather than by a human 
resources specialist.
    Response: As discussed earlier, we accept this comment and will 
change the certifying signature to be that of the hiring manager. As 
the primarily first-line representative of the agency, the hiring 
manager is in the best position to know the specific circumstances of 
the job offer, and the conditions of employment offered to the job 
candidate.
    Obtaining Copies: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information 
collection documents from the GSA Regulatory Secretariat Division, by 
calling 202-501-4755 or emailing [email protected]. Please cite OMB 
Control No. 3090-XXXX, Overseas Employment Agreement; GSA Form 5040.

Lesley Briante,
Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-12256 Filed 6-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-FM-P