DOL and SEC Seek Public Comment on Five Paperwork Reduction Act Extensions

Department of Labor: Three MSHA and WHD Collections

The Department of Labor published three separate notices on July 27, 2026, soliciting public comments on proposed extensions of existing information collections, all with a shared comment deadline of September 25, 2026.

Sealing of Abandoned Areas (MSHA). The Mine Safety and Health Administration is seeking to extend its information collection titled "Sealing of Abandoned Areas," covering underground coal mine operations. The notice states that this collection is intended to ensure adequate design and close monitoring of sealed abandoned areas to prevent explosive or toxic gases from migrating into the active working areas of underground coal mines, and thus provide sufficient protection for miners who may come across them. The underlying standards — codified at 30 CFR 75.335 through 75.339 — address recordkeeping for seal design applications and approvals, monitoring of sealed atmospheres, construction and repair certification, ventilation plan revisions, labeling of sampling pipes, and training certification for persons conducting sampling or constructing and repairing seals. The agency's legal authority derives from Section 103(h) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, which authorizes MSHA to collect information necessary to carry out its duty in protecting the safety and health of miners, and Section 101(a), which authorizes the Secretary of Labor to develop and revise mandatory health or safety standards for coal and metal and nonmetal mines.

Safety Program for Surface Mobile Equipment (MSHA). MSHA is also seeking to extend the information collection titled "Safety Program for Surface Mobile Equipment." According to the notice, this collection is intended to ensure that mine operators will identify risks related to the movement and operation of surface mobile equipment in written safety programs, allowing mines to eliminate or mitigate safety hazards and thereby reduce the likelihood of accidents, injuries, and fatalities. The underlying standards — at 30 CFR 56.23003, 57.23003, and 77.2103 — require operators to develop hazard analyses, evaluate currently available and newly emerging feasible technologies, develop maintenance procedures and schedules, and provide training. Operators must also designate a responsible person to evaluate and update the written safety program at least annually, or as mining conditions or practices change that may adversely affect the health and safety of miners or other persons, as accidents or injuries occur, or as surface mobile equipment changes or modifications are made. Under 30 CFR 56.23004, 57.23004, and 77.2104, operators are required to make the written safety program available to authorized representatives of the Secretary and to miners and their representatives, providing a copy at no cost upon request.

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (WHD). The Wage and Hour Division is soliciting comments on a proposed extension — without change to existing requirements — of the information collection titled "Employee Polygraph Protection Act," under OMB Control Number 1235-0005. The notice explains that WHD administers the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, which prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests either for pre-employment screening or during employment, though the Act contains a government employer exemption and several limited exemptions covering certain national security, workplace incident, security services, and controlled substance contexts. The collection requires employers to make, maintain, and preserve records in accordance with statutory and regulatory requirements. The notice reports 164,000 total respondents, 757,400 total annual responses, 68,779 estimated total burden hours, an estimated time per response of 30–45 minutes, and a total burden cost to respondents of $3,614,475, with $0 in operation and maintenance burden costs.

Securities and Exchange Commission: Two Collection Extensions

The SEC published two separate Paperwork Reduction Act comment notices on July 27, 2026.

Rule 13f-2 — Short Position and Short Activity Reporting (SEC). The Commission is soliciting comments on the existing collection of information provided for in Rule 13f-2 and related Form SHO (17 CFR 240.13f-2 and 17 CFR 249.332), under OMB Control Number 3235-0804. The Commission describes Rule 13f-2 as designed to fulfill the requirements of Exchange Act Section 13(f)(2) and to provide greater transparency through the publication of certain short sale related data to investors and other market participants, by requiring certain Institutional Investment Managers to report to the Commission on a monthly basis on Form SHO certain short position data and short activity data for certain equity securities. The notice states that such aggregated information helps inform market participants regarding the overall short sale activity by reporting Managers, bolsters the Commission's oversight of short selling, and fills an information gap because the short position data supplements the short sale information that is currently publicly available from FINRA and the exchanges. The Commission estimates approximately 1,000 respondents per year, each making an estimated 12 annual responses, with each response taking an estimated 20 hours to comply and 2 hours to file. The Commission also estimates 22 amended responses per month. The total annual hour burden is estimated at approximately 269,808 hours.

Rule 15c1-6 — Broker-Dealer Disclosure in Distributions (SEC). The SEC is also soliciting comments on an extension of the collection under Rule 15c1-6 (17 CFR 240.15c1-6), OMB Control Number 3235-0472. The notice states that Rule 15c1-6 requires any broker-dealer trying to sell to or buy from a customer a security in a primary or secondary distribution in which the broker-dealer is participating or is otherwise financially interested to give the customer written notification of the broker-dealer's participation or interest at or before completion of the transaction. The Commission estimates approximately 325 respondents collecting information annually under this rule, each spending approximately 10 hours annually complying, for a total aggregate burden of approximately 3,250 hours per year.

What to Watch

All three Department of Labor notices share a comment deadline of September 25, 2026. The SEC's Rule 15c1-6 notice directs written comments to Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, via email to the SEC, also by September 25, 2026. No comment deadline is separately stated in the entities for the Rule 13f-2 notice.

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