Proposed Collection; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training

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 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Veterans'

Employment and Training is soliciting comments concerning the proposed

revision of the collection of the Federal Contractor Veterans'

Employment Report (VETS-100).

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

obtained by contacting the office listed in the addressee section of

this notice.

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

addressee section on or before February 25, 1997.

The Department of labor is particularly interested in comments

which:

* 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 technology, e.g., permitting

electronic submissions of responses.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to Jeffrey C. Crandall,

Director of Planning, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Veterans'

Employment and Training, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S-1313,

Washington D.C. 20210. Telephone: (202) 219-9110; fax: (202) 219-4773.

Copies of comments submitted by the public will be available for

review at the Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S-

1316, Washington, D.C. 20210 between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 5:00

p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rob M. Wilson, Chief, Division of Enforcement, at the address

immediately above, (202) 219-9110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Veterans' Employment and Training Service is required by 38 USC

4212(d) to collect information from Federal contractors and

subcontractors on the number of Vietnam era veterans and the number of

special disabled veterans in their workforce, as well as the number of

new hires during the reporting period who are Vietnam era or special

disabled veterans. Pursuant to this statute, employers with Federal

contracts or subcontracts of $10,000 or more must file VETS-100 reports

annually. The VETS-100 data collection program has existed since 1987.

Regulations to implement the statute were published on March 4, 1987.

The VETS-100 data are used by the Veterans' Employment and Training

Service (VETS) to monitor compliance with the statute. The information

is also shared with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs,

Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, and

other Federal procurement officials.

II. Current Actions

Through this information collection request, the Veterans'

Employment and Training Service (VETS) seeks to reinstate the

collection of the Employer Identification Number (EIN). The

implementing regulation for the VETS-100 data collection program

instructed respondents to provide the EIN number with other company

identifiers. Practice over the years has led to the use of an

identification number which is unique to this data collection.

Currently, employers are assigned a specific identification number for

purposes of this report only. The system in place is incompatible with

other data base information pertaining to Federal contractors

maintained by other Federal agencies such as the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the General Services Administration

(GSA).

Also, at its inception, the VETS-100 form was modeled after the

EEO-1 form and the reports were completed on the same time cycle.

Federal contractors and subcontractors with fifty or more employees

and contracts or subcontracts of $50,000 or more are required to submit

the EEO-1 form. The threshold for the VETS-100 submission is $10,000 or

more regardless of employment levels. Thus almost all larger

contractors are currently filling out both forms but for a different

time period and submission date. This request, if approved, will change

the VETS-100 file date to September 30 of each current year to commence

in 1998. Currently the date for filing the VETS-100 is March 31. The

EEOC form currently collects the Employer Identification number and the

Dun & Bradstreet number from Federal contractor respondents. The

inclusion of these numbers on the VETS-100 form would be consistent

with existing practice for the EEO-1 report collection. The Dun and

Bradstreet number is a standard business identifier used in the Federal

Procurement Database system, maintained by GSA as well as in common

procurement practice. VETS proposal would facilitate the sharing of

information through use of common identifier(s).

With the proposed changes, information derived from the VETS-100

collection process would be more useful to veteran staff in local

employment service offices who call upon Federal contractors for

purposes of job development for veterans.

The proposed cycle change and use of common identifiers should not

place an undue burden on Federal contractors who already provide the

EIN and Dun & Bradstreet number to EEOC on the EEO-1 form. Reporting on

the same cycle will further facilitate completing the reports, as the

same pay period may be used for each. The EEO-1 and the VETS-100 each

stand on their own, but common identifiers will enable efficient

information sharing to occur.

Type of Review: Revision/Extension.

[[Page 68304]]

Agency: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment

and Training.

Title: Federal Contractor Veterans Employment Report (VETS-100).

OMB Number: 1293-0005.

Agency Number: 1291.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit/not-for-profit

institutions who have Federal contracts of at least $10,000.

Total Respondents: 190,000.

Frequency: Annually.

Total Responses: 291,000.

Average Time per Response: 30 minutes.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 145,500.

Total Burden Cost: $727,500.

Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be

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: December 20, 1996.

Jeffrey C. Crandall,

Director of Planning.

[FR Doc. 96-33023 Filed 12-26-96; 8:45 am]

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