BILLING CODE: 4510-FW-P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Claims and Payment
Activities
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension, with
changes, for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled,
“Claims and Payment Activities.” This comment request is part of continuing
Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
DATES: Consideration will be given to all written comments received by [INSERT
DATE 60 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL
REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation, including
a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated
total burden, may be obtained free by contacting Rachel Beistel by telephone at 202-6932736 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at beistel.rachel@dol.gov. For persons
with a hearing or speech disability who need assistance to use the telephone system,
please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services.
Submit written comments about, or requests for a copy of, this ICR by mail or
courier to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration,
Office of Unemployment Insurance Room S-4519, 200 Constitution Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20210; by email: OUI-PRA@dol.gov; or by fax 202-693-3975.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Stapleton by telephone at 202693-3009 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at stapleton.kevin@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOL, as part of continuing efforts to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to
provide the general public and Federal agencies an opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing collections of information before submitting them to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for final approval. This program helps to ensure
requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial
resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of
collection requirements can be properly assessed.
Section 303(a)(6) of the Social Security Act (SSA) specifies that for State
Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs to be certified to receive administrative funding
from the Federal Government, the State’s law must include provisions for “making of
such reports...as the Secretary of Labor may from time to time require, and compliance
with such provisions as the Secretary may from time to time find necessary to assure the
correctness and verification of such reports.” DOL considers the proposed changes and
updates to the ETA 5159 report to be one of those “provisions...necessary to assure the
correctness and verification” of the reports submitted by States. ETA is proposing
changes to the ETA 5159 to continue to collect information on claim activities, number
of claims and amount of payments under State UI laws and Federal unemployment
insurance laws for Federal workers and ex-service members, as well as add additional
sections on activities for claimants that received State UI first payments and final
payments by race or ethnicity, sex and/or gender, level of educational attainment
following the updated definitions proposed for the ETA 203 Report titled
“Characteristics of the Insured Unemployed” under OMB Control Number 1205-0009
and a new field capturing incomplete claims. The additional demographic report fields

for Sex and/or Gender incorporate the most recent U.S. State Department’s updated
passport guidelines. The report fields for Race or Ethnicity follow the updated
guidance/changes set out in the Office of Management and Budget’s Revisions to its
Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting
Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,1 which became effective on March 29, 2024. The
update field for Level of Educational Attainment aligns with the U.S. Census Bureau.
These changes will capture characteristics that better reflect society and the UI
population across demographic groups. ETA proposes adding these categories to increase
understanding of interactions between socio-economic characteristics and unemployment
insurance receipt, benefit exhaustion, and to assist State UI program managers seeking to
identify areas of needs such as barriers to filing an application for benefits, hence the
additional field for “incomplete claims”. An individual’s refusal to disclose claimant
demographic information will not impact eligibility determinations. Also, any responses
collected and information provided will be treated as confidential. This data will not be
shared beyond aggregate reporting to ETA and any demographic information associated
with a specific claimant or employer will be masked or hidden from State agency staff.
Furthermore, an individual’s disclosure of demographic information is voluntary and a
non-response to questions will continue to be reported as “Information Not Available” or
INA. Section 303(a)(6) SSA, authorizes this information collection.
This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally
cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not
required to respond to an information collection, unless it is approved by OMB under the
PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding
any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-03-29/pdf/2024-06469.pdf

comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid Control Number.
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
Interested parties are encouraged to provide comments to the contact shown in the
ADDRESSES section. Comments must be written to receive consideration, and they will
be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval of the final ICR. In order
to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB control
number 1205-0010.
Submitted comments will also be a matter of public record for this ICR and
posted on the Internet, without redaction. DOL encourages commenters not to include
personally identifiable information, confidential business data, or other sensitive
statements/information in any comments.
DOL is particularly interested in comments that:
•

Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;

•

Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;

•

Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond,
including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, (e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses).

Agency: DOL-ETA.
Type of Review: Revision.
Title of Collection: Claims and Payment Activities.

Form: ETA 5159.
OMB Control Number: 1205-0010.
Affected Public: State Workforce Agencies.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 53.
Frequency: Monthly.
Total Estimated Annual Responses: 636.
Estimated Average Time per Response: 40 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 424 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Cost Burden: $0.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
José Javier Rodríguez,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.

[FR Doc. 2024-14791 Filed: 7/5/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/8/2024]