94-31820. Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA; Harrisburg, PA; Washington, DC; and Waco, TX, Wage Areas  

  • [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.
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    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\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        \19\Allenwood Federal Prison Camp portion only.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        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\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        \20\Excluding Allenwood Federal Prison Camp.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
        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
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
12/28/1994
Department:
Personnel Management Office
Entry Type:
Uncategorized Document
Action:
Proposed rule with request for comments.
Document Number:
94-31820
Dates:
Comments must be received on or before January 27, 1995.
Pages:
0-0 (None pages)
Docket Numbers:
Federal Register: December 28, 1994
RINs:
6325-AG46
CFR: (1)
5 CFR 532