Proposed Collection; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to

reduce paperwork and respondent burden conducts a preclearance

consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies

with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing

collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to

ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format,

reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized,

collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of

collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.

Currently, the Employment and Training Administration is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed extension of collection of data to

update the Compendium of State Unemployment Insurance Operations,

Organizations and Relationships.

A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be

obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addressee section

of this notice.

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DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the

addressee section below on or before October 15, 1996. The Department

of Labor is particularly interested in comments which:

*Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,

including whether the information will have practical utility;

*Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of

the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

*Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be

collected; and

*Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or

other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic

submissions of responses.

ADDRESSES: Jack Bright, Unemployment Insurance Service, United States

Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Room S-

4231 FPB, Attn: TEUPDI, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC

20210. Telephone No. (202) 219-5616 (this is not a toll-free number),

FAX No. (202) 219-8506.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Compendium of State Unemployment Insurance Operations,

Organizations, and Relationships (the Compendium) was originally

prepared in July 1989 and was updated in July 1990 and July 1995. The

Compendium and the updates were developed to provide previously

unavailable information on State operations useful for State and

Federal policy development, program planning, and oversight activities.

The data collection in 1994 for the 1995 update was made under OMB

Approval No. 2305-0333, which expires September 30, 1996. That data is

beginning to become dated and consequently lacks complete reliability.

There is a need to collect information in early 1997 to publish a 1997

update of the Compendium to keep the information current and to

preserve its utility.

The Unemployment Insurance Service (UIS) has a need to know how

each of the 53 State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) uniquely

operates. The Compendium provides information on initial claim filing,

claimant interviews, continued claim reporting, benefit payment

procedures and controls, claim verification, job bank usage,

crossmatches with other agencies, tax collection procedures, appeals

procedures, roles played by advisory councils, and organizational and

functional relationships. It has provided information useful in UI

performance measurement studies, evaluation of corrective action plans

and in quality control reviews. The information is also used to analyze

proposed legislative and policy changes, as well as to respond to

Administration, Congressional and public inquiries. The SESAs are able

to use the Compendium to respond to inquiries from their State

legislators about how their methods of administration compare with

other States. It is also useful to a SESA for planning purposes,

because the States that use a particular methodology can be identified

so advice can be sought from a SESA that has implemented an innovative

approach or new technology.

The information is in a data base of SESA operations,

organizations, and procedures. UIS has the capability to relate this

data to other data (e.g., fiscal, statutes, workload reports, trust

fund balances, etc.) so that analysis of the relationships between

practice and performance, using all relevant factors, can be conducted.

By using the information, UIS has been able to answer inquiries

regarding nationwide practices which it could not do prior to

preparation of the Compendium.

II. Current Actions

The regular use of the Compendium by UIS, the Regional Offices, and

the SESAs since 1989 has established it as a useful tool. Consequently,

it needs to be kept as current as possible. Having it continuously

updated and available electronically will make it an even more useful

tool.

The 1995 Edition of the Compendium is currently accessible on the

Internet through the Home Pages of the Employment and Training

Administration and the Information Technology Support Center (ITSC).

The ITSC is a joint project of UIS and the Maryland Department of

Labor, Licensing and Regulation established to support the needs of the

53 State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) in applying automation

and technology solutions to meet the needs of the UI program. UIS

intends, in cooperation with the ITSC, to institute procedures for

SESAs to provide information about changes to the ITSC so that the

Compendium can be updated whenever SESAs implement changes in any of

the activities or structures encompassed by the Compendium. This will

give UIS, Regional Offices, SESAs, and the public electronic access to

the Compendium, and it can result in a Compendium that will continually

be updated and never out-of-date. SESAs will be reminded annually to

notify the ITSC of any changes that have occurred in the past year that

should be included in the Compendium.

As soon as all the details of the procedures for electronic

updating have been completed, the SESAs will be asked to report, on an

exception basis, any changes that have occurred since the last data

collection in 1994. Users are encouraged to offer suggestions for

improvement of the Compendium, e.g., new tables to provide information

desired about the use of new technology, the deletion of current tables

containing unnecessary or obsoleted information, and reformating tables

to make them easier to understand. Instructions will also be provided

to the SESAs, so they can notify the ITSC of future changes as they

occur. Ongoing changes will then be made to the Compendium so that

current information will be available and accessible through the ITSC

or ETA Home Page.

Type of Review: Extension.

Agency: Employment and Training Administration.

Title: Compendium of State Unemployment Insurance Operations,

Organizations, and Relationships.

OMB Number: 1205-0333.

Affected Public: State Government (State Employment Security

Agencies).

Total Respondents: 53 State Employment Security Agencies.

Frequency: On occasion, as changes occur and annual review.

Total Responses: 53.

Average Time Per Response: One hour or less for a SESA if and when

a change takes place. Three hours annually to verify that all changes

have been incorporated.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 225 (159 for annual review and

balance for periodic updates).

Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): none.

Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): The estimated cost to

the Federal Government is $4,000 annually for updating and maintaining

the Compendium on the ITSC Web site. Annual cost to each of the 53

SESAs is approximately 4 hours of staff time ($30 per hour) for

reviewing the Compendium and reporting needed changes.

Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be

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summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and

Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also

become a matter of public record.

Dated: August 8, 1996.

Mary Ann Wyrsch,

Director, Unemployment Insurance Service, United States Department of

Labor, Employment and Training Administration.

[FR Doc. 96-20792 Filed 8-14-96; 8:45 am]

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