2015-06410. Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Certain Appropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Areas

AGENCY:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to 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 boundaries in a number of wage areas, OPM is redefining the following wage areas: Washington, DC; Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC, and Southwestern Wisconsin. In addition, this final rule makes three minor corrections to the Miami, FL; Columbus, GA, and Kansas City, MO, wage areas.

DATES:

Effective date: This regulation is effective on March 23, 2015.

Applicability date: This change applies on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after April 22, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On October 31, 2014, OPM issued a proposed rule (79 FR 64684) to redefine the following counties:

• Culpeper and Rappahannock Counties, VA, from the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD, area of application to the Washington, DC, area of application;
• Fillmore County, MN, from the Southwestern Wisconsin area of application to the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, area of application; and
• Chester County, SC, from the Columbia, SC, area of application to the Charlotte, NC, area of application.

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor-management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, reviewed and recommended these changes by consensus. The proposed rule had a 30-day comment period, during which OPM received no comments.

In addition, this final rule (1) updates 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; (2) updates 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; and (3) deletes 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. These corrections do not affect the pay of any FWS employees.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that these regulations will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they will 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 amends 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 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

*    *    *    *    *