Under the National Compensation Survey (NCS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts ongoing surveys of compensation and job characteristics. Data collected by the NCS is used to produce Employment Cost Trends, including the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), employee benefits data, and data used by the President's Pay Agent.
Through 2011, the BLS used the Locality Pay Survey (LPS) and the ECI to deliver data required by the President's Pay Agent to comply with the requirements of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA). The final approved budget for FY 2011 called for an alternative to the LPS component of the NCS, and the BLS introduced a new approach that uses data from two current BLS programs  the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey and ECI program. In the new approach, OES data provides wage data by occupation and by area, while ECI data are used to specify grade level effects. The new approach is also being used to extend the estimation of pay gaps to areas that were not included in the LPS sample and this data has been delivered to the Pay Agent.
US Code:
5 USC 5318
Name of Law: The Ethics Reform Act of 1989
US Code:
29 USC 2b
Name of Law: Studies of Productivity and Labor Costs in Industries
US Code:
5 USC 5304
Name of Law: The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.