[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 208 (Friday, October 25, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55227-55229]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27629]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 208 / Friday, October 25, 1996 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 55227]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 531
RIN 3206-AH65
Pay Under the General Schedule; Locality Pay Areas for 1998
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing proposed
regulations to remove two metropolitan areas from the ``Rest of U.S.''
locality pay area and establish two new locality pay areas in January
1998 corresponding to these metropolitan areas. The two metropolitan
areas affected by this proposed regulation are Hartford, CT, and
Orlando, FL. These proposed changes are based on a recommendation of
the Federal Salary Council. The purpose of this notice is to solicit
public comments on the boundaries of locality pay areas recommended by
the Federal Salary Council before the President's Pay Agent makes a
final determination on this matter.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 25, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent or delivered to Donald J. Winstead,
Assistant Director for Compensation Policy, Human Resources Systems
Service, Office of Personnel Management, Room 6H31, 1900 E Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20415 (FAX: (202) 606-0824).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeanne D. Jacobson, (202) 606-2858 or FAX: (202) 606-0824.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 5304(a)(1) of title 5, United States
Code, provides that locality payments shall be payable within each
locality determined to have a pay disparity greater than 5 percent.
Section 5304(f)(1) authorizes the President's Pay Agent (consisting of
the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM)) to provide for such pay localities as the Pay Agent considers
appropriate. In so doing, the Pay Agent must give thorough
consideration to the views and recommendations of the Federal Salary
Council, a body composed of experts in the fields of labor relations
and pay and representatives of Federal employee organizations. Members
of the Federal Salary Council are appointed by the President and meet
regularly to consider issues related to the locality pay system for
General Schedule employees.
Starting with the January 1996 locality payments, 5 U.S.C.
5304(d)(1) requires the Pay Agent to make recommendations to the
President on the locality pay areas no later than 13 months before the
start of the calendar year for which the locality payments are paid. In
late 1995, the President's Pay Agent adopted the recommendations of the
Federal Salary Council concerning locality pay areas for 1997 in their
entirety. These recommendations resulted in the establishment of a
total of 30 locality pay areas consisting of 29 areas corresponding to
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's) or Consolidated Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (CMSA's) (as defined by OMB), including certain
``areas of application'' contiguous to two areas, plus one area
composed of the ``Rest of U.S.'' (See 61 FR 40949, August 7, 1996.) If
OMB makes changes in the boundaries of MSA's and CMSA's, the boundaries
of the corresponding locality pay areas are automatically changed
accordingly.
At its meeting on October 4, 1996, the Federal Salary Council
recommended that two areas--Hartford, CT, and Orlando, FL--be removed
from the ``Rest of U.S.'' locality pay area and established as separate
locality pay areas effective in January 1998. These two new locality
pay areas ''would be in addition to the 30 locality pay areas
established for the 1997 locality payments.
At the direction of the Pay Agent following an earlier
recommendation of the Federal Salary Council, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) conducted additional local salary surveys in 1995-96
in the MSA's for Hartford, CT, and Orlando, FL. The surveys showed that
the pay disparity in the Orlando, FL MSA was slightly below the pay
disparity in the ``Rest of U.S.'' locality pay area. Because the pay
disparity was less than \2/10\ths of a percentage point below the pay
disparity for ``Rest of U.S.,'' the Federal Salary Council recommended
establishing Orlando, FL, as a separate locality pay area. (Under
established policy, any surveyed area with a pay disparity of \2/10\ths
of a percentage point or more below the ``Rest of U.S.'' pay disparity
does not qualify to be established or continued as a locality pay area.
Also, a locality pay area must be dropped if its pay disparity is below
the ``Rest of U.S.'' pay disparity in three consecutive annual
surveys.)
The Federal Salary Council also recommended that the Orlando, FL,
locality pay percentage be set equal to the ``Rest of U.S.'' locality
pay percentage in 1998 and that the Orlando, FL, pay gap be averaged
with the ``Rest of U.S.'' pay gap to determine the combined pay gap for
the two areas. This is consistent with past practices for dealing with
locality pay areas in which the locality pay percentage is below the
``Rest of U.S.'' percentage.
The BLS surveys showed that the pay disparity in the Hartford, CT
MSA was greater than the pay disparity in the ``Rest of U.S.'' locality
pay area. Thus, the Federal Salary Council recommended that the
Hartford, CT MSA be added as a separate locality pay area. It also
recommended that that portion of New London County, CT, outside the
Hartford, CT MSA be added to the Hartford locality pay area as an
``area of application.''
``Areas of application'' are areas contiguous to an MSA or CMSA
that are included in the corresponding pay locality for locality pay
purposes. In 1994, the Federal Salary Council developed the following
criteria for consideration as areas of application to pay localities:
a. County-wide areas of application. To be considered, the affected
county must meet all of the following criteria:
1. Be contiguous to a pay locality.
2. Contain at least 2,000 GS-GM employees.
3. Have a significant level of urbanization, based on 1990 Census
data. (A ``significant level of urbanization'' is defined as a
population density of more than 200 per square mile or at least 90
percent of the population in urbanized areas.)
4. Demonstrate some economic linkage with the pay locality, defined
as
[[Page 55228]]
commuting at a level of 5 percent or more into or from the areas in
question. (The areas in question are the contiguous county under
consideration and the central counties--or in the case of New England,
the central cores--identified by the Census Bureau for the process of
defining the CMSA's or MSA's involved.)
b. Federal facilities crossing pay locality boundaries. To be
included in a pay locality the portion of a federal facility which
crosses pay locality boundaries and which is not in the pay locality
must meet all of the following criteria:
1. Have at least 1,000 GS-GM employees.
2. Have the duty station(s) of the majority of GS-GM employees
within 10 miles of the prime critical survey boundary area.
3. Have a significant number of its employees commuting from the
pay locality.
However, because OMB defines CMSA's and MSA's in New England by
townships and cities instead of counties, the above-stated criteria for
consideration as an ``area of application'' cannot be fully applied to
New London County, part of which is outside the Hartford, CT MSA.
Therefore, the Federal Salary Council has adopted the following set of
criteria for consideration of partial counties as ``areas of
application'':
Criteria for Partial-County Areas of Application in New England
1. The partial-county area must be contiguous to the pay locality
(exclusive of any other areas of application) and must currently be
included in the ``Rest of U.S.'' locality pay area.
2. The partial-county area must contain at least 2,000 GS
employees.
3. The entire county must have a population density of more than
200 per square mile or at least 90 percent of the population in
urbanized areas.
4. The entire county must demonstrate some economic linkage with
the pay locality, defined as commuting at a level of 5 percent or more
into or from the areas in question. (The areas in question are the
entire county under consideration and the central core of the MSA as
defined by the Census Bureau for use in establishing metropolitan
areas.)
Because New London County, CT, meets all of the above-stated
criteria, the Federal Salary Council has recommended that that portion
of New London County, CT, outside the Hartford, CT MSA be included in
the Hartford, CT, locality pay area as an ``area of application.''
The definitions of the MSA's and CMSA's that comprise the locality
pay areas are found in OMB Bulletin No. 96-08, June 28, 1996. Based on
these definitions, the two proposed locality pay areas for 1998 will be
composed of the following geographic areas:
Orlando, FL, Locality Pay Area
Lake County
Orange County
Osceola County
Seminole County
Hartford, CT, Locality Pay Area
Hartford County (part)
Avon town
Berlin town
Bloomfield town
Bristol city
Burlington town
Canton town
East Granby town
East Hartford town
East Windsor town
Enfield town
Farmington town
Glastonbury town
Granby town
Hartford city
Manchester town
Marlborough town
New Britain city
Newington town
Plainville town
Rocky Hill town
Simsbury town
Southington town
South Windsor town
Suffield town
West Hartford town
Wethersfield town
Windsor town
Windsor Locks town
Litchfield County (part)
Barkhamsted town
Harwinton town
New Hartford town
Plymouth town
Winchester town
Middlesex County (part)
Cromwell town
Durham town
East Haddam town
East Hampton town
Haddam town
Middlefield town
Middletown city
Portland town
New London County (all)
Tolland County (part)
Andover town
Bolton town
Columbia town
Coventry town
Ellington town
Hebron town
Mansfield town
Somers town
Stafford town
Tolland town
Vernon town
Willington town
Windham County (part)
Ashford town
Chaplin town
Windham town
The Pay Agent's decision regarding locality pay areas for 1998 must
be made no later than November 30, 1996. Therefore, OPM has established
a 30-day public comment period for these proposed regulations. After
the public comment period, the Pay Agent will consider the comments
received from Federal employees, agencies, employee organizations, and
other interested parties before making its determination on the
establishment of pay localities. The Pay Agent also will consider any
additional views and recommendations expressed directly to the Pay
Agent by any member of the Federal Salary Council or by employee
organizations not represented on the Council. The final regulations
issued by OPM will reflect the Pay Agent's final determination on this
matter.
E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review
This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget
in accordance with E.O. 12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
I certify that these regulations would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they
would apply only to Federal agencies and employees.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 531
Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Wages.
Office of Personnel Management.
James B. King,
Director.
Accordingly, OPM is proposing to amend part 531 of title 5, Code of
Federal Regulations, as follows:
PART 531--PAY UNDER THE GENERAL SCHEDULE
1. The authority citation for part 531 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5115, 5307, and 5338; sec. 4 of Pub. L. 103-
89, 107 Stat. 981; and E.O. 12748, 56 FR 4521, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p.
316.
Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5303(g), 5333, 5334(a), and
7701(b)(2);
[[Page 55229]]
Subpart C also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; sections
302 and 404 of FEPCA, Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462 and 1466; and
section 3(7) of Pub. L. 102-378, 106 Stat. 1356;
Subpart D also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5535(g) and 7701(b)(2);
Subpart E also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5336;
Subpart F also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305(g)(1), and 5553;
and E.O. 12883, 58 FR 63281, 3 CFR, 1993 Comp., p. 682;
Subpart G also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; section
302 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA),
Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462; and E.O. 12786, 56 FR 67453, 3 CFR,
1991 Comp., p. 376.
Subpart F--Locality-Based Comparability Payments
2. In Sec. 531.603, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 531.603 Locality pay areas.
* * * * *
(b) The following are locality pay areas for the purpose of this
subpart:
(1) Atlanta, GA--consisting of the Atlanta, GA MSA;
(2) Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT--consisting of the
Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT CMSA;
(3) Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI--consisting of the Chicago-Gary-
Kenosha, IL-IN-WI CMSA;
(4) Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN--consisting of the Cincinnati-
Hamilton, OH-KY-IN CMSA;
(5) Cleveland-Akron, OH--consisting of the Cleveland-Akron, OH
CMSA;
(6) Columbus, OH--consisting of the Columbus, OH MSA;
(7) Dallas-Fort Worth, TX--consisting of the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
CMSA;
(8) Dayton-Springfield, OH--consisting of the Dayton-Springfield,
OH MSA;
(9) Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO--consisting of the Denver-Boulder-
Greeley, CO MSA;
(10) Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI--consisting of the Detroit-Ann
Arbor-Flint, MI CMSA;
(11) Hartford, CT--consisting of the Hartford, CT MSA plus that
portion of New London County, CT, not located within the Hartford, CT
MSA;
(12) Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX--consisting of the Houston-
Galveston-Brazoria, TX CMSA;
(13) Huntsville, AL--consisting of the Huntsville, AL MSA;
(14) Indianapolis, IN--consisting of the Indianapolis, IN MSA;
(15) Kansas City, MO-KS--consisting of the Kansas City, MO-KS MSA;
(16) Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA--consisting of the Los
Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA CMSA; plus Santa Barbara County,
CA, and that portion of Edwards Air Force Base, CA, not located within
the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA CMSA;
(17) Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL--consisting of the Miami-Fort
Lauderdale, FL CMSA;
(18) Milwaukee-Racine, WI--consisting of the Milwaukee-Racine, WI
CMSA;
(19) Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI--consisting of the Minneapolis-St.
Paul, MN-WI MSA;
(20) New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA--
consisting of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA
CMSA;
(21) Orlando, FL--consisting of the Orlando, FL MSA;
(22) Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD--consisting
of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD CMSA;
(23) Pittsburgh, PA--consisting of the Pittsburgh, PA MSA;
(24) Portland-Salem, OR-WA--consisting of the Portland-Salem, OR-WA
CMSA;
(25) Richmond-Petersburg, VA--consisting of the Richmond-
Petersburg, VA MSA;
(26) Sacramento-Yolo, CA--consisting of the Sacramento-Yolo, CA
CMSA;
(27) St. Louis, MO-IL--consisting of the St. Louis, MO-IL MSA;
(28) San Diego, CA--consisting of the San Diego, CA MSA;
(29) San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA--consisting of the San
Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA CMSA;
(30) Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA--consisting of the Seattle-
Tacoma-Bremerton, WA CMSA;
(31) Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV--consisting of the
Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV CMSA, plus St. Mary's County, MD; and
(32) Rest of U.S.--consisting of those portions of the continental
United States not located within another locality pay area.
[FR Doc. 96-27629 Filed 10-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M
