Proposed Collection; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics

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 pre-clearance

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 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments

concerning the proposed new collection of the ``Construction Industry

Benefits Test.'' A copy of the proposed information collection request

(ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the

addressee section of this notice.

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

addressee section below on or before November 25, 1997. The Bureau of

Labor Statistics 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: Send comments to Karin G. Kurz, BLS Clearance Officer,

Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 3255,

2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212. Ms. Kurz can be

reached on 202-606-7628 (this is not a toll free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) has determined that

research should be conducted into alternative ways of collecting

information for Davis-Bacon Act purposes. As a result, ESA's Wage and

Hour Division (WHD) wishes to evaluate the usefulness of BLS data in

the Davis-Bacon wage determination process.

The Davis-Bacon Act

The Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 276a) requires that workers employed

on federal construction contracts valued in excess of $2,000 be paid

wages and fringe benefits that, at a minimum, have been determined by

the Secretary of Labor to be prevailing for corresponding classes of

workers employed on projects similar in character to the contract work

in the area where the construction takes place. The prevailing wage is

defined by Department of Labor regulations as the wage paid to more

than 50 percent of the workers in the job classification on similar

projects in the area during the period in question. If the majority of

those employed in the classification are not paid the same wage, the

prevailing wage is determined by calculating the average of the wages

paid. In cases where the majority of workers in a classification are

represented by a union

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and are paid the same rate, the union rate is the prevailing rate.

Current Actions: The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) and

the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Office of Compensation and

Working Conditions (OCWC) have entered into an interagency agreement to

test the feasibility of BLS collecting and publishing information on

the incidence of and employer costs for specific benefits by detailed

construction occupations in local areas. The purpose is to provide ESA

with an alternative method for arriving at compensation determinations

for the construction industry as required by the Davis-Bacon Act.

BLS will provide ESA with the survey results in both a publication

and an electronic file. In addition, BLS will provide respondents and

other interested parties with the survey results.

BLS plans wage and benefit collection in four metropolitan areas,

Jacksonville, Florida; Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah; Toledo, Ohio; and

Tucson, Arizona. In each locality, BLS will survey a sample of

establishments and, within each establishment, take a sample of blue-

collar jobs. Information will be collected on benefits incidence and

costs, hours worked, wages, and worker characteristics such as union/

nonunion and full-time/part-time job status.

The compensation data will include the following information:

Incidence of employee benefits by occupation;

Employer benefits cost by occupation; and

Median and mean earnings by occupation.

Worker characteristic information will include the following:

Union and nonunion;

Full-time and part-time; and

Time and incentive.

The types of benefit information collected will include:

Health, life, and disability insurance;

Retirement plan information;

Leave information; and

Overtime, shift, and bonus pay.

Depending upon response levels, varying degrees of occupational

detail will be produced.

The survey forms to be used for this test are the Employment Cost

Index forms previously approved under the National Compensation Survey

(OMB Number 1220-0164). BLS will use the information collected in this

test for statistical purposes only. To the full extent permitted by

law, BLS will hold the information in confidence and will not disclose

it without the written consent of respondents.

Type of Review: New Collection.

Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Title: Construction Industry Benefits Test.

OMB Number: 1220-New.

AFfected Public: Business or other for-profit.

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Number of Total Average

Fiscal year average respondents Responses per responses per minutes per Total burden

per year year year response hours

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BLS 3038A....................... 550 1 468 75 585

BLS 3038B....................... 550 1 468 35 273

BLS 3038D....................... 550 1 468 180 1404

Quality assurance............... 117 1 117 10 20

Average annual burden........... 550 1 468 293 2282

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Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.

Total Burden Coast (operating/maintenance): $0.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized

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

approval of the information collection request; they also will become a

matter of public record.

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 23rd day of September, 1997.

W. Stuart Rust, Jr.,

Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

[FR Doc. 97-25623 Filed 9-25-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510-24-M