Agency Information Collection Activities: Existing Collection, 96963-96965 [2024-28580]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 235 / Friday, December 6, 2024 / Notices
dated June 27, 2024, requesting that the
EPA object to the issuance of operating
permit number V20690.R02, issued by
PCAQCD to APS Sundance in Casa
Grande, Arizona. On November 6, 2024,
the EPA Administrator issued an order
denying the petition. The Order
explains the basis for the EPA’s
decision.
Sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the
CAA provide that a petitioner may
request judicial review of those portions
of an order that deny issues in a
petition. Any petition for review shall
be filed in the United States Court of
Appeals for the appropriate circuit no
later than February 4, 2025.
Dated: November 26, 2024.
Martha Guzman Aceves
Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2024–28530 Filed 12–5–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Existing Collection
Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information
collection—proposed revision of State
and Local Government Information
Report (EEO–4).
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC or Commission)
announces that it has submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a request for a three-year PRA
approval of revisions to the currently
approved State and Local Government
Information Report (EEO–4).
DATES: Written comments on this notice
must be submitted on or before January
6, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be sent within 30 days of publication of
this final notice to www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under Review—Open for
Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul
Guerino, Director, Data Development
and Information Products Division,
Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics
(OEDA), Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, 131 M Street
NE, Washington, DC 20507; (202) 921–
2928 (voice), (800) 669–6820 (TTY) or
email at OEDA@eeoc.gov. Requests for
this notice in an alternative format
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should be made to the EEOC’s Office of
Communications and Legislative Affairs
at (202) 921–3191 (voice), (800) 669–
6820 (TTY), or (844) 234–5122 (ASL
Video Phone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice
that the EEOC would be submitting this
request was published in the Federal
Register on September 4, 2024, allowing
for a 60-day public comment period
which ended on November 4, 2024.1
The EEOC received no comments during
the public comment period.2
I. Background
A. The EEO–4 Report
Since 1973, the EEOC has required
EEO–4 filers to submit workforce
demographic data. All State and local
governments that are covered by title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as
amended (title VII) 3 and that have 100
or more employees are required to file
the workforce demographic data.
B. The 60-Day Notice: Request for
Three-Year PRA Approval of Revisions
to the EEO–4
Pursuant to the PRA and OMB
regulations found at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1),
the Commission published a Notice in
the Federal Register on September 4,
2024, soliciting public comments during
a 60-day period (‘‘60-day Notice’’) on
the Commission’s intent to seek a threeyear OMB approval of revisions to the
currently approved EEO–4. In
particular, in its 60-day Notice, the
EEOC sought comments to: (1) Evaluate
whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the Commission’s
functions, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the
Commission’s estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3)
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses. The
60-day Notice comment period ended
on November 4, 2024.
1 See
Notice of Information Collection 89 FR
71901 (Sept. 4, 2024) at https://
www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/04/
2024-19743/agency-information-collectionactivities-existing-collection.
2 Available at https://www.regulations.gov/
docket/EEOC-2024-0008.
3 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq.
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96963
Based on data from the most recent
EEO–4 data collection reporting year
(i.e., 2023), as well as ongoing updates
by the EEOC to the EEO–4 frame (i.e.,
filer roster or master list), the EEOC
anticipates the total number of filers
submitting an EEO–4 report may
increase to 6,607 per biennial collection.
Accordingly, the burden estimates in
this Notice are based on this revised
estimate of the number of filers.
II. The Public Comments on the 60-Day
Notice
The 60-day Notice was published in
the Federal Register on September 4,
2024.4 The EEOC received no comments
during the public comment period.5
III. Commission Decisions and Final
EEOC Proposals to OMB
The EEOC Will Seek Three-Year
Approval of Revisions to the Currently
Approved EEO–4 State and Local
Government Information Report
The Commission has decided it will
seek a three-year approval by OMB of
revisions to the EEO–4 State and Local
Government Information Report as
described in this Notice.
IV. Formal Paperwork Reduction Act
Statement
A. Overview of Information Collection
Collection Title: State and Local
Government Information Report (EEO–
4).
OMB Number: 3046–0008.
Frequency of Report: Biennial.
Type of Respondent: State and local
governments that have 100 or more
employees and meet certain criteria.
Description of Affected Public: State
and local governments that have 100 or
more employees and meet certain
criteria.
Reporting Hours: 18,094 hours per
biennial collection.
Respondent Burden Hour Cost:
$563,868.27 per biennial collection.
Federal Cost: $327,440.12 per
biennial collection.
Number of Filers: 6,607 per biennial
collection.6
Number of Responses: 6,607 per
biennial collection.
Number of Forms: 1.
Form Number: EEOC Form 164.
Abstract: Section 709(c) of title VII
requires employers to make and keep
4 Available at https://www.federalregister.gov/
documents/2024/09/04/2024-19743/agencyinformation-collection-activities-existing-collection.
5 Available at https://www.regulations.gov/
docket/EEOC-2024-0008.
6 This figure is based on the expanded frame of
potentially eligible respondents and the response
rate for the most recently completed EEO–4 data
collection (the 2023 EEO–4 data collection).
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 235 / Friday, December 6, 2024 / Notices
records relevant to the determination of
whether unlawful employment practices
have been or are being committed, to
preserve such records, and to produce
reports as the Commission prescribes by
regulation or order.7 Pursuant to this
statutory authority, the EEOC issued
regulations prescribing the reporting
and related record retention
requirements for State and local
governments.8 The regulations require
State and local governments to make or
keep all records necessary for
completion of an EEO–4 submission and
retain those records for three years, and
also require EEO–4 filers to retain a
copy of each filed EEO–4 report for
three years. These recordkeeping
requirements are part of standard
administrative practices, and as a result,
the EEOC believes that any impact on
burden would be negligible and nearly
impossible to quantify. Additionally,
the regulations require State and local
governments to file executed copies of
the EEO–4 in conformity with the
directions set forth in the form and
accompanying instructions. Under this
authority, State and local governments
with 100 or more employees are
required to report biennially 9 the
number of individuals they employ by
job category and by sex, salary band,
and race or ethnicity.
Please note that on March 28, 2024,
OMB published revisions, the first since
1997, to its Statistical Policy Directive
No. 15: Standards for Maintaining,
Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data
on Race and Ethnicity. See https://
spd15revision.gov/. The revisions
include, for example, using a single
combined race and ethnicity question
and adding Middle Eastern or North
African (MENA) as a new minimum
reporting category. Federal agencies,
including the EEOC, are required to
bring their data collections into
compliance with these standards by
March 28, 2029. Because the EEOC’s
current EEO–4 PRA clearance expires
January 31, 2025, the agency is not
proposing updates to its collection of
race and ethnicity data under this
Notice in order to provide filers with
sufficient notice of the revised standards
7 42
U.S.C. 2000e–8(c).
regulatory sections covered by this notice
are 29 CFR 1602.30 and 1602.32 through 1602.37.
The EEOC is responsible for obtaining OMB’s PRA
approval for the EEO–4 report.
9 Beginning in 1993, the EEO–4 report has been
collected biennially in odd-numbered years. Prior
to 1993, the EEO–4 report was collected annually.
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and to give the EEOC sufficient time to
implement the revisions across its EEO
collections.
The EEOC currently collects EEO–4
data electronically through a web-based
data collection application (i.e., portal)
referred to as the EEO–4 Online Filing
System (OFS).10 Filers must submit their
data electronically to the web-based
portal by either manual entry or by
uploading a data file. The individual
EEO–4 reports are confidential.11 The
EEOC uses EEO–4 data to investigate
charges of employment discrimination
against State and local governments and
to publish periodic reports on workforce
demographics.12
B. Burden Statement
The EEOC’s Office of Enterprise Data
and Analytics (OEDA) administers the
agency’s data collections, including the
EEO–4. Since OEDA’s creation in 2018,
the EEOC has undertaken several efforts
to modernize the agency’s data
collections and improve the quality of
10 EEO–4 filers may access the OFS through the
EEOC’s dedicated EEO–4 website at
www.eeocdata.org/eeo4.
11 All reports and any information from
individual reports are subject to the confidentiality
provisions of section 709(e) of title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e–8(e), as
amended (title VII), and may not be made public by
the EEOC prior to the institution of any proceeding
under title VII involving the EEO–4 data. Any EEOC
employee who violates this prohibition may be
found guilty of a criminal misdemeanor and could
be fined or imprisoned. The confidentiality
requirements allow the EEOC to publish only
aggregated data, and only in a manner that does not
identify any particular filer or reveal any individual
employee’s personal information. With respect to
other Federal agencies with a legitimate law
enforcement purpose, the EEOC gives access to
information collected under title VII only if the
agencies agree in writing to comply with the
confidentiality provisions of title VII. In addition,
section 709(d) of title VII (42 U.S.C. 2000e–8(d))
provides that the EEOC shall furnish upon request
and without cost to State or local civil rights
agencies information about employers in their
jurisdiction on the condition that they not make it
public prior to starting a proceeding under State or
local law involving such information. The EEOC
shares EEO–4 data with Fair Employment Practices
Agencies (FEPAs) pursuant to Worksharing
Agreements that impose obligations on the
contracted FEPA with respect to confidentiality,
privacy, and data security. On a case-by-case basis,
the EEOC may share EEO–4 data with a FEPA that
does not have a Worksharing Agreement, but only
if that FEPA agrees to comply with confidentiality,
privacy, and data security obligations similar to
those imposed on FEPAs with Worksharing
Agreements.
12 Any reports the EEOC publishes based on EEO–
4 data include only aggregated data that protect the
confidentiality of each employer’s information, as
well as the privacy of each employee’s personal
information.
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data collected. OEDA has also
streamlined functions, such as
providing additional self-service
options, resource materials, and an
online support message center.
As part of these ongoing
modernization efforts, OEDA has
undertaken measures to enhance the
agency’s existing EEO–4 data frame of
potentially eligible filers and make the
EEO–4 filing process more user-friendly
and less burdensome. By comparing the
EEOC’s 2023 EEO–4 frame to the U.S.
Census Bureau’s Census of
Governments,13 OEDA identified
approximately 1,220 additional State
and local governments that may be
eligible to file during the next biennial
data collection. With the addition of
these filers to the EEO–4 frame and
considering response rates during the
2023 EEO–4 data collection, OEDA now
estimates 6,607 potential respondents to
the agency’s next EEO–4 data
collection.14
Additionally, the EEOC proposes to
update the salary bands in the next
biennial EEO–4 data collection to keep
pace with inflation and account for an
increasing portion of employees falling
into the highest salary bands. The EEOC
reviewed several other Federal data
collections of salaries and wages and
determined that the Bureau of Labor
Statistics’ Occupational Employment
and Wage Statistics (OEWS) 15 program
most closely aligns with the EEO–4.
Therefore, the EEOC proposes adopting
the OEWS salary bands and will
periodically update them as
appropriate. The EEOC recognizes there
may be a one-time increase in burden as
filers need to update their systems to
produce reports in the new categories,
but this increase is expected to be
negligible. The proposed pay bands for
the next biennial EEO–4 data collection
are listed in the table below.
13 The Census of Governments is a three-phased
program that collects State and local government
data every five years in years ending in ‘‘2’’ and
‘‘7.’’ See https://www.census.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2023/census-of-governments.html.
14 This estimate covers State and local
governments with 100 or more employees within
the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.
Please note that 6,607 respondents may ultimately
turn out to be an overestimate. Following the initial
enhancement of the EEO–4 frame, collection data
may yield an unknown number of ineligible filers.
15 The Occupational Employment and Wage
Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment
and wage estimates annually for approximately 830
occupations. See https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 235 / Friday, December 6, 2024 / Notices
TABLE 1—UPDATED SALARY BANDS FOR EEO–4
Wages
Interval
Annual
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
Range
A .............................................................
B .............................................................
C ............................................................
D ............................................................
E .............................................................
F .............................................................
G ............................................................
H ............................................................
I ..............................................................
J .............................................................
K .............................................................
L .............................................................
The EEOC has also updated its
methodology for calculating the biennial
burden of the EEO–4 to better reflect the
types of personnel responsible for
preparing and filing these reports on
behalf of their employers. Based upon
job titles provided during the 2023
EEO–4 data collection by individuals
completing the report within the EEO–
4 OFS, the EEOC has identified six
specific job categories which account for
the largest amount of time spent
Hourly
Under $19,240 ..................................................
19,240 to 24,959 ..............................................
24,960 to 32,239 ..............................................
32,240 to 41,079 ..............................................
41,080 to 53,039 ..............................................
53,040 to 68,119 ..............................................
68,120 to 87,359 ..............................................
87,360 to 112,319 ............................................
112,320 to 144,559 ..........................................
144,560 to 186,159 ..........................................
186,160 to 239,199 ..........................................
239,200 and over .............................................
Under $9.25.
9.25 to 11.99.
12.00 to 15.49.
15.50 to 19.74.
19.75 to 25.49.
25.50 to 32.74.
32.75 to 41.99.
42.00 to 53.99.
54.00 to 69.49.
69.50 to 89.49.
89.50 to 114.99.
115.00 and over.
biennially on EEO–4 reporting. These
job categories include: (1) Human
Resource Specialists; (2) ExecutiveLevel Staff; (3) Secretaries and
Administrative Assistants; (4)
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing
Clerks; (5) Administrative Services and
Facilities Managers; and (6) Database
Administrators and Architects.16
Additionally, the EEO–4 OFS captures
detailed information on when each filer
starts and certifies its report. The EEOC
used this information from the most
recent EEO–4 data collection to
calculate more precise burden hour
estimates.17 In Table 2 below, the
estimated average hour burden per
report is 2.7 hours. The total estimated
biennial respondent burden for all filers
is 18,094 hours. The estimated average
burden hour cost per report is $85.34,
and the estimated total burden hour cost
for all filers per biennial collection is
$563,868.27.
TABLE 2—PROJECTED BURDEN FOR EACH EEO–4 BIENNIAL REPORTING YEAR
[N=6,607]
Percent in job
category
Median hourly
wage rate
Hours per filer
Human Resource Specialists ...................
Executive-Level Staff ...............................
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing
Clerks ...................................................
Administrative Services and Facilities
Managers ..............................................
Database Administrators and Architects
Other a ......................................................
68.0
4.1
8.1
$30.88
48.12
21.19
2.8
2.6
2.4
12,575
710
1,289
$86.46
125.11
50.86
$388,309.82
34,155.58
827,309.67
8.8
22.05
2.5
1,450
55.13
31,972.50
4.5
0.1
6.3
48.98
53.91
30.86
3.4
0.5
2.5
1,003
3
1,065
166.53
26.96
77.14
49,126.94
134.78
32,858.98
Average .............................................
........................
........................
2.7
........................
85.34
........................
Total b ................................................
100.0
........................
........................
18,094
........................
563,868.27
Staff job category
Total burden
hours
Cost per filer
Total burden
hour cost
a The
average hourly wage rate for the ‘‘Other’’ category was derived by taking the weighted mean average of the hourly wage rates of the six
BLS job categories listed in the above table.
b These estimates are based upon filers’ use of the EEO–4 OFS to submit reports electronically because paper submissions are no longer accepted. Electronic filing remains the most efficient, accurate, and secure means of reporting for respondents required to submit the EEO–4
report.
Dated: December 2, 2024.
For the Commission.
Charlotte A. Burrows,
Chair.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Existing Collection
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[FR Doc. 2024–28580 Filed 12–5–24; 8:45 am]
Notice of information
collection—proposed revision of
Elementary-Secondary Staff Information
Report (EEO–5).
ACTION:
BILLING CODE 6570–01–P
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the
Equal Employment Opportunity
16 Hourly wage rates for these six job categories
were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational
Outlook Handbook. See https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Please note that the actual job titles reported during
the 2023 EEO–4 data collection were collapsed into
these six BLS occupational categories.
17 The time estimates are based on the average
time elapsed among filers who completed their
report during the same calendar day within the
EEO–4 OFS. This methodology was chosen because
a single-session submission would also
approximate the completion time over several,
multi-day sessions.
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18:02 Dec 05, 2024
SUMMARY:
Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 235 (Friday, December 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 96963-96965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28580]
=======================================================================
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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Existing Collection
AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information collection--proposed revision of State
and Local Government Information Report (EEO-4).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) announces
that it has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a
request for a three-year PRA approval of revisions to the currently
approved State and Local Government Information Report (EEO-4).
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before
January 6, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent within 30 days of
publication of this final notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
Find this information collection by selecting ``Currently under
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Guerino, Director, Data
Development and Information Products Division, Office of Enterprise
Data and Analytics (OEDA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 131
M Street NE, Washington, DC 20507; (202) 921-2928 (voice), (800) 669-
6820 (TTY) or email at [email protected]. Requests for this notice in an
alternative format should be made to the EEOC's Office of
Communications and Legislative Affairs at (202) 921-3191 (voice), (800)
669-6820 (TTY), or (844) 234-5122 (ASL Video Phone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice that the EEOC would be submitting
this request was published in the Federal Register on September 4,
2024, allowing for a 60-day public comment period which ended on
November 4, 2024.\1\ The EEOC received no comments during the public
comment period.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Notice of Information Collection 89 FR 71901 (Sept. 4,
2024) at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/04/2024-19743/agency-information-collection-activities-existing-collection.
\2\ Available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EEOC-2024-0008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Background
A. The EEO-4 Report
Since 1973, the EEOC has required EEO-4 filers to submit workforce
demographic data. All State and local governments that are covered by
title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (title VII) \3\
and that have 100 or more employees are required to file the workforce
demographic data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. The 60-Day Notice: Request for Three-Year PRA Approval of Revisions
to the EEO-4
Pursuant to the PRA and OMB regulations found at 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1), the Commission published a Notice in the Federal Register
on September 4, 2024, soliciting public comments during a 60-day period
(``60-day Notice'') on the Commission's intent to seek a three-year OMB
approval of revisions to the currently approved EEO-4. In particular,
in its 60-day Notice, the EEOC sought comments to: (1) Evaluate whether
the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the Commission's functions, including whether the
information will have practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of
the Commission's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
to be collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses. The 60-day Notice
comment period ended on November 4, 2024.
Based on data from the most recent EEO-4 data collection reporting
year (i.e., 2023), as well as ongoing updates by the EEOC to the EEO-4
frame (i.e., filer roster or master list), the EEOC anticipates the
total number of filers submitting an EEO-4 report may increase to 6,607
per biennial collection. Accordingly, the burden estimates in this
Notice are based on this revised estimate of the number of filers.
II. The Public Comments on the 60-Day Notice
The 60-day Notice was published in the Federal Register on
September 4, 2024.\4\ The EEOC received no comments during the public
comment period.\5\
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\4\ Available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/04/2024-19743/agency-information-collection-activities-existing-collection.
\5\ Available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EEOC-2024-0008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Commission Decisions and Final EEOC Proposals to OMB
The EEOC Will Seek Three-Year Approval of Revisions to the Currently
Approved EEO-4 State and Local Government Information Report
The Commission has decided it will seek a three-year approval by
OMB of revisions to the EEO-4 State and Local Government Information
Report as described in this Notice.
IV. Formal Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
A. Overview of Information Collection
Collection Title: State and Local Government Information Report
(EEO-4).
OMB Number: 3046-0008.
Frequency of Report: Biennial.
Type of Respondent: State and local governments that have 100 or
more employees and meet certain criteria.
Description of Affected Public: State and local governments that
have 100 or more employees and meet certain criteria.
Reporting Hours: 18,094 hours per biennial collection.
Respondent Burden Hour Cost: $563,868.27 per biennial collection.
Federal Cost: $327,440.12 per biennial collection.
Number of Filers: 6,607 per biennial collection.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ This figure is based on the expanded frame of potentially
eligible respondents and the response rate for the most recently
completed EEO-4 data collection (the 2023 EEO-4 data collection).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Responses: 6,607 per biennial collection.
Number of Forms: 1.
Form Number: EEOC Form 164.
Abstract: Section 709(c) of title VII requires employers to make
and keep
[[Page 96964]]
records relevant to the determination of whether unlawful employment
practices have been or are being committed, to preserve such records,
and to produce reports as the Commission prescribes by regulation or
order.\7\ Pursuant to this statutory authority, the EEOC issued
regulations prescribing the reporting and related record retention
requirements for State and local governments.\8\ The regulations
require State and local governments to make or keep all records
necessary for completion of an EEO-4 submission and retain those
records for three years, and also require EEO-4 filers to retain a copy
of each filed EEO-4 report for three years. These recordkeeping
requirements are part of standard administrative practices, and as a
result, the EEOC believes that any impact on burden would be negligible
and nearly impossible to quantify. Additionally, the regulations
require State and local governments to file executed copies of the EEO-
4 in conformity with the directions set forth in the form and
accompanying instructions. Under this authority, State and local
governments with 100 or more employees are required to report
biennially \9\ the number of individuals they employ by job category
and by sex, salary band, and race or ethnicity.
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\7\ 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c).
\8\ The regulatory sections covered by this notice are 29 CFR
1602.30 and 1602.32 through 1602.37. The EEOC is responsible for
obtaining OMB's PRA approval for the EEO-4 report.
\9\ Beginning in 1993, the EEO-4 report has been collected
biennially in odd-numbered years. Prior to 1993, the EEO-4 report
was collected annually.
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Please note that on March 28, 2024, OMB published revisions, the
first since 1997, to its Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards
for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and
Ethnicity. See https://spd15revision.gov/. The revisions include, for
example, using a single combined race and ethnicity question and adding
Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) as a new minimum reporting
category. Federal agencies, including the EEOC, are required to bring
their data collections into compliance with these standards by March
28, 2029. Because the EEOC's current EEO-4 PRA clearance expires
January 31, 2025, the agency is not proposing updates to its collection
of race and ethnicity data under this Notice in order to provide filers
with sufficient notice of the revised standards and to give the EEOC
sufficient time to implement the revisions across its EEO collections.
The EEOC currently collects EEO-4 data electronically through a
web-based data collection application (i.e., portal) referred to as the
EEO-4 Online Filing System (OFS).\10\ Filers must submit their data
electronically to the web-based portal by either manual entry or by
uploading a data file. The individual EEO-4 reports are
confidential.\11\ The EEOC uses EEO-4 data to investigate charges of
employment discrimination against State and local governments and to
publish periodic reports on workforce demographics.\12\
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\10\ EEO-4 filers may access the OFS through the EEOC's
dedicated EEO-4 website at www.eeocdata.org/eeo4.
\11\ All reports and any information from individual reports are
subject to the confidentiality provisions of section 709(e) of title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(e), as
amended (title VII), and may not be made public by the EEOC prior to
the institution of any proceeding under title VII involving the EEO-
4 data. Any EEOC employee who violates this prohibition may be found
guilty of a criminal misdemeanor and could be fined or imprisoned.
The confidentiality requirements allow the EEOC to publish only
aggregated data, and only in a manner that does not identify any
particular filer or reveal any individual employee's personal
information. With respect to other Federal agencies with a
legitimate law enforcement purpose, the EEOC gives access to
information collected under title VII only if the agencies agree in
writing to comply with the confidentiality provisions of title VII.
In addition, section 709(d) of title VII (42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(d))
provides that the EEOC shall furnish upon request and without cost
to State or local civil rights agencies information about employers
in their jurisdiction on the condition that they not make it public
prior to starting a proceeding under State or local law involving
such information. The EEOC shares EEO-4 data with Fair Employment
Practices Agencies (FEPAs) pursuant to Worksharing Agreements that
impose obligations on the contracted FEPA with respect to
confidentiality, privacy, and data security. On a case-by-case
basis, the EEOC may share EEO-4 data with a FEPA that does not have
a Worksharing Agreement, but only if that FEPA agrees to comply with
confidentiality, privacy, and data security obligations similar to
those imposed on FEPAs with Worksharing Agreements.
\12\ Any reports the EEOC publishes based on EEO-4 data include
only aggregated data that protect the confidentiality of each
employer's information, as well as the privacy of each employee's
personal information.
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B. Burden Statement
The EEOC's Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics (OEDA)
administers the agency's data collections, including the EEO-4. Since
OEDA's creation in 2018, the EEOC has undertaken several efforts to
modernize the agency's data collections and improve the quality of data
collected. OEDA has also streamlined functions, such as providing
additional self-service options, resource materials, and an online
support message center.
As part of these ongoing modernization efforts, OEDA has undertaken
measures to enhance the agency's existing EEO-4 data frame of
potentially eligible filers and make the EEO-4 filing process more
user-friendly and less burdensome. By comparing the EEOC's 2023 EEO-4
frame to the U.S. Census Bureau's Census of Governments,\13\ OEDA
identified approximately 1,220 additional State and local governments
that may be eligible to file during the next biennial data collection.
With the addition of these filers to the EEO-4 frame and considering
response rates during the 2023 EEO-4 data collection, OEDA now
estimates 6,607 potential respondents to the agency's next EEO-4 data
collection.\14\
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\13\ The Census of Governments is a three-phased program that
collects State and local government data every five years in years
ending in ``2'' and ``7.'' See https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/census-of-governments.html.
\14\ This estimate covers State and local governments with 100
or more employees within the 50 United States and the District of
Columbia. Please note that 6,607 respondents may ultimately turn out
to be an overestimate. Following the initial enhancement of the EEO-
4 frame, collection data may yield an unknown number of ineligible
filers.
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Additionally, the EEOC proposes to update the salary bands in the
next biennial EEO-4 data collection to keep pace with inflation and
account for an increasing portion of employees falling into the highest
salary bands. The EEOC reviewed several other Federal data collections
of salaries and wages and determined that the Bureau of Labor
Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) \15\
program most closely aligns with the EEO-4. Therefore, the EEOC
proposes adopting the OEWS salary bands and will periodically update
them as appropriate. The EEOC recognizes there may be a one-time
increase in burden as filers need to update their systems to produce
reports in the new categories, but this increase is expected to be
negligible. The proposed pay bands for the next biennial EEO-4 data
collection are listed in the table below.
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\15\ The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
program produces employment and wage estimates annually for
approximately 830 occupations. See https://www.bls.gov/oes/.
[[Page 96965]]
Table 1--Updated Salary Bands for EEO-4
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Wages
Interval ---------------------------------------
Annual Hourly
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Range A......................... Under $19,240..... Under $9.25.
Range B......................... 19,240 to 24,959.. 9.25 to 11.99.
Range C......................... 24,960 to 32,239.. 12.00 to 15.49.
Range D......................... 32,240 to 41,079.. 15.50 to 19.74.
Range E......................... 41,080 to 53,039.. 19.75 to 25.49.
Range F......................... 53,040 to 68,119.. 25.50 to 32.74.
Range G......................... 68,120 to 87,359.. 32.75 to 41.99.
Range H......................... 87,360 to 112,319. 42.00 to 53.99.
Range I......................... 112,320 to 144,559 54.00 to 69.49.
Range J......................... 144,560 to 186,159 69.50 to 89.49.
Range K......................... 186,160 to 239,199 89.50 to 114.99.
Range L......................... 239,200 and over.. 115.00 and over.
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The EEOC has also updated its methodology for calculating the
biennial burden of the EEO-4 to better reflect the types of personnel
responsible for preparing and filing these reports on behalf of their
employers. Based upon job titles provided during the 2023 EEO-4 data
collection by individuals completing the report within the EEO-4 OFS,
the EEOC has identified six specific job categories which account for
the largest amount of time spent biennially on EEO-4 reporting. These
job categories include: (1) Human Resource Specialists; (2) Executive-
Level Staff; (3) Secretaries and Administrative Assistants; (4)
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks; (5) Administrative
Services and Facilities Managers; and (6) Database Administrators and
Architects.\16\
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\16\ Hourly wage rates for these six job categories were
obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook. See https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Please note that the actual job titles reported
during the 2023 EEO-4 data collection were collapsed into these six
BLS occupational categories.
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Additionally, the EEO-4 OFS captures detailed information on when
each filer starts and certifies its report. The EEOC used this
information from the most recent EEO-4 data collection to calculate
more precise burden hour estimates.\17\ In Table 2 below, the estimated
average hour burden per report is 2.7 hours. The total estimated
biennial respondent burden for all filers is 18,094 hours. The
estimated average burden hour cost per report is $85.34, and the
estimated total burden hour cost for all filers per biennial collection
is $563,868.27.
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\17\ The time estimates are based on the average time elapsed
among filers who completed their report during the same calendar day
within the EEO-4 OFS. This methodology was chosen because a single-
session submission would also approximate the completion time over
several, multi-day sessions.
Table 2--Projected Burden for Each EEO-4 Biennial Reporting Year
[N=6,607]
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Percent in job Median hourly Hours per Total burden Total burden
Staff job category category wage rate filer hours Cost per filer hour cost
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Human Resource Specialists.............................. 68.0 $30.88 2.8 12,575 $86.46 $388,309.82
Executive-Level Staff................................... 4.1 48.12 2.6 710 125.11 34,155.58
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants............... 8.1 21.19 2.4 1,289 50.86 827,309.67
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks............ 8.8 22.05 2.5 1,450 55.13 31,972.50
Administrative Services and Facilities Managers......... 4.5 48.98 3.4 1,003 166.53 49,126.94
Database Administrators and Architects.................. 0.1 53.91 0.5 3 26.96 134.78
Other \a\............................................... 6.3 30.86 2.5 1,065 77.14 32,858.98
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Average............................................. .............. .............. 2.7 .............. 85.34 ..............
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Total \b\........................................... 100.0 .............. .............. 18,094 .............. 563,868.27
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\a\ The average hourly wage rate for the ``Other'' category was derived by taking the weighted mean average of the hourly wage rates of the six BLS job
categories listed in the above table.
\b\ These estimates are based upon filers' use of the EEO-4 OFS to submit reports electronically because paper submissions are no longer accepted.
Electronic filing remains the most efficient, accurate, and secure means of reporting for respondents required to submit the EEO-4 report.
Dated: December 2, 2024.
For the Commission.
Charlotte A. Burrows,
Chair.
[FR Doc. 2024-28580 Filed 12-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6570-01-P
