Note to Reviewer - Tribal Indian Letter

December 8, 2021

MEMORANDUM FOR : Reviewer of 1220-0045

FROM : Beth Rogers, Chief (Acting)

Division of Collection and Review

Office of Safety and Health Statistics

Office of Compensation and Working Conditions

Bureau of Labor Statistics

SUBJECT : Data Collection Letter for Tribal Indian Respondents for the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

We are requesting to update a data collection letter sent to Tribal Indian respondents in the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses that was inadvertently not included in the recently approved package submission. There are a few minor changes to the language of the letter. These changes better clarify the purpose of the letter and reflect language encouraging respondents to complete the Survey.

The changes are as follows:

1. First sentence was changed from

“As the operator of a commercial enterprise of a federally-recognized Indian tribe, you are asked to complete the enclosed Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.”

to

“As the operator of a commercial enterprise of a federally-recognized Indian tribe, we ask that you complete the enclosed mandatory Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.”

2. Last sentence in the first paragraph was changed from:

“The exclusion from the Survey of the commercial enterprises of federally-recognized Indian tribes is inconsistent with the stated objectives of the Bureau of Labor Statistics with regard to the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”

to

“The exclusion from the Survey of the commercial enterprises of federally-recognized Indian tribes is inconsistent with the mission of the Bureau of Labor Statistics with regard to the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”

3. The first sentence of the third paragraph was changed from:

“We further believe that it is not in the best interests of American workers to publish data that are less accurate due to fewer responses to survey requests.”

to

“We believe that it is in the best interests of American workers to publish data that accurately represent the covered population of our survey requests.”

4. The letter now also reflects it being sent from our current Assistant Commissioner Marika Litras.

The updated Tribal Collection Letter is attached with this request. These changes are not expected to have an impact on respondent burden. If you have any questions about this request, please contact Beth Rogers by telephone at 202-691-5098 or by e-mail at rogers.elizabeth@bls.gov.

Attachments

Tribal Letter