BRS Emergency Justification Memo

U.S. Department of Labor

Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Washington, D.C. 20212

Dominic Mancini
Deputy Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, DC
Subject: United States Business Response Survey and JOLTS Supplemental Survey - Request for
Emergency Review and Clearance
Dear Dr. Mancini:
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR Part 1320,
Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the proposed information collection
project, “United States Business Response Survey and JOLTS Supplemental Survey” be processed as
an Emergency Clearance Request in accordance with section 1320.13, Emergency Processing.
I have determined that this information must be collected prior to the time periods established under
Part 1320 of the PRA and that this information is essential to the mission of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) to assess how the outbreak of a novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the U.S.
Economy.
BLS cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures under the PRA as the
coronavirus pandemic is an unanticipated event that is unprecedented in the sudden and dramatic
manner in which it is impacting the economy. BLS has an urgent necessity to collect this information
from the American public to assess changes to the U.S. economy resulting from this pandemic.
Therefore, BLS requests a 180-day emergency clearance to collect the United States Business
Response Survey and JOLTS Supplemental Survey (BRS) to capture how the coronavirus pandemic
has affected the U.S. economy.
The BLS is positioned to deploy the BRS immediately, with your emergency approval. We commit
to publishing a public notice about this information collection in the Federal Register within 30 days
of approval. We appreciate your understanding of this urgent request and look forward to your
response.
Respectfully,

WILLIAM
BEACH

Digitally signed by
WILLIAM BEACH
Date: 2020.06.22
15:53:49 -04'00'

William W. Beach
Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics