[Federal Register: September 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 173)]
[Notices]               
[Page 53385-53386]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08se05-78]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

 
Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

August 30, 2005.
    The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public 
information collection requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of 
each ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by 
contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) 
or e-mail: king.darrin@dol.gov.
    Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll-free number), 
within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal 
Register.
    The OMB 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 submission of responses.
    Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Title: Onsite Consultation Agreements (29 CFR Part 1908).
    OMB Number: 1218-0110.
    Frequency: On occasion; Quarterly; Biennially; and Annually.
    Type of Response: Reporting; Recordkeeping; and Third party 
disclosure.
    Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Government; Business or 
other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; and Federal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 31,048.
    Number of Annual Responses: 31,000.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Varies from 3 minutes for an employer 
or plant manager to sign a safety and health achievement recognition 
program application to 32 hours for an onsite consultation program 
manager to submit an agreement once per year.
    Total Burden Hours: 21,771.
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): $0.
    Description: The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 
Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes information collection by 
employers as necessary or appropriate for enforcement of the Act or for 
developing information regarding the causes and prevention of 
occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657).
    Section 7(c)(1) of the Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to, 
``with the consent of any State or political subdivision thereof, 
accept and use the services, facilities, and personnel of any agency of 
such State or subdivision with reimbursement.'' Section 21(C) of the 
Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to, ``consult with 
and advise employers and employees * * * as to effective means of 
preventing occupational illnesses and injuries.''
    Additionally, Section 21(d) of the Act instructs the Secretary to 
``establish and support cooperative agreements with the States under 
which employers subject to the Act may consult with State personnel 
with respect to the application of occupational safety and health 
requirements under the Act or under State plans approved under section 
18 of the Act.'' This gives the Secretary authority to enter into 
agreements with the States to provide onsite consultation services, and 
established rules under which employers may qualify for an inspection 
exemption. To satisfy the intent of these and other sections of the 
Act, OSHA codified the terms that govern cooperative agreements between 
OSHA and State governments whereby State agencies provide onsite 
consultation services to private employers to assist them in complying 
with the requirements of the OSH Act. The terms were codified as the 
Consultation Program regulations (29 CFR part 1908).
    The Consultation Program regulations specify services to be 
provided, and practices and procedures to be followed by the State 
Onsite Consultation Programs. Information collection requirements set 
forth in the Onsite Consultation Program regulations are in two 
categories: State Responsibilities and Employer Responsibilities. Eight 
regulatory provisions require information collection activities by the 
State. The Federal government provides 90 percent of funds for onsite 
consultation services delivered by the States, which result in the 
information collection. Four requirements apply to employers and 
specify conditions for receiving the free consultation services.
    Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
    Type of Review: New collection of Information.
    Title: Survey of Automatic External Defibrillator use in 
Occupational Setting.
    OMB Number: 1218-0NEW.
    Frequency: One time.
    Type of Response: Reporting.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents: 4,000.
    Number of Annual Responses: 5,036.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 10 to 15 minutes.
    Total Burden Hours: 551.
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): $0.
    Description: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has 
requested that OSHA conduct a comprehensive study of the usefulness and 
efficacy of Automatic External Defibrillator (AEDs) in occupational 
settings. To gather more information about AED use in occupational 
settings, OSHA will conduct a statistical survey of selected 
establishments in OSHA-regulated industrial sectors to develop 
statistically accurate estimates of the current prevalence of AED 
programs in various industrial sectors. OHSA will also develop 
estimates of the percentages of establishments that have considered, 
but not implemented such programs. Additionally, OSHA will collect 
information on the characteristics of AED programs and establishments 
(e.g., size, industry, workforce age distribution, etc.) that
may correlate with the presence or lack of an AED program. Finally, 
OSHA plans to supplement the statistical survey with extended case 
study interviews with selected respondents from the statistical survey. 
These interviews will provide in-depth, albeit qualitative, information 
about various factors that influence decisions on whether to implement 
AED programs, as well as about the circumstances that underlie the cost 
and effectiveness of such programs.
    OSHA has conducted a thorough search and review of existing studies 
and other literature about AED use. Only limited information is 
available about AED use in occupational settings, although substantial 
literature exists addressing AED use in public settings. In addition, 
OSHA found little direct evidence about AED cost-effectiveness in the 
workplace. Collection of information sought by OSHA from establishments 
concerning the use of automatic external defibrillators in occupational 
settings will include:
    1. Profile information, including industry, type of operation, 
number of employees, age distribution of employees, presence of safety 
or health professionals on staff, and experience with sudden cardiac 
events.
    2. Characteristics of AED programs in place, including number of 
units, number of employees trained, type and frequency of training, and 
percentage of workforce protected by AEDs.
    3. Factors influencing decisions whether to invest in AED equipment 
or implement an AED program, including experience with sudden cardiac 
events, role of marketing by AED manufacturers, costs of AED equipment, 
costs of training, cost of maintenance, and liability concerns.
    4. Frequency of use of AED units and their effectiveness in cases 
of employee heart attacks or other sudden cardiac events.
    5. In-depth interviews on issues identified with respect to Topics 
2, 3, and 4 will be conducted during post-survey case study interviews.
    OHSA plans to use this information, first, to identify the 
occupational settings in which AEDs are most cost-effective. Second, 
OSHA will use the survey results to identify barriers to expanding AED 
use and to help design effective outreach programs to encourage 
establishments to install AED equipment. Without this survey, OSHA will 
lack information about the current prevalence of AED programs in 
occupational settings. The Agency will also lack information on the 
characteristics of establishments with and without AED programs and 
about the factors that have influenced establishments' decisions 
whether to implement AED programs. Without this knowledge, OSHA will 
have difficulty determining the efficacy of different strategies that 
might be used to encourage the implementation of workplace AED programs 
such as developing outreach and promotion programs.
    The proposed collection of information consists of a two-stage 
statistical survey of at least 1,000 establishments in OSHA-regulated 
industries that have 100 or more employees. In the first stage, OSHA 
will survey establishments from the universe population to gather 
baseline profile information and to screen for establishments that 
either (1) have an AED program in place, or (2) have considered 
implementing an AED program but have not done so. In the second stage, 
screened respondents will be asked questions specific to which group 
their establishment belongs (i.e., currently has an AED program or 
considered but has not implemented such a program).
    As an adjunct to the statistical survey, OSHA plans to conduct as 
many as 36 in-depth case study interviews with selected volunteers 
among respondents in both the groups that do and do not have AED 
programs. These open-ended interviews will permit OSHA to gather 
detailed qualitative information about key issues pertaining to the 
implementation, cost, and effectiveness of AED programs and factors 
deterring implementation of such programs.

Ira L. Mills,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-17783 Filed 9-7-05; 8:45 am]

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