2014-25903. Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Certain Appropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Areas

AGENCY:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION:

Proposed rule with request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed rule that would redefine the geographic boundaries of several appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas for pay-setting purposes. Based on recent reviews of Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) boundaries in a number of wage areas, OPM proposes redefinitions affecting the following wage areas: Washington, DC; Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC, and Southwestern Wisconsin. In addition, this proposed rule would make three minor corrections to the Miami, FL; Columbus, GA, and Kansas City, MO, wage areas.

DATES:

We must receive comments on or before December 1, 2014.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by “RIN 3206-AN10,” using any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Mail: Brenda L. Roberts, Acting Deputy Associate Director for Pay and Leave, Employee Services, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415-8200.

Email: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Madeline Gonzalez, by telephone at [phone] or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OPM is issuing a proposed rule to redefine the geographic boundaries of several appropriated fund FWS wage areas. These changes are based on recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the statutory national labor-management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters affecting the pay of FWS employees. From time to time, FPRAC reviews the boundaries of wage areas and provides OPM with recommendations for changes if the Committee finds that changes are warranted.

OPM considers the following regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 532.211 when defining FWS wage area boundaries:

(i) Distance, transportation facilities, and geographic features;

(ii) Commuting patterns; and

(iii) Similarities in overall population, employment, and the kinds and sizes of private industrial establishments.

In addition, OPM regulations at 5 CFR 532.211 do not permit splitting MSAs for the purpose of defining a wage area, except in very unusual circumstances.

The Office of Management and Budget defines MSAs and maintains and updates the definitions of MSA boundaries following each decennial census. MSAs are composed of counties and are defined on the basis of a central urbanized area—a contiguous area of relatively high population density. Additional surrounding counties are included in MSAs if they have strong social and economic ties to central counties.

When the boundaries of wage areas were first established in the 1960s, there were fewer MSAs than there are today and the boundaries of the then existing MSAs were much smaller. Most MSAs were contained within the boundaries of a wage area. MSAs have expanded each decade and in some cases now extend beyond the boundaries of the wage area.

FPRAC recently reviewed several wage areas where boundaries subdivide certain MSAs and concurred by consensus with the changes described in this proposed rule. These changes would be effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after 30 days following publication of the final regulations.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-MD-VA-WV MSA

Washington, DC; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George's Counties, MD; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities, VA; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, VA; and Jefferson County, WV, comprise the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-MD-VA-WV MSA. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-MD-VA-WV MSA is split between the Washington, DC, wage area and the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD, wage area. Washington, DC; Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George's Counties, MD; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities, VA; and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties, VA, are part of the Washington, DC, survey area. Calvert and St. Mary's Counties, MD; Fredericksburg City, VA; Clarke, Fauquier, King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, VA; and Jefferson County, WV, are part of the Washington, DC, area of application. Culpeper and Rappahannock Counties, VA, are part of the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg area of application.

OPM proposes to redefine Culpeper and Rappahannock Counties to the Washington, DC, area of application so that the entire Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-MD-VA-WV MSA is in one wage area. There are seven FWS employees working in Culpeper County and one FWS employee working in Rappahannock County.

Rochester, MN MSA

Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted, and Wabasha Counties, MN, comprise the Rochester, MN MSA. The Rochester, MN MSA is split between the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, wage area and the Southwestern Wisconsin wage area. Dodge, Olmsted, and Wabasha Counties are part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of application and Fillmore County is part of the Southwestern Wisconsin area of application.

OPM proposes to redefine Fillmore County to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of application so that the entire Rochester, MN MSA is in one wage area. There are currently no FWS employees working in Fillmore County.

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC MSA

Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, and Union Counties, NC, and Chester, Lancaster, and York Counties, SC; comprise the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA. The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia MSA is split between the Charlotte, NC, wage area and the Columbia, SC, wage area. Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Rowan, and Union Counties, NC, are part of the Charlotte survey area; Iredell and Lincoln Counties, NC, and Lancaster and York Counties, SC, are part of the Charlotte area of application; and Chester County, SC, is part of the Columbia area of application.

OPM proposes to redefine Chester County to the Charlotte area of application so that the entire Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA is in one wage area. There are currently no FWS employees working in Chester County.

Miscellaneous Corrections

In addition, this proposed rule would make the following minor corrections:

• Update the name of the Columbus Consolidated Government in the Columbus, GA, FWS wage area because Columbus is the official name of the entity resulting from the consolidation of the City of Columbus and Muscogee County in 1971.
• Update the name of Dade County in the Miami, FL, FWS wage area because the name of Dade County was officially changed to Miami-Dade County in 1997.
• Delete the name of the St. Louis, MO, wage area from the list of area of application counties in the Kansas City, MO, wage area because, due to a formatting error, the name of the St. Louis wage area was incorrectly printed as if it was an area of application county in the Kansas City wage area.

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 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.

Katherine Archuleta,

Director.

Accordingly, OPM is proposing to amend 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; § 532.707 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552.

2. Appendix C to subpart B is amended by revising the wage area listings in paragraph (3), under the undesignated center heading Definitions of Wage and Wage Survey Areas, for the Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Columbus, GA; Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; Kansas City, MO; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC, and Southwestern Wisconsin wage areas to read as follows:

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532—Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey Areas

*    *    *    *    *

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington, DC

Survey Area

District of Columbia:

Washington, DC

Maryland:

Charles

Frederick

Montgomery

Prince George's

Virginia (cities):

Alexandria

Fairfax

Falls Church

Manassas

Manassas Park

Virginia (counties):

Arlington

Fairfax

Loudoun

Prince William

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Maryland:

Calvert

St. Mary's

Virginia (city):

Fredericksburg

Virginia (counties):

Clarke

Culpeper

Fauquier

King George

Rappahannock

Spotsylvania

Stafford

Warren

West Virginia

Jefferson

*    *    *    *    *

FLORIDA

*    *    *    *    *

Miami

Survey Area

Florida:

Miami-Dade

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Florida:

Broward

Collier

Glades

Hendry

Highlands

Martín

Monroe

Okeechobee

Palm Beach

St. Lucie

*    *    *    *    *

GEORGIA

*    *    *    *    *

Columbus

Survey Area

Alabama:

Autauga

Elmore

Lee

Macon

Montgomery

Russell

Georgia:

Chattahoochee

Columbus

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Alabama:

Bullock

Butler

Chambers

Coosa

Crenshaw

Dallas

Lowndes

Pike

Tallapoosa

Wilcox

Georgia:

Harris

Marion

Quitman

Schley

Stewart

Talbot

Taylor

Troup

Webster

*    *    *    *    *

MARYLAND

*    *    *    *    *

Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg

Survey Area

Maryland:

Washington

Pennsylvania:

Franklin

West Virginia:

Berkeley

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Maryland:

Allegany

Garrett

Pennsylvania:

Fulton

Virginia (cities):

Harrisonburg

Winchester

Virginia (counties):

Frederick

Greene

Madison

Page

Rockingham

Shenandoah

West Virginia:

Hampshire

Hardy

Mineral

Morgan

*    *    *    *    *

MINNESOTA

*    *    *    *    *

Minneapolis-St. Paul

Survey Area

Minnesota:

Anoka

Carver

Chisago

Dakota

Hennepin

Ramsey

Scott

Washington

Wright

Wisconsin:

St. Croix

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Minnesota:

Benton

Big Stone

Blue Earth

Brown

Chippewa

Cottonwood

Dodge

Douglas

Faribault

Fillmore

Freeborn

Goodhue

Grant

Isanti

Kanabec

Kandiyohi

Lac Qui Parle

Le Sueur

McLeod

Martin

Meeker

Mille Lacs

Morrison

Mower

Nicollet

Olmsted

Pope

Redwood

Renville

Rice

Sherburne

Sibley

Stearns

Steele

Stevens

Swift

Todd

Traverse

Wabasha

Wadena

Waseca

Watonwan

Yellow Medicine

Wisconsin:

Pierce

Polk

*    *    *    *    *

Missouri

Kansas City

Survey Area

Kansas:

Johnson

Leavenworth

Wyandotte

Missouri:

Cass

Clay

Jackson

Platte

Ray

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Kansas:

Allen

Anderson

Atchison

Bourbon

Doniphan

Douglas

Franklin

Linn

Miami

Missouri:

Adair

Andrew

Atchison

Bates

Buchanan

Caldwell

Carroll

Chariton

Clinton

Cooper

Daviess

De Kalb

Gentry

Grundy

Harrison

Henry

Holt

Howard

Johnson

Lafayette

Linn

Livingston

Macon

Mercer

Nodaway

Pettis

Putnam

Saline

Schuyler

Sullivan

Worth

*    *    *    *    *

NORTH CAROLINA

*    *    *    *    *

Charlotte

Survey Area

North Carolina:

Cabarrus

Gaston

Mecklenburg

Rowan

Union

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

North Carolina:

Alexander

Anson

Catawba

Cleveland

Iredell

Lincoln

Stanly

Wilkes

South Carolina:

Chester

Chesterfield

Lancaster

York

*    *    *    *    *

SOUTH CAROLINA

*    *    *    *    *

Columbia

Survey Area

South Carolina:

Darlington

Florence

Kershaw

Lee

Lexington

Richland

Sumter

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

South Carolina:

Abbeville

Anderson

Calhoun

Cherokee

Clarendon

Fairfield

Greenville

Greenwood

Laurens

Newberry

Oconee

Orangeburg

Pickens

Saluda

Spartanburg

Union

*    *    *    *    *

WISCONSIN

*    *    *    *    *

Southwestern Wisconsin

Survey Area

Wisconsin:

Chippewa

Eau Claire

La Crosse

Monroe

Trempealeau

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Minnesota:

Houston

Winona

Wisconsin:

Barron

Buffalo

Clark

Crawford

Dunn

Florence

Forest

Jackson

Juneau

Langlade

Lincoln

Marathon

Marinette

Menominee

Oneida

Pepin

Portage

Price

Richland

Rusk

Shawano

Taylor

Vernon

Vilas

Waupaca

Wood

*    *    *    *    *