[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33427-33429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15963]
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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. 64, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 23, 1999 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 33427]]
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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 532
RIN 3206-AI74
Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Eastern South Dakota
and Wyoming Appropriated Fund Wage Areas
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing a proposed rule
that would redefine Jackson County, South Dakota, from the area of
application of the Eastern South Dakota appropriated fund Federal Wage
System (FWS) wage area to the area of application of the Wyoming wage
area, and redefine Teton County, Wyoming, from the area of application
of the Wyoming FWS wage area to the area of application of the Montana
wage area. The redefinition of Jackson County would provide equitable
pay treatment for all FWS employees at Badlands National Park and the
redefinition of Teton County would place employees at Grand Teton
National Park on the same wage schedule as employees at Yellowstone
National Park.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 23, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Donald J. Winstead, Assistant
Director for Compensation Administration, Workforce Compensation and
Performance Service, Office of Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E
Street NW., Washington, DC 20415, or FAX: (202) 606-4264.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Hopkins (202) 606-2848, or
send an email message to jdhopkin@opm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is
engaged in an ongoing project to review the geographic definitions of
selected appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. The
Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the statutory
national labor-management committee responsible for advising OPM on
matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, has recommended by
consensus that we redefine Jackson County, South Dakota, and Teton
County, Wyoming. After careful consideration of FPRAC's recommendation,
we have found that it is appropriate to redefine Jackson and Teton
Counties based on the regulatory criteria for defining FWS wage areas
and on agency organizational relationships in the region.
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.
The Eastern South Dakota wage area continues to meet the regulatory
requirements to remain a separate wage area. There are currently about
550 FWS workers in the wage area, the wage area's host activity
continues to have the capacity to host local wage surveys, and wage
surveys in the area continue to produce adequate wage data to determine
local prevailing rates. Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria
for defining FWS wage areas, FPRAC found mixed results for Jackson
County. The distance to the closest city criterion favored the Wyoming
wage area, while the distance to the closest host installation
criterion favored the Eastern South Dakota wage area. All other
criteria studied had indeterminate findings. Based on the mixed nature
of the regulatory analysis findings, there was no clear indication that
Jackson County should be redefined to one wage area more than another;
however, Badlands National Park is currently split by the boundary of
the Wyoming wage area, with the park headquarters located in the
Eastern South Dakota wage area, while most of the park is located in
the Wyoming wage area. The redefinition of Jackson County to the
Wyoming wage area would place the entire park in one wage area. FPRAC
found no compelling reasons to make other changes in the Eastern South
Dakota wage area.
The Wyoming wage area also continues to meet the regulatory
requirements to remain a separate wage area. There are currently about
1,300 FWS workers in the wage area, the wage area's host activity
continues to have the capacity to host local wage surveys, and wage
surveys in the area continue to produce adequate wage data to determine
local prevailing rates. Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria
for defining FWS wage areas, FPRAC found mixed results for Teton
County. The distance to the closest city criterion slightly favored the
Montana wage area, while the distance to the closest host installation
criterion slightly favored the Wyoming wage area. All other criteria
had indeterminate findings. Based on the mixed nature of the regulatory
analysis findings, there was no clear indication that Teton County
should be redefined to one wage area more than another; however, the
two main FWS employers in northwestern Wyoming are Yellowstone National
Park and Grand Teton National Park. The parks are connected by the John
D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway, with a distance of only about 5
miles (8 kilometers) separating the parks.
Because the parks are located in a region geographically isolated
by the Rocky Mountains from both the Montana and Wyoming survey areas,
and because the regulatory criteria do not clearly favor defining Teton
County to one wage more than another, FPRAC recommended that we place
the parks in the same wage area. This change would place all Department
of the Interior FWS employees stationed in northwestern Wyoming in the
same wage area and would provide equitable pay treatment for FWS
employees at Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park by
paying these employees from one wage schedule. FPRAC found no
compelling reasons to make other changes in the Wyoming wage area.
Jackson County and Teton County would be redefined on the first day
of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after 30 days after
the issuance of a final regulation implementing this proposed change.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
I certify that these regulations would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
[[Page 33428]]
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.
Janice R. Lachance,
Director.
Accordingly, the Office of Personnel Management 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 the Montana, Eastern South Dakota, and Wyoming wage areas
to read as follows:
Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532--Appropriated Fund Wage and
Survey Areas
* * * * *
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
Teton
* * * * *
SOUTH DAKOTA
EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
Survey Area
South Dakota:
Minnehaha
Area of Application. Survey Area Plus
South Dakota:
Aurora
Beadle
Bennett
Bon Homme
Brookings
Brown
Brule
Buffalo
Campbell
Charles Mix
Clark
Clay
Codington
Corson
Davison
Day
Deuel
Dewey
Douglas
Edmunds
Faulk
Grant
Gregory
Haakon
Hamlin
Hand
Hanson
Hughes
Hutchinson
Hyde
Jerauld
Jones
Kingsbury
Lake
Lincoln
Lyman
McCook
McPherson
Marshall
Mellette
Miner
Moody
Potter
Roberts
Sanborn
Spink
Stanley
Sully
Todd
Tripp
Turner
Union
Walworth
Washabaugh
Yankton
Ziebach
Iowa:
Dickinson
Emmet
Lyon
Osceola
Minnesota:
Jackson
Lincoln
Lyon
Murray
Nobles
Pipestone
Rock
* * * * *
WYOMING
Survey Area
Wyoming:
Albany
Laramie
Natrona
South Dakota:
Pennington
Area of application. Survey Area Plus
Wyoming:
Campbell
Carbon
Converse
Crook
Fremont
Goshen
Hot Springs
Johnson
Lincoln
Niobrara
Platte
Sheridan
Sublette
Sweetwater
Uinta
Washakie
Weston
Nebraska:
Banner
Box Butte
Cheyenne
Dawes
Deuel
Garden
Kimball
Morrill
Scotts Bluff
Sheridan
Sioux
South Dakota:
Butte
Custer
[[Page 33429]]
Fall River
Harding
Jackson
Lawrence
Meade
Perkins
Shannon
[FR Doc. 99-15963 Filed 6-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-P
