Under the National Compensation Survey
(NCS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts ongoing
surveys of compensation and job characteristics. Data collected by
the NCS is used to produce Employment Cost Trends, including the
Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation (ECEC), employee benefits data, and data used by the
President's Pay Agent. For the President's Pay Agent the BLS
introduced in 2011 a new approach that uses data from two current
BLS programs – the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey
and the ECI program. This approach uses OES data to provide wage
data by occupation and by area, while ECI data are used to specify
grade level effects. This approach is also being used to extend the
estimation of pay gaps to areas that were not included in the prior
Locality Pay Survey sample, and this data has been delivered to the
Pay Agent.
US Code:
5 USC
5318 Name of Law: The Ethics Reform Act of 1989
US Code: 29 USC
2b Name of Law: Studies of Productivity and Labor Costs in
Industries
US Code: 5 USC
5304 Name of Law: The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act
of 1990
The burden increase of 8,049
hours is due to the NCS transition to a 3 year collection cycle.
Under this cycle design for NCS, most private industry
establishments only will be in the sample for 3 years compared to
previously being in the survey 5 years. The first year of the
private industry cycle also has greater initiation burden hours as
the aircraft manufacturing and large firms with a sample weight of
1 enter the survey during that year.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.