Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy; Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; the National Agricultural Workers Survey Questionnaire Form

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy; Agency Information

Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; the

National Agricultural Workers Survey Questionnaire Form

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP), Department

of Labor.

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 Policy is

soliciting comments concerning the questionnaire used by the National

Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). This survey has been conducted

under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance since October

1988. It has up to this time conducted on average 2,500 interviews per

year. The focus has been on demographic, employment and health data.

The NAWS information collection request will consist of two parts. The

first part is the continued approval of the traditional NAWS survey

questions for the 2,500 respondents for the three year period. The

second part, the NAWS will conduct for one year only, a pilot test of

an enlarged sample size of 4,500 and will utilize an enhanced survey

form which includes additional in-depth questions on occupational

health. The sampling frame and estimation procedures will not be

altered by the pilot. Furthermore, the survey format, though enlarged,

will be in large measure the same as the traditional NAWS survey form.

The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments

which:

Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper functioning of government agencies charged

with protecting the well being of the farmworker population, 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.

DATE: Written comment must be submitted by June 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be submitted to the U.S. Department of

Labor, Room S-2312, (200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210,

telephone (202) 219-6197. Written comments limited to 10 pages or fewer

may also be transmitted by facsimile to (202) 219-9216.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Contact Richard Mines, Economist and Program Officer for the National

Agricultural Workers Survey, Office of the Assistant Secretary of

Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-2312, 200 Constitution Ave.,

NW, Washington, D.C. 20210. Telephone: (202) 219-6197. Copies of the

referenced information collection request are available for inspection

and copying and will be mailed to persons who request copies by

telephoning Richard Mines at (202) 219-6197. For more information about

the NAWS, consult the NAWS home page at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/asp/

public/programs/agworker/naws.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The NAWS began surveying farmworkers in 1988, it has collected

information from over 22,000 workers. The survey samples all crop

farmworkers in three cycles each year in order to capture the

seasonality of the work. The NAWS locates and samples workers at their

work sites, avoiding the well-publicized undercount of this difficult-

to-find population. During the initial contact, arrangements are made

to interview the respondent at home or at another convenient location.

What Information Does the NAWS Collect?

Household and Family Composition. The NAWS interview

contains a family grid that asks basic demographic information for all

household members, and records information about each person's

education level and migration patterns.

Additional Demographics. The NAWS collects a more

comprehensive demographic profile of the farmworker himself including

language ability, contacts in non-agricultural jobs, and parental

involvement in agriculture.

Employment History. The NAWS compiles a full year of

information on the employment and geographic movement of the

farmworker. This history covers the occupation, including task and crop

if employed in agriculture, type of non-agricultural work if employed

off the farm, periods of unemployment and periods abroad, and the

worker's location for every week of the year preceding the interview.

Wages, Benefits and Working Conditions. The NAWS collects

information on payment method (piece or hourly) and wages, on health

insurance, on workers compensation and unemployment insurance, and on

other benefits and working conditions.

Health, Safety and Housing. The NAWS gathers information

on medical history, use of medical services, participation in pesticide

training, and on the worker's housing arrangements.

Income and Assets, Social Services and Legal Status. The

NAWS questionnaire has a series of questions on personal and family

income, assets held in the United States and abroad, use of social

services, and legal or immigration status.

II. Current Actions

This action requests continued OMB approval of the paperwork

requirements in the NAWS survey form. It also requests OMB approval to

conduct a one year pilot with a larger sample size and an enhanced

focus on occupational health. OMB approval is necessary to continue

collecting information needed by federal programs mandated by Congress

to monitor and serve the farmworker population. These include among

others the National Agricultural Statistical Service of the USDA, the

Office of Migrant Education of the Department of Education, the Migrant

Health Program, the Migrant Head Start Program and the National

Institute of Occupational Health of the Department of Health and Human

Services, the Farmworker Adult Training Program (JTPA 402) of

Department of Labor and

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the Pesticide Division of the Environmental Protection Agency. The

pilot project is necessary to fulfill the Congressionally mandated

charge to collect better information about farmworker occupational

health.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Agency: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy.

Title: The survey form of the National Agricultural Workers Survey.

OMB Number: 1225-0044.

Affected Public: Farmworkers and farm employees.

Total Respondents: 6000 respondents (4,500 farmworkers receiving a

full interview and 1,500 employers who will be briefly interviewed to

ascertain the location of the potential worker respondents).

Frequency: Annually (The survey is administered in three 10-12 week

cycles each year, beginning in October, February and May.

Approximately, one third of the 4,500 farmworker respondents are

interviewed each cycle. And, approximately 500 employers are approached

to make interviewee contacts each cycle.)

Total Responses: 6,000 including both interviewed farmworkers and

employers.

Average Time per Response: Time per response for employers is

approximately 20 minutes and for farmworker interviewees approximately

one hour.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,000 hours (4,500 hours of this

burden time will be incurred by workers and 500 by farm employers).

Total Annualized capital/startup costs: 0.

Total initial annual costs: (operating/maintaining systems or

purchasing services): 0.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized

and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget

approval of the information collection request. The comments will

become a matter of public record.

Dated: April 18, 1998.

Authorized Official in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for

Policy.

Richard Mines,

Economist.

[FR Doc. 98-10837 Filed 4-22-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510-23-M