[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 244 (Monday, December 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70396-70397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33698]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Electronic Application for Patent Examiners--Job Application
Rating System (JARS)
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (DoC), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to comment on the continuing
information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 19,
1998.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room
5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of Vivian Clark at P.O. Box 171,
Washington, DC, 20231, by telephone at (703) 305-8227, or by facsimile
transmission to (703) 305-9864.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is developing an electronic
Job Application Rating System (JARS) to assist in the hiring of 550 new
patent examiners in FY 1999.
The PTO has received hiring assistance from the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) through the use of their electronic application system
called MARS. The PTO has found that the services provided by MARS do
not meet current hiring needs.
In the current employment environment, Information Technology
professionals and Engineering graduates are in great demand. The PTO is
in direct competition with private industry for the same caliber of
candidates with the requisite knowledge and skills to perform patent
examination work. Consequently, it is imperative that every available
technology be employed if the PTO is to remain competitive, meet the
hiring goal, and fulfill the agency's congressional commitment to
reduce the pendency rate for the examination of patent applications.
The information supplied to the PTO by an applicant seeking a Patent
Examiner position with the PTO will assist the Human Resources
Specialists and hiring managers in determining whether an applicant
possesses the basic qualification requirements for the Patent Examiner
position. In addition, the electronic transmission of this information
will expedite the hiring process by eliminating the time used in the
mail distribution process.
JARS will provide the PTO a more user friendly online employment
application process for applicants and will enable the PTO to process
hiring actions in a more efficient and timely manner. The online
application will provide an electronic real time candidate inventory
that will allow the PTO to review applications from potential
applicants almost instantaneously. Given the immediate hiring need of
the Patent Examining Corps, time consumed in the mail distribution
system or paper review of applications delays the decision making
process by several weeks. The implementation of the JARS system will
result in increased speed and accuracy in the employment process. It
will also streamline labor and reduce costs.
The use of the JARS online application fully meets the intent of 5
U.S.C. 2301, which requires adequate public notice to assure open
competition by guaranteeing that necessary employment information will
be accessible and available to the public on inquiry.
Since the JARS online application will be used as an alternative
form of employment application, the collection and use of the
information requires OMB approval as outlined in section 5.1 of the
Delegated Examining Operations Handbook. The Handbook provides guidance
to agencies under a delegated examining authority by OPM, under the
provisions of Title 5, U.S. Code, Chapter 11, Section 1104.
II. Method of Collection
The application information is collected electronically from the
applicant. Applicants may contact the PTO Web site on the Internet
where they will find the application form. They can fill the form out
while connected to the web site. For those applicants who do not have
access to a personal computer, applications are available in the
Personnel Office at the PTO or the applicant can go to the local
library to complete an application.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-XXXX.
Type of Review: New information collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households, businesses or other
for-profit, not-for-profit institutions, farms, state, local or tribal
governments, and the Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,700 respondents per year.
Estimated Time Per Response: It is estimated that it will take from
20 minutes to one hour to complete the application, depending on the
situation. On average, the time to complete the online application is
estimated to be 30 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 1,850 hours per
year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $323,750 per year.
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Estimated
Estimated annual Estimated
Title of form Form Nos. time for burden annual
response hours response
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Electronic Employment Application New Form #########.................... 30 minutes 1,850 3,700
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Totals....................... ...................................... ........... 1,850 3,700
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Note: The burden hours estimated above are based on the average
time (30 minutes) that the PTO expects it will take to complete the
online application. Depending on the situation, it could take as
little as 20 minutes or as much as one hour to complete the online
application. The burden hours for this information collection could
range from 1,233 to 3,700 burden hours.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or
included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.
Dated: December 15, 1998.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-33698 Filed 12-18-98; 8:45 am]
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