[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53179-53181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25611]
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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 532
RIN 3206-AI74
Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Eastern South Dakota
and Wyoming Appropriated Fund Wage Areas
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing a final rule
that will redefine Jackson County, South Dakota, from the area of
application of the Eastern South Dakota appropriated fund Federal Wage
System (FWS) wage area to the area of application of the Wyoming wage
area, and redefine Teton County, Wyoming, from the area of application
of the Wyoming FWS wage area to the area of application of the Montana
wage area. The redefinition of Jackson County will place all of
Badlands National Park in one wage area and the redefintion of Teton
County will place employees at Grand Teton National Park on the same
wage schedule as employees at the nearby Yellowstone National Park.
DATES: Effective Date: This regulation is effective on November 1,
1999. Applicability Date: This regulation applies on the first day of
the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Hopkins, by phone at (202)
606-2848, by FAX at (202) 606-0824, or by email at jdhopkin@opm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 23, 1999, the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) published a proposed rule (64 FR 33427) to redefine
Jackson County, South Dakota, from the area of application of the
Eastern South Dakota appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage
area to the area of application of the Wyoming wage area and to
redefine Teton County, Wyoming, from the area of application of the
Wyoming wage area to the area of application of the Montana wage area.
Under section 5343 of title 5, United States Code, OPM is responsible
for defining wage areas. For this purpose, we follow the regulatory
criteria established in section 532.211 of title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC),
the statutory national labor-management committee responsible for
advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees,
recommended by consensus that we redefine Jackson County, South Dakota,
and Teton County, Wyoming. FPRAC found no compelling reasons to make
other changes in the Eastern South Dakota and Wyoming FWS wage areas.
[[Page 53180]]
The Eastern South Dakota wage area continues to meet the regulatory
requirements to remain a separate wage area. There are currently about
550 FWS workers in the wage area, the wage area's host activity
continues to have the capacity to host local wage surveys, and wage
surveys in the area continue to produce adequate wage data to determine
local prevailing rates. Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria
for defining FWS wage areas, FPRAC found mixed results for Jackson
County. However, Badlands National Park is currently split by the
boundary of the Wyoming wage area. The park headquarters is located in
the Eastern South Dakota wage area, while most of the park is located
in the Wyoming wage area. The redefinition of Jackson County to the
Wyoming wage area will place the entire park in one wage area.
The Wyoming wage area also continues to meet the regulatory
requirements to remain a separate wage area. There are currently about
1,300 FWS workers in the wage area, the wage area's host activity
continues to have the capacity to host local wage surveys, and wage
surveys in the area continue to produce adequate wage data to determine
local prevailing rates. Based on the mixed nature of the regulatory
analysis findings, there was no clear indication that Teton County
should be redefined to one wage area more than another. However, the
two main FWS employers in northwestern Wyoming are Yellowstone National
Park and Grand Teton National Park. The parks are connected by the John
D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway, with a distance of only about 8
kilometers (5 miles) separating the parks.
The parks are located in a region geographically isolated by the
Rocky Mountains from both the Montana and Wyoming survey areas.
Although the regulatory criteria do not favor defining Teton County to
one wage area more than another, we are placing the parks in the same
wage area based on FPRAC's recommendation. This change will place all
Department of the Interior FWS employees stationed in northwestern
Wyoming in the same wage area, including those FWS employees assigned
to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.
The proposed rule provided a 30-day public comment period, during
which we received two comments, both of which supported these changes.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
I certify that these regulations will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they
will affect only Federal agencies and employees.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532
Administrative practice and procedure, Freedom of information,
Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wages.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Janice R. Lachance,
Director.
Accordingly, the Office of Personnel Management amends 5 CFR part
532 as follows:
PART 532--PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS
1. The authority citation for part 532 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; Sec. 532.707 also issued under 5
U.S.C. 552.
2. Appendix C to subpart B is amended by revising the wage area
listings for the Montana, Eastern South Dakota, and Wyoming wage areas
to read as follows:
Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532--Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey
Areas
* * * * *
MONTANA
Survey Area
Montana:
Cascade
Lewis and Clark
Yellowstone
Area of Application. Survey area plus
Montana:
Beaverhead
Big Horn
Blaine
Broadwater
Carbon
Carter
Chouteau
Custer
Daniels
Dawson
Deer Lodge
Fallon
Fergus
Flathead
Gallatin
Garfield
Glacier
Golden Valley
Granite
Hill
Jefferson
Judith Basin
Lake
Liberty
Lincoln
McCone
Madison
Meagher
Mineral
Missoula
Musselshell
Park
Petroleum
Phillips
Pondera
Powder River
Powell
Prairie
Ravalli
Richland
Roosevelt
Rosebud
Sanders
Sheridan
Silver Bow
Stillwater
Sweet Grass
Teton
Toole
Treasure
Valley
Wheatland
Wibaux
Wyoming:
Big Horn
Park
Teton
* * * * *
SOUTH DAKOTA
EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
Survey Area
South Dakota:
Minnehaha
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
South Dakota:
Aurora
Beadle
Bennett
Bon Homme
Brookings
Brown
Brule
Buffalo
Campbell
Charles Mix
Clark
Clay
Codington
Corson
Davison
Day
Deuel
Dewey
Douglas
Edmunds
Faulk
Grant
Gregory
Haakon
Hamlin
Hand
Hanson
Hughes
Hutchinson
Hyde
Jerauld
Jones
Kingsbury
Lake
Lincoln
Lyman
McCook
McPherson
Marshall
[[Page 53181]]
Mellette
Miner
Moody
Potter
Roberts
Sanborn
Spink
Stanley
Sully
Todd
Tripp
Turner
Union
Walworth
Washabaugh
Yankton
Ziebach
Iowa:
Dickinson
Emmet
Lyon
Osceola
Minnesota:
Jackson
Lincoln
Lyon
Murray
Nobles
Pipestone
Rock
* * * * *
WYOMING
Survey Area
Wyoming:
Albany
Laramie
Natrona
South Dakota:
Pennington
Area of application. Survey area plus:
Wyoming:
Campbell
Carbon
Converse
Crook
Fremont
Goshen
Hot Springs
Johnson
Lincoln
Niobrara
Platte
Sheridan
Sublette
Sweetwater
Uinta
Washakie
Weston
Nebraska:
Banner
Box Butte
Cheyenne
Dawes
Deuel
Garden
Kimball
Morrill
Scotts Bluff
Sheridan
Sioux
South Dakota:
Butte
Custer
Fall River
Harding
Jackson
Lawrence
Meade
Perkins
Shannon
[FR Doc. 99-25611 Filed 9-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-P
