Office of Personnel Management November 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This gives notice of OPM decisions granting authority to make appointments under Schedules A, B, and C in the excepted service as required by 5 CFR 6.6 and 213.103.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget a request for review of an expiring information collection form. OPM-1386B, Applicant Race and National Origin Questionnaire, is used to gather information concerning the race and national origin of applicants for employment under the Outstanding Scholar provision of the Luevano Consent Decree, 93 F.R.D. 68 (1981). New standards for collecting race and ethnicity are defined in the Federal Register notice, ``Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,'' 62 FR 58782 (1997). The standards change the classification of Federal data on race and ethnicity contained in OMB Directive 15, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting. This classification provides a minimum standard for maintaining, collecting, and presenting data on race and ethnicity. The standards have five categories for race and two categories for ethnicity. They also allow individuals to select more than one race, based on self-identification. Approximately 100,000 OPM-1386B forms are completed annually. Each form takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. The annual estimated burden is 8,333 hours. Comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Office of Personnel Management and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey by telephone (202) 606-8358, or by e-mail MaryBeth.Smith-Toomey@opm.gov.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) plans to submit to the Office of Management and Budget a request for the review of an expiring information collection form, Occupational Questionnaire (OPM Form 1203-FX). The Occupational Questionnaire is an optical scan form designed to collect applicant information and qualifications in a format suitable for automated processing and to create applicant records for an automated examining system. The 1203 series was commonly referred to as the ``Qualifications and Availability Form C.'' OPM has re-titled the series as ``Occupational Questionnaire'' to fit a more generic need. OPM uses this form to carry out its responsibility for open competitive examining for admission to the competitive service in accordance with section 3304, of title 5, United States Code. OPM is not revising the current Occupational Questionnaire. OPM Form 1203-FX is a seven page version that allows the applicant to transmit information via facsimile, mail, or the Internet using a fillable Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) file. Additionally, OPM is discontinuing the three-page version, OPM Form 1203-EZ which was previously approved by OMB in 2002. It was thought at that time the shortened form would reduce the public burden in applying for federal positions, but with the advent of platform changes to OPM's automated staffing product, the additional system programming needed to recognize the difference between the FX and EZ forms never occurred. Comments are particularly invited on whether this information is necessary for the proper performance of OPM; whether it will have practical utility; whether OPM's estimate of public burden in the collection of the information is accurate, based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways in which the burden of information collection can be minimized on those that respond through the use of appropriate collection technology or other forms of information technology. The public reporting burden of collecting this information is estimated to vary from 20 to 45 minutes to complete this form including time for reviewing instructions, gathering the data needed, and completing and reviewing entries. The average time to complete the form is 30 minutes. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey at 202- 606-8358, fax at 202-418-3251, or e-mail at mbtoomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final regulation for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). This regulation requires that each federation and unaffiliated organization applying to participate in the CFC must, as a condition of participation, certify that it is in compliance with all statutes, Executive orders, and regulations restricting or prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in transactions and dealings with countries, entities, and individuals subject to economic sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The Department of Defense (DoD or the Department) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are issuing final regulations to establish the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), a human resources management system, within DoD, as authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 108-136, November 24, 2003). These regulations govern basic pay, staffing, classification, performance management, labor relations, adverse actions, and employee appeals. These changes are designed to ensure that the Department's human resources management and labor relations systems align with its critical mission requirements and protects the civil service rights of its employees.