ATUS Leave and Job Flexibilities Module
OMB Control Number 1220-0191
OMB Expiration Date: Reinstatement
SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
ATUS LEAVE AND JOB FLEXIBILITIES MODULE
OMB CONTROL NO. 1220-0191
This ICR seeks OMB clearance for a reinstatement with change of the BLS Leave and Job Flexibilities Module to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS).
A. Justification
Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.
The purpose of this request is for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to obtain clearance for a reinstatement of the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), scheduled to be conducted for one year, starting in January 2024. The proposed questions appear in Attachment A. As part of the ATUS, the module will survey employed wage and salary workers who are ages 15 and over, except those who are self-employed. If approved, the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module questions will be asked immediately after the ATUS and will follow up on some of the information ATUS respondents provide in their time diary. The time diary is a section of the ATUS interview in which respondents report the activities they did over a 24-hour period that mainly encompasses "yesterday," or the day before the interview. The Leave and Job Flexibilities Module is sponsored by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Women’s Bureau.
The proposed Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will collect data about workers’ access to and use of paid and unpaid leave, job flexibility, and their work schedules. The collection of the module in 2024 is another effort to gather data on workers’ access to paid and unpaid leave. A Leave Module similar to the one being proposed was attached to the ATUS in 2011 (OMB Number 1220-0175) and in 2017-18 (OMB Number 1220-0191). The 2024 ATUS Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will accomplish similar objectives as the 2011 and 2017-18 modules. Although many questions remain the same, some have been dropped, and some have been added to obtain better information about the availability and use of flexible and alternative work schedules. As in 2011, data will be collected on employees’ access to paid and unpaid leave and their leave activities (e.g., instances of leave taking, leave denials, and non-use of leave). Like the 2017-18 Leave Module, the proposed 2024 module will also collect data on job flexibilities and work schedules.
BLS is currently proposing to collect the 2024 module for one year. The Women’s Bureau has expressed interest in collecting the module again in 2025 or 2026, though a second year of collection is uncertain at this time. Two years of module data would allow a greater sample size for more detailed analyses (much like the 2017-18 Leave Module allowed). Therefore, BLS is requesting clearance for three years. If BLS and the Women’s Bureau decide to collect the module beyond 2024, BLS will submit a nonsubstantive change request to update the package.
The ATUS is the Nation's first federally administered, continuous survey about time use in the United States. The survey is sponsored by BLS and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. In the ATUS, a nationally representative sample of persons from households completing their final month of interviews for the Current Population Survey (CPS) is drawn for the ATUS. From each household, one person age 15 or older is selected for a one-time ATUS interview. The primary focus of the interview is on collecting the time diary, although additional questions are asked about the respondent's household composition and work during the prior week.
Time-use data are considered important indicators of both quality of life and the contribution of non-market work to national economies. They measure, for example, time spent caring for children, volunteering, working, sleeping, and doing leisure and other activities.
Collection of time-use data fits well within the BLS mission, as outlined in Title 29, United States Code, Section 1:
“The general design and duties of the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall be to acquire and diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with labor, in the most general and comprehensive sense of that word, and especially upon its relation to capital, the hours of labor, the earnings of laboring men and women, and the means of promoting their material, social, intellectual, and moral prosperity.”
Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.
The data from the proposed Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will support the BLS mission of providing relevant information on economic and social issues. The data will provide a richer description of work, specifically workers’ access to paid leave, the reasons for which workers are able to take leave, leave activity, and information about the availability and use of flexible and alternative work schedules. The module will also provide more information on the relationships between work schedules, job flexibilities, and time use.
The data from the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module closely support the mission of the module’s sponsor, DOL’s Women Bureau, to identify, research, and analyze the topics working women care about. The Leave and Job Flexibilities Module data files are intended to be used as a dataset for researchers. The previous Leave Modules have proven to be a rich data source for researchers. Some recent examples of how the Leave Module data have been used include:
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy used data from the 2017-18 Leave Module to examine access to paid leave for family and medical reasons among workers with disabilities.1
Carlson, Jetts, and Pepin used data from the 2017-18 Leave Module to study flexplace work and partnered father’s time in housework and childcare.2 They found fathers who use flexplace benefits report more routine childcare, regardless of the reason for flexplace use or their partners’ employment status.
Gimenez-Nadal, Molina, and Sevilla used data from the 2017-18 Leave Module to analyze the relationship between workers’ ability to vary or change their start and end time at work and the motherhood wage gap of working parents. They found that temporal flexibility has a U-shaped relationship with the wage rates of both fathers and mothers, and that temporal flexibility has a concave relationship with the motherhood wage gap.3
Pabilonia and Vernon estimated hourly wage differentials for teleworkers and compared how workers allocate their time over the day when they work from home rather than the office. They found that while some teleworkers earn a wage premium, it varies by gender, parental status, and teleworking intensity.4
Jennifer Bennett Shinall used the module data and found that workers in states with paid sick leave mandates were more likely to stay home when sick, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, likely reducing the spread of infectious disease in the workplace. Combining the ATUS Leave Module and data from the CPS, she further examined workers’ paid sick leave usage and the effects of paid sick leave legislation on wages, employment, and labor market participation rates.5
Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.
The U.S. Census Bureau, which collects and processes the data for ATUS, conducts all interviews over the telephone, completing the respondent’s time-use diary using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). Using an automated call scheduler and hourly reports from the system, cases are presented to interviewers in order depending on respondents’ designated interview days, pre-set appointment times, CPS information on the best time to call respondents, and other information.
The ATUS questionnaire and coding instrument are built in Blaise, a Windows-based software package developed by Statistics Netherlands and adopted as the Census Bureau standard. The software’s graphical user interface (GUI) enables the usage of data entry grids that accept many entries on one screen. This feature enables the interview to be flexible, making reporting easier for respondents. It also facilitates efficient and accurate coding of diary activities.
Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item A.2 above.
The 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will complement other leave and work flexibility data collection efforts. Because the ATUS is a time-use survey, the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will utilize the time diary data for research on the relationship between workers’ time use and their access to leave and job flexibilities. Researchers have demonstrated clear value in linking the job flexibilities data from the module to the core ATUS time-use diary (see Section A.2).
Data about leave currently are available from the BLS National Compensation Survey, but these data are collected from establishments and do not include information about workers' demographic and household characteristics. Like the previous module, the proposed module questions will provide information about workers' access to leave from workers' perspectives and by various characteristics such as their sex, ethnicity, race, and the presence and age of children in the household. The BLS National Longitudinal Survey collects some information about leave from employed individuals, but these data are available only for specific cohorts and not the entire population.
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the BLS CPS currently include questions about telework done in the last week. The ACS includes a question asked of those ages 16 and over who were employed and at work in the previous week on the method of transportation usually used to get to work. The question includes a response option of “worked from home” to identify home workers.6 Starting in May 2020, a series of supplemental questions were added to the CPS to understand the labor market and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These questions appear at the end of the basic monthly labor force questions and include four questions about work from home in the last week and in February 2020 to measure the effects of the pandemic on the labor market.7 These questions are set to expire in November 2023. For the next three-year approval, CPS is proposing to ask two questions about telework or work from home for pay in the last week.
The proposed Leave and Job Flexibilities Module telework questions collect additional detail that provide a better understanding of work at home flexibilities than the ACS or CPS telework questions allow, including if workers are paid for the work they do at home, how often workers work at home, and the main reason workers work at home. Together with data from the time diary, this additional information can shed light on the relationship between work at home patterns and time use.
Many of the proposed questions about job flexibilities and work schedules are based on questions last collected in May 2004 as a “Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement (WSS)” to the CPS (OMB Number 1220-0119). The CPS is planning to run another WSS in September 2024. It is not known at this time how many of the questions in the proposed 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will be the same or similar to those in the WSS. Because the ATUS samples from households completing their final month of interviews for the CPS, a small number of CPS WSS respondents may be asked the same or similar questions about job flexibilities and work schedules in the ATUS November and December 2024 interviews. BLS estimates a maximum of 160 respondents8 would be asked both the CPS Work Supplement and the ATUS Leave and Job Flexibilities Module questions in 2024.
BLS recognizes that minimizing respondent burden and duplication and maximizing the utility of collections is a statutory requirement of agencies put in place by Congress in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). BLS carefully considered several options to reduce respondent burden associated with duplicative questions. First, BLS consulted with survey research experts in the BLS Office of Survey Methods Research about the possibility of dependent interviewing. It was not clear how much burden would be reduced with dependent interviewing. While some respondents may be asked fewer questions, others would be asked additional questions. At the extreme, if all 160 respondents who reply to the WSS and Leave and Job Flexibilities Module are able to skip the full 2.5 minutes of job flexibility questions in the Leave Module, respondent burden would be reduced by only 6.7 hours (160 potential overlapping respondents)*(2.5 minutes of questions)/(60 minutes). Ultimately, BLS realized modifying the questionnaire, collection instrument, data processing, and estimate production processes to account for dependent interviewing would be extremely resource-intensive and would drastically increase the cost of the module.
Another way BLS sought to minimize respondent burden associated with duplicative questions was by decreasing the number of respondents who would receive both the WSS and the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module questions. The CPS first planned to field the WSS in May 2024. CPS moved the planned supplement to September to reduce overlap with the ATUS Leave Module. Because individuals are interviewed for the ATUS 2-5 months after their MIS8 interview and the proposed ATUS Leave Module ends in December 2024, fewer people would be asked both the CPS WSS and the ATUS Leave Module questions. While BLS would prefer they were timed differently so they did not overlap at all, both the ATUS and CPS have limited openings for the fielding of supplements and modules.
BLS feels there are benefits to asking some of the same questions on both the WSS and the Leave Module. For example, people’s work schedules may be subject to seasonal or other changes even if they have the same job in both surveys. CPS will ask the WSS questions about all eligible persons in the household, allowing proxy respondents, whereas the ATUS does not allow proxy respondents. For all these reasons, we expect that response to a WSS question and a Leave Module question on the same topic may differ in some instances. Asking the questions in both surveys is beneficial, but analyses of the data from both surveys also could yield insight about how stable answers are over time. Further, unlike the planned CPS WSS supplement, the ATUS Leave and Job Flexibilities module will run for a full year and can be tied to the time diary. Thus, any seasonal fluctuations in workers’ access to and use of job flexibilities would be accounted for in the data.
If ATUS is not granted approval to ask the same questions for the potential overlapping respondents at this time, ATUS can skip the questions for those overlapping respondents and impute answers from the CPS supplement instead. Once the WSS questions are known, ATUS can seek approval at a later date to ask the questions for any overlapping respondents.
The information in the proposed Leave and Job Flexibilities Module is important for understanding the current nature of work and how people balance work and personal needs. The proposed Leave and Job Flexibilities questions can also be tied to previous modules to show any changes over time. Changes in workers’ job flexibilities and work schedules before and after the COVID-19 pandemic are of particular interest to many researchers and policy makers.
If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.
The data are collected from individuals in households; their collection does not involve any small businesses or other small entities.
Describe the consequence to federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.
Fielding the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module in 2024 will allow researchers to monitor changes in Americans’ time-use patterns along with changes in Americans’ access to paid leave and changes to workers’ job flexibilities and work schedules. A 2024 Leave Module to the ATUS will offer researchers the chance to examine how alternative work schedules affect time spent in nonmarket activities such as housework, childcare, and volunteer activities and how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected these activities.
Asking the job flexibilities questions as a part of a 2024 module to the ATUS would facilitate clear comparisons to the pre-pandemic 2017-18 Leave Module data about workers’ ability to work at home, adjust their work hours, and about their work schedules. These comparisons would be useful in understanding the effects of the pandemic on workers, including any changes in who has access to job flexibilities and in how, when, and where work is performed. The module data have been used extensively by researchers as a baseline for understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers, e.g., to identify the characteristics of workers who can and cannot work at home.
Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:
requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;
requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;
requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;
requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;
in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;
requiring the use of statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;
that includes a pledge of confidentially that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or
requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentially to the extent permitted by law.
The ATUS requires the use of an activity coding classification system not in use in any other Federal survey. A coding lexicon was developed to classify reported activities into 17 major categories, with two additional levels of detail. (ATUS coding lexicons can be found on the internet at http://www.bls.gov/tus/lexicons.htm). BLS designed the ATUS lexicon by studying classification systems used for time-use surveys in other countries, drawing most heavily on the Australian time-use survey lexicon, and then determining the best way to produce analytically relevant data for the United States. The coding lexicon developed for the ATUS was extensively tested by Census Bureau coders and by coders at Westat prior to the start of full production in 2003.9 Development of the ATUS lexicon is described in Shelley.10
No other special circumstances apply.
If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.
Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years -- even if the collection-of-information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.
Three comments were received as a result of the Federal Register notice published in 88 FR 38543 on June 13, 2023.
The first comment, which was emailed to BLS on July 4, 2023, was out of scope. The mission of the BLS is to measure labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making. This particular information collection aims to gather data about workers’ access to and use of paid and unpaid leave, job flexibility, and their work schedules. Time-use data are considered important indicators of both quality of life and the contribution of non-market work to national economies.
The second comment, which was emailed to the BLS on August 14, 2023, expressed support for the reinstatement of the module “to understand how women and men spend their time and how paid leave can support their caregiving responsibilities.” The commenters suggested three improvements to: better understand paid and unpaid leave by race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, and other demographic categories; to be more inclusive of respondents’ lived experiences; and to expand the conclusions we can draw about various non-federal leave programs.
BLS appreciates the support of the 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module. The commenter recommended additional questions and modifications to some existing questions to be more inclusive of people’s lived experiences, collect data on the duration of leave available, and clarify certain concepts. The current questionnaire was carefully considered by BLS and the Women’s Bureau. Because the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module cannot exceed an average of 5 minutes in length for all module respondents, adding questions would require removing other questions. Further, any new changes would need to be tested. Unfortunately, there is insufficient time to redesign and test new questions and response options if the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module is to be fielded in 2024.
Most of the demographic information—including sex, race, age, educational attainment, occupation, income, marital status, and the presence of children in the household—is collected in earlier CPS interviews from which the ATUS sample is drawn. The benefit of this design is that it reduces the time and burden of collecting this information again in the ATUS.
BLS and Census—recognizing the importance of high-quality labor force information on the LGBTQ population—have taken steps to evaluate the feasibility of adding sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions to the CPS. BLS and Census have conducted evaluations of the feasibility of proxy responses to SOGI questions in the CPS. Part of the evaluations included focus groups of transgender individuals; cognitive testing in four different cities; and online cognitive testing. The cognitive testing included some pairs living in the same household so that self- and proxy-reported answers could be compared. The study did not identify any significant issues that would make collecting SOGI information in the CPS infeasible. However, there were outstanding issues identified that must be studied and addressed prior to any implementation efforts. Depending on availability of funding, BLS and Census will continue to research how SOGI questions could be incorporated into the CPS. If added, SOGI information would then also be available for the core ATUS and all future ATUS module respondents.
The commenter also recommended BLS oversample the underrepresented group of Native Americans and Pacific Islanders and improve sampling to allow state-level estimates. BLS recognizes that the ATUS sample size does not support analyses at some detailed levels. The ATUS sample is designed to produce national-level time-use estimates of household production, childcare, working and other activities. ATUS stratifies the sample based on selected race and ethnicity groups as well as household composition that allow us to produce national estimates for these groups. Redesigning the sample at this point is not feasible. Moreover, the ATUS sample of wage and salary workers for a 1-year module would not provide enough observations to publish estimates at the state level or for these more detailed underrepresented groups. This information is, however, available in the public-use files. Researchers may choose to analyze those data with techniques they find appropriate.
The commenter also recommended that BLS publish tables by disability status and present data on the intersection of identities (e.g., Black women or disabled women). As mentioned above, the size of the ATUS sample limits analyses for some detailed subpopulations. However, BLS will explore presenting such data where the sample size allows. In addition, public microdata files from the 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will be available so that researchers can produce their own tabulations.
The third comment, which was emailed to the BLS on August 14, 2023, suggested changes to address existing research gaps, minimize respondent burden, increase accessibility for respondents, and align the module with existing state policies.
BLS appreciates interest in the 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module and the thorough feedback on how it might be improved. Some of the suggestions include adding new questions or response options and including questions for self-employed workers. The time required to conduct the Leave Module must not average more than 5 minutes in length for all module respondents. Both BLS and the Women’s Bureau thoroughly reviewed previous versions of the Leave Module questionnaire to ensure the 2024 module addresses the sponsor’s research needs and interests. Some questions were removed in order to add new questions. Adding additional questions and response options would require removing additional questions. Further, any new changes would need to be tested. Unfortunately, there is insufficient time to redesign and test new questions and response options if the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module is to be fielded in 2024.
Some of the suggestions include modifying existing questions to reduce respondent burden and clarify concepts. Many of the questions the commenter recommends changing have been fielded in both the 2011 and 2017-18 Leave Modules. These questions were reviewed and cognitively tested by survey methodologists to ensure clarity and understanding. Further, making changes to these questions changes would affect comparability over time and limit research and analysis opportunities.
BLS considered the suggestions to collect data on state leave programs. BLS and the Women’s Bureau would need additional time to consider the implications of adding this additional measure and whether and how the sequence of questions would need to change. Unfortunately, there is insufficient time to redesign and test new questions to the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module if it is to be fielded in 2024. BLS will consider expanding information about state-sponsored leave programs in future rounds of the Leave Module.
The commenter also recommended that the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module be translated into multiple languages beyond English and Spanish and that the 2024 ATUS be translated into American Sign Language (ASL). Such a change would require significant resources, from translating the questionnaire, programming the collection instrument and mailed materials, and hiring and training qualified staff. While BLS recognizes the benefit of including languages beyond English and Spanish, BLS does not have the resources for such an undertaking at this time.
Consultations outside the Agency:
Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
Tiffany Boiman
Director, Office of Policy and Programs
Women’s Bureau
Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
Mark DeWolf
Branch Chief
U.S. Department of Labor
Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
Gretchen Livingston
Survey Statistician
Women’s Bureau
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Census Bureau
Beth Ashbaugh Capps
Assistant Survey Director - American Time Use Survey
Associate Director for Demographic Programs
U.S. Census Bureau
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Robin Kaplan
Senior Statistician
Office of Survey Methods Research
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Department of Labor
Explain any decision to provide any payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Participants in the Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will not receive compensation beyond what they already receive for participating in the ATUS. In the ATUS, the majority of respondents do not receive compensation. Currently, cash incentives in the amount $10 are sent to sampled individuals in households with no listed or working telephone number as well the hard-to-reach population of 15- to 24-year-olds. Individuals who are sent incentives account for a small percent of the ATUS sample and are more likely to be black, of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, to have less education, and to have lower household incomes than members of households that provide phone numbers. Because these households may differ from phone households on unobservable characteristics, including their time-use patterns, and because providing incentives to this small group is not cost prohibitive, BLS believes it is beneficial to expend additional effort and expense to secure their responses.
Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
The Census Bureau employees hold all information that respondents provide in strict confidence in accordance with Title 13, United States Code, Section 9 (see Attachment B.) Each interviewer has taken an oath to this effect, and if convicted of disclosing any information given by the respondent may be fined up to $250,000 and/or imprisoned up to 5 years. In addition, Title 13 prohibits Census Bureau employees from disclosing information identifying any individual(s) in the ATUS to anyone other than sworn Census employees.
Respondents are informed of their right to confidentiality under Title 13 in the ATUS advance letter, mailed approximately 10 days before the interview date (see Attachment C.) The ATUS advance letter also advises respondents that this is a voluntary survey.
All Census Bureau security safeguards regarding the protection of data files containing confidential information against unauthorized use, including data collected through Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), apply to ATUS data collection.
The BLS Processing System design requires that ATUS data be securely transferred from the Census Bureau server to the BLS server. This process mirrors the process used to transfer CPS data.
Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.
None of the questions in the proposed module were perceived as sensitive during cognitive testing.
Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:
Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. General, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.
If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form.
Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.
The estimated respondent burden for the proposed 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module is 379 hours. This is based on the number of eligible respondents (4,761), the expected response rate based on the 2017-18 Leave Module (95.4%), and an average respondent burden of approximately 5 minutes.
The overall annualized dollar cost to the respondents for collection of the 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module is expected to be $6,849 per year. This estimate assumes a wage rate for all respondents of $18.12 per hour, the median hourly earnings for workers paid by the hour in 2022.
Table 1 provides details on the estimated annual respondent burden for the ATUS collection.
Table 1. Estimated Annualized Respondent Cost and Hour Burden
Activity |
No. of Eligible Respondents |
No. of Responses per Respondent |
Total Expected Responses |
Average Burden (Hours) |
Total Burden (Hours) |
Hourly Wage Rate |
Total Burden Cost |
ATUS Leave and Job Flexibilities Module |
4,761
|
1
|
4,542
|
5/60
|
379
|
$18.12
|
$6,849 |
**Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and calculated using 2022 median hourly earnings ($18.12) from the Current Population Survey (see Attachment D.)
Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).
The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of service component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.
If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.
Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.
Capital start-up costs: $0
Total operation and maintenance and purchase of services: $0
Provide estimates of the annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 into a single table.
The total estimated cost of the 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module is approximately $400,000. This cost is to be borne by the DOL Women’s Bureau and largely represents the charge by the Census Bureau for conducting the module. Census activities for this supplement include programming the collection instrument, collecting data, monitoring calls, processing survey microdata, developing imputation methods and creating edited variables, developing statistical weights, and developing public use files. The cost also includes BLS activities of data review and verification, developing and conducting training, developing documentation to support the module, the administration of the interagency agreement, and the release of the data.
Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
The proposed 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module has many questions that are the same or similar to questions appearing in 2017-18 module. As in the 2017-2018 module, the proposed 2024 questionnaire will include five sections:
Access to Paid Leave
Access to Unpaid Leave
Leave taken in the last week
Job flexibility and work schedules
Non-use of leave
All of the changes appear in Section 4 on Job flexibility and work schedules. Unlike the 2017-18 Leave Module, the proposed 2024 Module will not include the following questions:
JF_2: Is your flexible work schedule part of a formal, written program or policy offered by your
employer, or is it just an informal arrangement?
1. Formal program or policy
2. Informal arrangement
JF_8: How many days of the week do you usually work (at your main job)?
* If respondent specifies 2 or more options, select all that apply
1 Day
2 Days
3 Days
4 Days
5 Days
6 Days
7 Days
After careful consideration, these questions were removed in order to add new questions that would be of more analytical value. The following questions were added to the proposed 2024 Module:
JF_8A: In the last month, what is the greatest number of hours you’ve worked in a week at your [current/main] job? Include any extra hours, overtime, work you did at home, and so forth.
[ACTUAL HOUR AMOUNT]
JF_8B: In the last month, what is the fewest number of hours you’ve worked in a week at your [current/main] job? Do not include weeks in which you missed work because of illness or vacation.
[ACTUAL HOUR AMOUNT]
JF_8C: How difficult would it be for you to take an hour or two off during work hours, to take care of personal or family matters?
<READ OPTIONS>
1. Not difficult
2. Somewhat difficult
3. Very difficult
JF_13A: At your main job, are you REQUIRED to work at home on a regular basis?
1. Yes
2. No
These questions were added to provide additional information about the stability (or instability) of workers’ schedules and the ability of workers to take time off with little notice if needed. The 2017-18 Leave Module took less time (4.5 minutes) than estimated to complete and thus there was room to add additional questions in 2024. For this reason, and because some questions were dropped to make new room for the new questions, the estimated time to complete the 2024 module is 5 minutes.
In addition to the changes outlined above, minor language changes were made to some questions for clarity. These changes were time neutral. The modified questions are as follows (modifications are bolded):
JF_4: How far in advance do you know your work schedule (at your main job)? By work schedule, we mean the days and hours you work at your [current/main] job.
*Interviewer instructions: if the respondent reports that he has a set work schedule, it is permissible to record “4 or more weeks” without any additional probing.
<DO NOT READ RESPONSE OPTIONS>
1 day or less
From 2 to 3 days
From 4 to 6 days
From 7 to 10 days
From 11 days to 4 weeks (not including 4 weeks)
4 weeks or more
All response options (except the last one) changed to capture shorter and more detailed information about advance notice of work schedules. The response options were expanded, but they are not read.
JF_10: As part of your [current/main] job, can you work at home?
*Read if necessary: “Include any other remote or off-site location where you CHOOSE to work.”
1. Yes (Go to JF_11)
2. No (skip to NOLV_Intro)
Instructions were added for clarification about other locations respondents may choose to work at.
The new questions and modifications were reviewed by survey methods experts and cognitively tested. See the Cognitive Testing Results for the 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module (Attachment E) for more information.
For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulations, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.
The proposed 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module will be collected for the duration of the 2024 calendar year. Processing of the Module will be done as the data come in, and final data processing will be completed by mid-2025. The 2024 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module public use files will be posted on the ATUS Web site at www.bls.gov/tus.
If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.
The Census Bureau does not wish to display the assigned expiration date of the information collection because the instrument is automated and the respondent, therefore, would never see the date.
Explain each exception to the certification statement.
1 “Access to Paid Leave for Family and Medical Reasons Among Workers with Disabilities.” Office of Disability Employment Policy Report. U.S. Department of Labor. December 2021.
2 Daniel L. Carlson, Richard J. Petts, Joanna R. Pepin. “Flexplace work and partnered fathers’ time in housework and childcare.” Men and Masculinities. May 2021.
3 J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal, José Alberto Molina, and Almudena Sevilla. “Temporal Flexibility, Breaks at Work, and the Motherhood Wage Gap.” IZA DP No. 14578. July 2021.
4 Pabilonia SW, Victoria Vernon. “Telework, Wages, and Time Use in the United States.” Review of Economics of the Household 2022;20(3):687-734.
5 Jennifer Bennett Shinall. “Paid Sick Leave’s Payoff.” Vanderbuilt Law Review Essays. Volume 75, Number 6. November 2022.
6 The ACS question is as follows: “Question 32. How did this person usually get to work LAST WEEK? Mark (X) ONE box for the method of transportation used for most of the distance.” The response options are: Car, truck, or van; Bus; Subway or elevated rail; Long-distance train or commuter rail; Carro Publico; Ferryboat; Taxicab; Motorcycle; Bicycle; Walked; Worked from home; Other method.
7 The CPS questions, modified in October 2022, are as follows:
Introduction: I now have some questions related to how the COVID-19 pandemic affected where people work.
Question 1: At any time LAST WEEK did you telework or work at home for pay? (Yes, No)
Question 2: Last week, you worked [fill: person’s total hours worked last week] hours [fill for multiple jobholders: total, at all jobs]. How many of these hours did you telework or work at home for pay?
Question 3: Did you telework or work at home for pay in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic started? (Yes, No)
Question 4: LAST WEEK, did you do more, less, or the same amount of telework or work at home for pay as in February 2020 (before the COVID-19 pandemic)? (More, Less, About the same)
8 This estimate includes ATUS respondents who are wage and salary workers, complete the CPS on or after September 2024, do not change jobs since the last CPS interview, and are the CPS respondent in MIS-8.
9 Westat. “Research Services for Usability Testing and Lexicon Evaluation: The American Time Use Survey.” October, 2001.
10 Shelley, Kristina (2005). “Developing the American Time Use Survey activity classification system,” Monthly Labor Review, June 2005, pp. 3-15.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT |
| Author | OEUS Network |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-10-17 |