Information Collection Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

Various persons can request assistance from the Panel to resolve collective bargaining impasses under the Federal Service Labor- Management Relations Statute, 5 U.S.C. 7119. The Panel needs information from the requesting party to begin processing the request for assistance. The Request for Assistance Form includes questions to the filer concerning, among other things, identification of the parties; a description of the issues; the number, length, and dates of negotiation and mediation sessions held; and if the impasse arises from an agency determination not to establish or terminate a compressed work schedule under the Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act, the schedule or proposed schedule which is the subject of the agency's determination and the finding on which the determination is based. Need and Use of the Information: The information to be collected by the Request for Assistance is required for the Panel to be able to process and decide collective bargaining impasses arising under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, 5 U.S.C. 7119. The information collected on the form is to be used to enable Panel staff employees to contact affected parties in impasse proceedings, and to enable staff employees to take the necessary steps to begin the processing of the Request for Assistance. The form will be provided to members of the public to initiate an impasse proceeding before the Panel. The petition form is filed with the Panel's office. Use of the form is not required to obtain Panel assistance, however, so long as the written request by a party for assistance contains the information requested on the form. Description of Respondents: Federal employees representing federal agencies in their capacity as employer and federal employees and employees of labor organizations that are representing those labor organizations, are the members of the public who may file the Request for Assistance form. Number of Respondents: Approximately 160 per year. Frequency of Response: On occasion, as collective bargaining impasses arise. Total Burden Hours: Approximately one-half hour per petition (80 hours per year).

This is a factual description of what was issued or decided, not an assessment of it.