[Federal Register: July 31, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 147)]
[Notices]
[Page 44971-44972]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31jy03-97]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection
AGENCY: Merit Systems Protection Board.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et. seq.), this notice announces that the Merit Systems Protection
Board (MSPB or the Board) has forwarded to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for approval the following proposed information
collection: e-Appeal, a new electronic application for filing an appeal
with the Board, and MSPB Form 185 (7/03), a revised MSPB paper Appeal
Form.
On September 4, 2002, MSPB published in the Federal Register (67 FR
56600) a notice of its intent to submit this proposed information
collection to OMB for approval. The notice advised the public that MSPB
had revised and expanded its approved MSPB Appeal Form (Optional Form
283, OMB Control Number 3124-0009) to create a new MSPB Appeal Forms
Package. The expanded package of forms included additional questions
necessitated by the enactment of new laws and changes in the Board's
regulations since the MSPB Appeal Form was last revised in 1994. The
notice further advised the public that MSPB planned to develop a new
electronic application for filing an appeal with the Board, based on
the MSPB Appeal Forms Package. Public comments suggested that, in paper
form, the expanded MSPB Appeal Forms Package was too long and too
complicated, particularly for pro se appellants. The comments also
noted that the majority of appellants would not need many of the forms
in the package. Accordingly, MSPB revised its approach to this
information collection.
As now proposed, this information collection will consist of two
MSPB-provided options for filing an appeal with the Board. The first
option, e-Appeal, is an electronic application based on the
comprehensive MSPB Appeal Forms Package. It will permit an appellant to
file any type of appeal over which the Board has jurisdiction and to
raise any additional claims that the Board may consider in the
particular type of appeal being filed. An appellant will access the e-
Appeal application via the MSPB Web site and will be guided through the
process in an interview format. The questions presented to each
appellant will be those applicable to the particular type of appeal
being filed.
The second option is a simplified paper MSPB Appeal Form (MSPB Form
185). This form will include only questions applicable to the majority
of appeals filed with the Board, i.e., appeals of an agency personnel
action or a decision affecting the appellant's retirement rights or
benefits. Other claims, such as claims that the appealed action or
decision was the result of prohibited discrimination or that the agency
committed harmful procedural error in taking it, can be raised with the
appeal if the appellant provides the required information to support
each claim as an attachment. (Alternatively, such claims can be raised
later in the process.) The form can also be used to file an Individual
Right of Action (IRA) appeal under the Whistleblower Protection Act, a
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
appeal, or a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) appeal if the
appellant provides the additional information required for those types
of appeals as an attachment.
The MSPB Form 185 will replace the current OF-283 and will be the
form that an agency provides when it takes an action or makes a
decision that is appealable to the Board. The majority of appellants
will be able to file their appeals using the simplified MSPB Form 185
without having to provide additional information as an attachment. Use
of the form is not mandatory. An appellant who chooses to file on paper
may do so in any written format, including letter form, as long as the
appeal provides the information required by the Board's regulations and
otherwise complies with those regulations.
The two MSPB-provided options for filing an appeal with the Board
are available for review on the MSPB Web site at http://www.mspb.gov/e-appeal.html
.
In this regard, we are soliciting comments on the public reporting
burden. The reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to vary from 20 minutes to 4 hours per response, with an
average of 60 minutes, including time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hours per
5 CFR section Annual number Frequency Total annual response Total hours
of respondents per response responses (average)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1201, 1208 and 1209..................... 6,300 1 6,300 1 6,300
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other aspect of
the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the
burden, to the address shown below. Please refer to
[[Page 44972]]
OMB Control No. 3124-0009 in any correspondence.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 2, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the paperwork burden should be addressed
to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for MSPB, 725 17th
Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, with a copy to Mr. Arlin Winefordner,
Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M Street, NW., Washington, DC
20419 (or by e-mail to Arlin.Winefordner@mspb.gov).
Dated: July 25, 2003.
Matthew Shannon,
Counsel to the Clerk of the Board.
[FR Doc. 03-19454 Filed 7-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7400-01-U