[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11118-11119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03802]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2010-0008]
Construction Fall Protection Systems Criteria and Practices, and
Training Requirements; Extension of the Office of Management and
Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork)
Requirements
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements
contained in the Construction Standards on Fall Protection Systems
Criteria and Practices, and Training Requirements.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
April 27, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer
than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service:
When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2010-0008,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, Room N-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210.
Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are
accepted during the OSHA Docket Office's normal business hours, 10:00
a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the
OSHA docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2010-0008) for this Information
Collection Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal
information you provide, such as social security number and date of
birth, are placed in the public docket without change, and may be made
available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information
on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the
section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at
the above address. All documents in the docket (including this Federal
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index;
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download from the website. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at
(202) 693-2222 to obtain a copy of the ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Construction Services,
Directorate of Construction, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, telephone:
(202) 693-2020.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of the continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs)
is minimal, collection instruments are understandable, and OSHA's
estimate of the information collection burden is correct. The
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) authorizes
information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for
enforcement of the OSH Act, or for developing information regarding the
causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and
accidents (29 U.S.C. 657).
The Standards on Construction Fall Protection Systems Criteria and
Practices (29 CFR 1926.502) and Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503)
ensure that employers provide the required fall protection for their
workers. Accordingly, these standards have the following paperwork
requirements: Paragraphs (c)(4)(ii) and (k) of 29 CFR 1926.502, which
specify
[[Page 11119]]
certification of safety nets and development of fall protection plans,
respectively, and paragraph (b) of 29 CFR 1926.503, which requires
employers to certify training records. The training certification
requirement specified in paragraph (b) of 29 CFR 1926.503 documents the
training provided to workers potentially exposed to fall hazards in
construction. A competent person must train these workers to recognize
fall hazards and in the use of procedures and equipment that minimize
these hazards. An employer must verify compliance with this training
requirement by preparing and maintaining a written certification record
that contains the name or other identifier of the worker receiving the
training, the date(s) of the training, and the signature of the
competent person who conducted the training, or of the employer.
II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
Whether the proposed information collection requirements
are necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions,
including whether the information is useful;
The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
The quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply;
for example, by using automated or other technological information
collection and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB extend approval of the collection of
information requirements contained in the Construction Standards on
Fall Protection Systems Criteria and Practices (29 CFR 1926.502) and
Training Requirements. OSHA is requesting a burden hour increase, from
425,844 to 471,232 hours, a difference of 45,388 hours. The increase is
primarily a result of a higher estimate of employers who must comply
with the collections of information as well as the way the agency is
now calculating burden hours. The hours are calculated using fractions
instead of decimals, as the agency believes that it is easier for the
public to follow this methodology.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Construction Fall Protection Systems Criteria and Practices
(29 CFR 1926.502) and Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0197.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal Government;
State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Responses: 5,645,796.
Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion, annually.
Average Time per Response: Time per response ranges from 5 minutes
(5/60 hour) to certify a safety net to 1 hour to develop a fall
protection plan.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 471,232.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.
IV. Public Participation-Submission of Comments on This Notice and
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments in response to this document as follows:
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name
and the OSHA docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2010-0008) for the ICR. You
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES).
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments
by your full name, date, and the docket number so the agency can attach
them to your comments.
Due to security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand,
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, TTY (877) 889-5627.
Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this
website.
All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on using
the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and access
the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. Contact
the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not available
from the website, and for assistance in using the internet to locate
docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012
(77 FR 3912).
Signed at Washington, DC, on February 20, 2020.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2020-03802 Filed 2-25-20; 8:45 am]
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