[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 27, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33097-33098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-15534]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 27, 1995 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 33097]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Parts 451, 531, 550, 551, 591, and 630
RIN 3206-AG15
Incentive Awards; Pay and Leave Administration
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final
regulations to incorporate certain incentive awards and pay and leave
administration rules contained in the provisionally retained Federal
Personnel Manual (FPM) material, which expired on December 31, 1994,
into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and to remove certain
recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
DATES: The final rules are effective on July 27, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barbara Colchao, (202) 606-2720, concerning questions about the final
regulations for incentive awards in 5 CFR part 451, and Bryce Baker
(202) 606-2858, concerning questions about the final regulations for
pay and leave administration in 5 CFR parts 531, 550, 551, 591, and
630.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 28, 1994, OPM published interim
regulations (59 FR 66629) to incorporate a small number of
miscellaneous incentive awards and pay and leave administration
provisions in the provisionally retained FPM, which expired on December
31, 1994, into the CFR.
The rules relate to--
(1) Incentive awards--cash award limitations, documentation of
informal recognition items, and eligible award recipients;
(2) Application of the two-step promotion rule for promotions from
GS-1 and GS-2 positions;
(3) Application of leave without pay towards the completion of
waiting periods for within-grade increases;
(4) Counting travel time as ``hours of work;''
(5) Sunday premium pay for periods of paid leave and excused
absence;
(6) Payments during evacuation;
(7) Back pay computations;
(8) Computing cost-of-living allowances for employees receiving pay
retention; and
(9) Leave for uncommon tours of duty.
These rules did not establish any new requirements, and they
removed the recordkeeping requirements related to waiving the biweekly
pay cap on premium pay and the reporting requirements for payments
during evacuation.
The 60-day comment period ended on February 27, 1995. OPM received
comments from one agency, one employee organization, and one
individual. These comments, as well as certain technical changes in the
final regulations, are summarized below.
Incentive Awards
An agency noted that the former, provisionally retained FPM
material (FPM Chapter 451, Subchapter 3, section 3-2c) encouraging
agencies to establish honorary awards for private citizens was not
incorporated in regulation. The agency asked under what authority
agencies could continue to grant awards to private citizens. Agencies
may grant such awards under agency-specific authorities that would be
appropriate depending on the nature of the contribution to be
recognized. However, awards authorized by chapter 45 of title 5, United
States Code, may be granted only to Federal employees or former Federal
employees for contributions made while in the Federal service. To
clarify that former Federal employees may receive awards authorized by
5 U.S.C. chapter 45 and reflect expired FPM material and statutory
intent, OPM is amending 5 CFR 451.104(f) to include separated
employees, as well as the legal heirs or estates of deceased employees,
as eligible award recipients.
Sunday Premium Pay for Periods of Paid Leave and Excused Absence
An individual commented that part-time employees are not entitled
to Sunday premium pay. OPM agrees. To clarify this, we have revised 5
CFR 550.171 and the definition of Sunday work in 5 CFR 550.103(o). This
clarification is consistent with the information in expired Federal
Personnel Manual Letter 550-79, which stated that part-time employees
and employees who work intermittently are not entitled to premium pay
for Sunday work; it also reflects a Comptroller General opinion
regarding the compensation of part-time employees (46 Comp. Gen. 337
(1966)).
Leave for Uncommon Tours of Duty
An employee organization commented that the manner in which leave
is to be charged to employees on uncommon tours of duty--specifically,
firefighters who work 24-hour shifts--is not clear. In 5 CFR 630.210,
the interim regulation provides agencies with the authority to require
that an employee with an uncommon tour of duty must accrue and use
leave on the basis of that uncommon tour of duty. Leave accrual must be
directly proportional to the leave accrual rates in 5 U.S.C. 6303(a).
Also, leave must be charged on an hour-for-hour basis for each hour of
absence from the uncommon tour of duty. The regulation in 5 CFR 630.210
does not change the methodology for charging leave to employees on
uncommon tours of duty that was previously published in the Federal
Personnel Manual.
A firefighter whose leave is administered on the basis of a 144-
hour biweekly tour of duty, and who has 15 or more years of service,
accrues 374 hours of annual leave over a period of 26 biweekly pay
periods (25 pay periods times 14 hours, plus 1 pay period times 24
hours), which equals 10 percent of the number of hours in 26 biweekly
pay periods (3,744 hours). Similarly, an employee whose leave is
administered on the basis of an 80-hour biweekly tour of duty, and who
has 15 or more years of service, accrues 208 hours of annual leave over
a period of 26 biweekly pay periods (26 pay periods times 8 hours),
which also equals 10 percent of the number of hours in 26 biweekly pay
periods (2,080 hours). This proportional relationship between the
annual leave [[Page 33098]] accrual rates of the affected employees
ensures equitable treatment.
In the interim regulations, section 630.210(a) states that ``[o]ne
hour (or appropriate fraction thereof) of leave shall be charged for
each hour (or appropriate fraction thereof) of absence from the
uncommon tour of duty.'' Since the leave accrual rates for firefighters
on uncommon tours of duty have been adjusted to fully reflect their
longer work schedule, an hour-for-hour charging methodology is
necessary to maintain an equitable relationship with other employees.
When an employee with 15 or more years of service who works 80 hours
per day period takes 1 week of annual leave, the employee is charged 40
hours, or about 19 percent of the leave accrued in 1 year. Similarly,
when a firefighter with 15 or more years of service who works 144 hours
per pay period takes 1 week of annual leave, the employee is charged 72
hours, or about 19 percent of the leave accrued in 1 year. OPM believes
the manner in which leave must be charged for employees on uncommon
tours of duty was clearly stated in the interim regulation. Therefore,
no change has been made in this provision of the final regulations.
Miscellaneous Amendments
The authority cited in 5 CFR 531.401(c) for within-grade increase
purposes is being revised to give the correct citation. (The Executive
order previously cited has been revoked.) The definition of acceptable
level of competence in 5 CFR 531.403, for within-grade increase
purposes, is being revised to refer to the next higher rate within the
grade, as well as the next higher step of the grade, in order to
address the situation of GM employees, whose rates of basic pay are
between General Schedule step rates.
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 employees and agencies.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Parts 451, 531, 550, 551 and 630
Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Decorations, medals,
awards, Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Travel and
transportation expenses, Wages.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
James B. King,
Director.
Accordingly, the interim rule amending parts 451, 531, 550, 551,
591, and 630 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which was
published at 59 FR 66629 on December 28, 1994, is adopted as final with
the following changes:
PART 451--INCENTIVE AWARDS
1. The authority citation for part 451 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 4501-4507.
2. In Sec. 451.104, paragraph (f) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 451.104 Policy.
* * * * *
(f) An award under this subpart may be granted to a separated
employee or the legal heir(s) or estate of a deceased employee.
* * * * *
PART 531--PAY UNDER THE GENERAL SCHEDULE
3. The authority citation for part 531 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5115, 5307, and 5338; sec. 4 of Pub. L. 103-
89, 107 Stat. 981; and E.O. 12748, 56 FR 4521, 3 CFR 1991 Comp., p.
316;
Subpart A also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; section
302 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA),
Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462; and E.O. 12786, 56 FR 67453, 3 CFR,
1991 Comp., p. 376;
Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5303(g), 5333, 5334(a), and
7701(b)(2);
Subpart C also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; sections
302 and 404 of FEPCA, Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462 and 1466; and
section 3(7) of Pub. L. 102-378, 106 Stat. 1356;
Subpart D also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5335(g) and 7701(b)(2);
Subpart E also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5336;
Subpart F also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305(g)(1), and 5553;
and E.O. 12883, 58 FR 63281, 3 CFR 1993 Comp., p. 682.
Subpart D--Within-Grade Increases
4. In Sec. 531.401, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 531.401 Principal authorities.
* * * * *
(c) Section 5338 of title 5, United States Code, provides that
``The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations
necessary for the administration'' of General Schedule pay rates,
including within-grade increases.
* * * * *
5. In Sec. 531.403, the definition of acceptable level of
competence is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 531.403 Definitions.
* * * * *
Acceptable level of competence means fully successful performance
by an employee of the duties and responsibilities of his or her
assigned position that warrants advancement of the employee's rate of
basic pay to the next higher step of the grade or the next higher rate
within the grade (as defined in this section) of his or her position,
subject to the requirements of Sec. 531.404 of this subpart.
* * * * *
PART 550--PAY ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL)
Subpart A--Premium Pay
6. The authority citation for part 550, subpart A, is revised to
read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5304 note, 5305 note, 5541(2)(iv), 5548, and
6101(c); E.O. 12748, 3 CFR 1991 Comp., p. 316.
7. In Sec. 550.103, paragraph (o) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 550.103 Definitions.
* * * * *
(o) Sunday work means nonovertime work performed by a full-time
employee during a regularly scheduled daily tour of duty when any part
of that daily tour of duty is on a Sunday. For any such tour of duty,
not more than 8 hours of work are Sunday work, unless the employee is
on a compressed work schedule, in which case the entire regularly
scheduled daily tour of duty constitutes Sunday work.
* * * * *
8. Section 550.171 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 550.171 Authorization of pay for Sunday work.
A full-time employee is entitled to pay at his or her rate of basic
pay plus premium pay at a rate equal to 25 percent of his or her rate
of basic pay for each hour of Sunday work (as defined in
Sec. 550.103(o)) and each hour that would be Sunday work but for the
placement of the employee in paid leave or excused absence status.
[FR Doc. 95-15534 Filed 6-26-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M
