[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31820]
[Federal Register: December 28, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 248
Wednesday, December 28, 1994
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 532
RIN 6325-AG46
Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Scranton-Wilkes-Barre,
PA; Harrisburg, PA; Washington, DC; and Waco, TX, 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 remove Schuylkill County, PA, from the Scranton-Wilkes-
Barre, PA, Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area. This rule would also
move Adams County and Perry County, PA, from the Harrisburg survey area
to the Harrisburg area of application. Additionally, this rule would
add Manassas and Manassas Park, two independent cities in Virginia, to
the Washington, DC FWS wage area definition. This rule also corrects a
printing error by reinserting McLennan County, TX, in the Waco, TX, FWS
wage area listing.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 27, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Donald J. Winstead, Acting
Assistant Director for Compensation Policy, Personnel Systems and
Oversight Group, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Room 6H31, 1900 E
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mark Allen, (202) 606-2848.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is
currently engaged in an ongoing system-wide review of the geographic
definitions of Federal Wage System (FWS) appropriated fund wage areas.
OPM recently reviewed the definition of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA,
FWS wage area. Based on an analysis of the regulatory wage area
criteria in 5 CFR 532.211, OPM proposes to remove Schuylkill County,
PA, from the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area of application and reassign the
county to the Harrisburg, PA, area of application.
5 CFR 532.211 lists the following criteria for consideration when
redefining FWS wage areas:
(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.
Schuylkill County is on the southern boundary of the Scranton-
Wilkes-Barre wage area and is contiguous to the Harrisburg wage area.
The criteria for transportation facilities, geographic features,
commuting patters, overall population, and private industrial
establishments do not favor defining Schuylkill County to either the
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre wage area or the Harrisburg wage area more than
the other. However, the distance criteria favor the Harrisburg wage
area when measuring from the Federal employment site in Schuylkill
County to either the FWS survey locations or the host installations for
the two wage areas. OPM also gave consideration to the unusual FWS
employment patterns in the region. The sole FWS employer in Schuylkill
County is a recently activated Federal prison, the Federal Correctional
Institution-Schuylkill. The new prison is close to older Federal Bureau
of Prisons facilities near Allenwood, PA, and Lewisburg, PA, that are
all in the Harrisburg FWS wage area. Citing the proximity of its
facilities in the region, their organizational relationship, and
staffing considerations, the Department of Justice has urged that
employees at the new facility in Schuylkill County also be paid from
the Harrisburg wage schedule.
As part of the system-wide review of wage area boundaries, OPM is
also considering whether current survey areas should be redefined. OPM
proposes that Adams County, PA, be removed from the Harrisburg survey
area but remain assigned to the Harrisburg area of application. OPM
added the York, PA metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) to the
Harrisburg survey area in 1988. At that time, the York, PA MSA was
composed of Adams County, PA, and York County, PA. The Office of
Management and Budget no longer defines Adams County as a metropolitan
county. In addition, less than 1 percent of the FWS employees in the
Harrisburg FWS wage area are stationed in Adams County, and the survey
yield from Adams County has been minor in past surveys--less than 6
percent of the Harrisburg survey data during the last full-scale wage
survey in the wage area. Adams County's non-metropolitan status, low
FWS employment, and low wage survey yield support removing the county
from the Harrisburg survey area.
OPM proposes that Perry County, PA, be removed from the Harrisburg
survey area but remain assigned to the Harrisburg area of application.
Perry County has no FWS employment and has historically yielded either
no survey data or an insignificant amount of data. While Perry County
remains part of the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA MSA, the local wage
survey committee in the wage area has reported that severe weather and
unusually difficult road conditions create recurring delays and
hardships in reaching Perry County establishments during January wage
surveys, only to have little or no resultant survey days. This
combination of very unusual circumstances supports the exceptional
removal of Perry County from the survey area despite its continuing
metropolitan status.
The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee has reviewed and
concurred with all of the proposed changes in the Scranton-Wilkes-
Barre, PA, and Harrisburg, PA, wage areas.
OPM proposes to add the independent cities of Manassas and Manassas
Park, VA, to the Washington, DC, appropriated find FWS wage area.
Although these two cities are geographically within the boundaries of
the survey county of Prince William, VA, they are politically separate
from the surrounding county and should be listed separately as part of
the Washington, DC, survey area. The Federal Prevailing Rte Advisory
Committee has reviewed and concurred with this proposed change.
OPM proposes to reinsert McLennan County, TX, in the listing for
the Waco, TX, appropriated fund FWS wage area. Because of a printing
error, McLennan County, TX, was omitted from the Waco, TX, survey area
listing in 5 CFR part 532, as revised on January 1, 1994. McLennan
County was included in earlier issuances of 5 CFR part 532, but was
inadvertently deleted beginning with the January 1, 1992, edition.
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
James B. King,
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 Washington, District of Columbia; Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania; Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; and Waco, Texas; 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, D.C.
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:
Fauquier
King George
Stafford
* * * * *
Pennsylvania
Harrisburg
Survey Area
Pennsylvania
Cumberland
Dauphin
Lebanon
York
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Pennsylvania:
Adams
Berks
Juniata
Lancaster
Lycoming\19\
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\19\Allenwood Federal Prison Camp portion only.
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Mifflin
Montour
Northumberland
Perry
Schuylkill
Snyder
Union
* * * * *
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre
Survey Area
Pennsylvania
Lackawanna
Luzerne
Monroe
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Pennsylvania
Bradford
Carbon
Columbia
Lycoming\20\
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\20\Excluding Allenwood Federal Prison Camp.
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Pike
Sullivan
Susquehanna
Tioga
Wayne
Wyoming
* * * * *
Texas
* * * * *
Waco
Survey Area
Texas:
Bell
Coryell
McLennan
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Texas:
Anderson
Bosque
Brazos
Falls
Freestone
Hamilton
Hill
Leon
Limestone
Mills
Robertson
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-31820 Filed 12-27-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M