[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65245-65249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30737]
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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. 60, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 19, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 65245]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 532
RIN 3206-AH27
Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Certain Federal Wage
System Wage Areas
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed
rule that would redefine several Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas
for pay-setting purposes. OPM is engaged in an ongoing project to
review the geographic definitions of selected FWS wage areas. Based on
recent reviews of wage and survey area boundaries in a number of wage
areas, OPM proposes redefinitions and/or renamings affecting the
following FWS wage areas: Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD;
Biloxi, MS; Columbus-Aberdeen, MS; Jackson, MS; Meridian, MS; Great
Falls, MT; Pittsburgh, PA; Eastern Tennessee; Corpus Christi, TX; San
Antonio, TX; and West Virginia.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 18, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments 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, or FAX: (202) 606-0824.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mark Allen, (202) 606-2848.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OPM is engaged in an ongoing project to
review the geographic definitions of selected FWS appropriated fund
wage areas. Section 532.211 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations,
lists the following criteria for consideration when OPM defines 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.
As part of the system-wide review of wage area boundaries, OPM is
also considering whether the survey areas within each wage area should
be expanded or reduced in size.
OPM recently completed reviews of the definitions of several FWS
wage areas and, based on analyses of the regulatory criteria for
defining wage areas, is proposing the changes described below. The
Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the statutory national-
level labor-management committee responsible for advising OPM on
matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, has reviewed and concurred
by consensus with all of the changes described in this proposed rule.
Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD: OPM proposes to remove
Fulton County, PA, from the Pittsburgh, PA, area of application and
redefine the county to the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD,
area of application. An analysis of the regulatory criteria for
defining FWS wage areas shows that, while other regulatory criteria are
indeterminate, distance and commuting pattern criteria strongly favor
definition of Fulton County to the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg
wage area instead of to the Pittsburgh wage area. For example, an
analysis of the distances between Fulton County and the Hagerstown-
Martinsburg-Chambersburg and Pittsburgh survey areas shows that Fulton
County is about 232 km (144 miles) away from Pittsburgh, but is only
about 37 km (23 miles) away from Chambersburg, PA, the closest of the
three main population centers in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-
Chambersburg survey area. Also, an analysis of the commuting patterns
of Fulton County's resident workforce shows that about 55 percent of
Fulton County's resident workforce commutes to work in the Hagerstown-
Martinsburg-Chambersburg survey area, and less than 1 percent of Fulton
County's resident workforce commutes to work in the Pittsburgh survey
area.
This change would be effective for the next full-scale wage survey
in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg wage area, which is
scheduled to begin in January 1996. There are currently no FWS
employees stationed in Fulton County. No other changes are proposed for
the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg wage area.
Biloxi, MS: For the following reasons, OPM proposes that Stone
County, MS, be removed from the Biloxi survey area: No FWS employees
are stationed in Stone County; the county is no longer defined as part
of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); and the wage survey data
yield from private industrial establishments located in Stone County
accounted for less than 1 percent of the Biloxi wage area's survey data
during the last full-scale wage survey in the wage area.
This change would be effective for the next full-scale wage survey
in the Biloxi wage area, which is scheduled to begin in November 1997.
Stone County would remain in the Biloxi area of application. No other
changes are proposed for the Biloxi wage area.
Columbus-Aberdeen, MS: Based on current FWS employment patterns in
the Columbus-Aberdeen wage area, OPM proposes to add Grenada and
Leflore Counties, MS, to the Columbus-Aberdeen survey area. Grenada and
Leflore Counties are currently defined to the Columbus-Aberdeen area of
application. A majority of the FWS employees currently stationed in the
Columbus-Aberdeen wage area--about 70 percent--work in the Columbus-
Aberdeen wage area's area of application rather than its survey area.
Grenada and Leflore Counties are located in the central and western
portions of the Columbus-Aberdeen wage area and are the only non-
surveyed counties in the wage area with substantial FWS employment.
With the addition of Grenada and Leflore Counties to the Columbus-
Aberdeen survey area, about 82 percent of wage area employees would be
included within the survey area.
This proposed survey area expansion would not create an undue
survey burden on the lead agency for the wage area (the Department of
Defense) and is strongly justified by the geographic distribution of
local FWS employment. To more accurately reflect the broader geographic
coverage of the expanded survey area, OPM proposes to rename the
Columbus--Aberdeen wage area ``Northern Mississippi.'' These changes
[[Page 65246]]
would be effective for the next full-scale wage survey in the wage
area, which is scheduled to begin in February 1996. No other changes
are proposed for this wage area.
Jackson, MS: OPM proposes to remove Adams, Claiborne, and Jefferson
Counties, MS, from the Jackson survey area. In 1973, the Civil Service
Commission, based on the consensus recommendation of FPRAC, added
Adams, Claiborne, and Jefferson Counties to the Jackson survey area.
FPRAC recommended this change to allow the inclusion in local wage
surveys of counties along the Mississippi River that had experienced
recent industrial growth. Regional commuting patterns and
transportation facilities were also cited as factors favoring expansion
of the survey area.
Based on current FWS employment patterns in the Jackson wage area
and the large size of the current Jackson survey area, OPM considers it
unnecessary to continue surveying Adams, Claiborne, and Jefferson
Counties. Only about nine FWS employees, or less than 2 percent of the
Jackson wage area total, are currently stationed in the three counties
considered for removal from the survey area. The wage survey data yield
from Adams, Claiborne, and Jefferson Counties has been relatively low
in past surveys; only about 11 percent of the Jackson survey data
during the last full-scale wage survey came from private industrial
establishments located in these three counties. Also, the three
counties considered for removal from the survey area are inconveniently
located for survey purposes. For example, the surveyable private
industrial establishments in Adams County are located approximately 185
km (115 miles) away from the city of Jackson, the main population
center and the main FWS employment location in the Jackson wage area.
This change in the Jackson survey area would be effective for the
next full-scale wage survey in the Jackson wage area, which is
scheduled to begin In February 1997. As explained below for the
Meridian, MS, wage area, OPM also proposes to remove Lamar County, MS,
from the Jackson area of application and redefine the county to the
Meridian survey area. No other changes are proposed for the Jackson
wage area.
Meridian, MS: OPM proposes to remove Lamar County, MS, from the
Jackson, MS, area of application and redefine the county to the
Meridian FWS survey area. An analysis of the regulatory criteria for
defining FWS wage areas shows that, while other regulatory criteria are
indeterminate, distance and commuting pattern criteria strongly favor
definition of Lamar County to the Meridian wage area instead of the
Jackson wage area. For example, an analysis of the distances between
Lamar County and the Meridian and Jackson survey areas shows that Lamar
County is about 179 km (111 miles) away from Jackson, but is only about
27 km (17 miles) away from Hattiesburg, MS, the closest of the two main
population centers in the Meridian survey area. Also, an analysis of
the commuting patterns of Lamar County's resident workforce shows that
about 50 percent of Lamar County's resident workforce commutes to work
in the Meridian survey area, but less than 1 percent of Lamar County's
resident workforce commutes to work in the Jackson survey area.
While there are currently no FWS employees stationed in Lamar
County, the addition of Lamar County to the Meridian survey area would
provide a desirable increase in the number of surveyable private sector
industrial establishments in the Meridian survey area--about 14 percent
more than in the current Meridian survey area. Also, Lamar County is
one of the two counties of the Hattiesburg, MS MSA. The other county of
the Hattiesburg MSA, Forrest County, is already defined to the Meridian
survey area.
This change would be effective for the next full-scale wage survey
in the Meridian wage area, which is scheduled to begin in February
1997. No other changes are proposed for the Meridian wage area.
Great Falls, MT: The survey area of the Great Falls wage area
explained in 1973 with the addition of Yellowstone County, MT, and
again expanded in 1981 with the addition of Lewis and Clark County, MT.
Because the Great Falls survey area currently includes both the Great
Falls, MT MSA and the Billings, MT MSA, OPM proposes to rename the wage
area ``Montana'' to better reflect the broader geographic coverage of
the current survey area than is suggested by the current wage area
name.
This change would be effective for the next full-scale wage survey
in the wage area,which is scheduled to begin in July 1996. No other
changes are proposed for this wage area.
Pittsburgh, PA: Based on current FWS employment patterns in the
Pittsburgh wage area, OPM proposes to add Butler County, PA, to the
Pittsburgh survey area. Butler County is currently defined to the
Pittsburgh area of application. There are currently about 170 FWS
employees--about 8 percent of the Pittsburgh wage area total--stationed
in Butler County. Butler County is currently a non-surveyed part of the
Pittsburgh, PA MSA. Three of the counties of the Pittsburgh MSA
(Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland) are currently included in the
Pittsburgh survey area, but far fewer FWS employees are stationed in
those three counties than in Butler County.
This proposed survey area expansion would not create an undue
survey burden on the lead agency for the Pittsburgh wage area (the
Department of Veterans Affairs) and is strongly justified by the
geographic distribution of local FWS employment. This change in the
Pittsburgh survey area definition would be effective for the next full-
scale wage survey in the wage area, which is scheduled to begin in
August 1997.
Also, as explained above for the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-
Chambersburg, MD, wage area, OPM proposes to remove Fulton County, PA,
from the Pittsburgh area of application and redefine the county to the
Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD, area of application. No other
changes are proposed for the Pittsburgh wage area.
Eastern Tennessee: As explained below for the West Virginia wage
area, OPM proposes to remove Norton city from the Eastern Tennessee
area of application and redefine the city to the West Virginia area of
application. No other changes are proposed for the Eastern Tennessee
wage area.
Corpus Christi, TX: OPM proposes to remove Brooks, Cameron,
Hidalgo, Kenedy, Starr, and Willacy Counties, TX, from the San Antonio,
TX, area of application and define these six counties to the Corpus
Christi area of application. An analysis of the regulatory criteria for
defining FWS wage areas shows that the distance criterion favors the
definition of these counties to the Corpus Christi wage area much more
than to the San Antonio wage area. Also, because the most favorable
routes by road from the counties go through the present Corpus Christi
wage area before reaching the San Antonio survey area, transportation
facilities and geographic features criteria strongly favor the Corpus
Christi wage more than the San Antonio wage area. Although all the
other regulatory criteria are indeterminate, the redefinition of
Brooks, Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Starr, and Willacy Counties to the
Corpus Christi area of application is strongly justified by the extent
to which the distance, transportation facilities, and geographic
features criteria favor the Corpus Christi wage area.
The following agencies currently have FWS employees stationed in
the six Texas counties proposed for redefinition
[[Page 65247]]
to the Corpus Christi area of application: The Department of
Agriculture; the Department of the Army; the General Services
Administration; the Department of the Interior; the International
Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico; and the
Department of Justice. These changes would become effective when the
final rule following this proposed rule becomes effective. No other
changes are proposed for the Corpus Christi wage area.
West Virginia: OPM proposes to remove Norton city, an independent
Virginia city, from the Eastern Tennessee area of application and
redefine the city to the West Virginia area of application. Although
Norton city is currently defined to the Eastern Tennessee area of
application, the city is completely surrounded by Wise County, which is
defined to the West Virginia area of application. Because of their
special geographic relationship, Wise County and North city should be
defined to the same area of application.
This change would be effective for the next full-scale wage survey
in the West Virginia wage area, which is scheduled to begin in March
1997. There are no FWS employees currently stationed in North city. No
other changes are proposed for the West Virginia 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.
Office of Personnel Management.
Lorraine A. Green,
Deputy Director.
Accordingly, OPM proposes 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; 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 Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD; Biloxi, MS;
Columbus-Aberdeen, MS; Jackson, MS; Meridian, MS; Great Falls, MT;
Pittsburgh, PA; Eastern Tennessee; Corpus Christi, TX; San Antonio, TX;
and West Virginia to read as follows:
Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532--Appropriated Fund Wage and
Survey Areas.
* * * * *
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):
Clarke
Culpeper
Frederick
Greene
Madison
Page
Rappahannock
Rockingham
Shenandoah
Warren
West Virginia:
Hampshire
Hardy
Jefferson
Mineral
Morgan
* * * * *
Mississippi
Biloxi
Survey Area
Mississippi:
Hancock
Harrison
Jackson
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Mississippi:
George
Pearl River
Stone
Jackson
Survey Area
Mississippi:
Hinds
Rankin
Warren
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Mississippi:
Adams
Amite
Attala
Claiborne
Copiah
Covington
Franklin
Holmes
Humphreys
Issaquena
Jefferson
Jefferson Davis
Lawrence
Lincoln
Madison
Marion
Pike
Scott
Sharkey
Simpson
Smith
Walthall
Wilkinson
Yazoo
Meridian
Survey Area
Mississippi:
Forrest
Lamar
Lauderdale
Alabama:
Choctaw
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Mississippi:
Clarke
Greene
Jasper
Jones
Kemper
Leake
Neshoba
Newton
Perry
Wayne
Alabama:
Sumter
Northern Mississippi
Survey Area
Mississippi:
Clay
Grenada
Leflore
Lee
Lowndes
Monroe
Oktibbeha
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Mississippi:
Alcorn
Bolivar
Calhoun
Carroll
Chickasaw
Choctaw
Coahoma
Itawamba
Lafayette \15\
Montgomery
Noxubee
Panola
Pontotoc \15\
Prentiss
Quitman
Sunflower
Tallahatchie
[[Page 65248]]
Tishomingo
Union \15\
\15\ Excluding Holly Springs National Forest.
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Washington
Webster
Winston
Yalobusha
* * * * *
Montana
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
* * * * *
Pennsylvania
* * * * *
Pittsburgh
Survey Area
Pennsylvania:
Allegheny
Beaver
Butler
Washington
Westmoreland
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Pennsylvania:
Armstrong
Bedford
Blair
Cambria
Cameron
Centre
Clarion
Clearfield
Clinton
Crawford
Elk
Erie
Fayette
Forest
Greene
Huntingdon
Indiana
Jefferson
Lawrence
McKean
Mercer
Potter
Somerset
Venango
Warren
Ohio:
Belmont
Carroll
Harrison
Jefferson
Tuscarawas
West Virginia:
Brooke
Hancock
Marshall
Ohio
* * * * *
Tennessee
Eastern Tennessee
Survey Area
Tennessee:
Carter
Hawkins
Sullivan
Unicoi
Washington
Virginia (city):
Bristol
Virginia (counties):
Scott
Washington
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Tennessee:
Cocke
Greene
Hancock
Johnson
Virginia:
Buchanan
Grayson
Lee
Russell
Smyth
Tazewell
North Carolina:
Alleghany
Ashe
Watauga
Kentucky:
Harlan
Letcher
* * * * *
Texas
* * * * *
Corpus Christi
Survey Area
Texas:
Nueces
San Patricio
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Texas:
Aransas
Bee
Brooks
Calhoun
Cameron
Goliad
Hidalgo
Jim Wells
Kenedy
Kleberg
Live Oak
Refugio
Starr
Victoria
Willacy
* * * * *
San Antonio
Survey Area
Texas:
Bexar
Comal
Guadalupe
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
Texas:
Atascosa
Bandera
De Witt
Dimmit
Duval
Edwards
Frio
Gillespie
Gonzales
Jim Hogg
Karnes
Kendall
Kerr
Kinney
La Salle
McMullen
Maverick
Medina
Real
Uvalde
Val Verde
Webb
[[Page 65249]]
Wilson
Zapata
Zavala
* * * * *
West Virginia
West Virginia
Survey Area
West Virginia:
Cabell
Harrison
Kanawha
Marion
Monongalia
Putnam
Wayne
Ohio:
Lawrence
Kentucky:
Boyd Greenup
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
West Virginia:
Barbour
Boone
Braxton
Calhoun
Clay
Doddridge
Fayette
Gilmer
Grant
Greenbrier
Jackson
Lewis
Lincoln
Logan
McDowell
Mason
Mercer
Mingo
Monroe
Nicholas
Pendleton
Pleasants
Pocahontas
Preston
Raleigh
Randolph
Ritchie
Roane
Summers
Taylor
Tucker
Tyler
Upshur
Webster
Wetzel
Wirt
Wood
Wyoming
Ohio:
Athens
Gallia
Jackson
Meigs
Monroe
Morgan
Noble
Pike
Scioto
Vinton
Washington
Kentucky:
Carter
Elliott
Floyd
Johnson
Lawrence
Lewis
Magoffin
Martin
Pike
Virginia (city):
Norton
Virginia (counties):
Dickenson
Wise
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 95-30737 Filed 12-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M
