02-17900. Prevailing Rate Systems; Definition of Santa Clara, CA, Nonappropriated Fund Wage Area

AGENCY:

Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION:

Interim rule.

SUMMARY:

The Office of Personnel Management is issuing an interim rule that will abolish the Alameda-Contra Costa, CA, nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System wage area and establish a new Santa Clara, CA, NAF wage area. This change is necessary because the closure of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Distribution Center in Oakland will leave the Alameda-Contra Costa wage area without a host activity to conduct a local wage survey. A full-scale survey for the Santa Clara wage area will be conducted in September 2002.

DATES:

This interim rule is effective on August 16, 2002. The Office of Personnel Management must receive comments by August 16, 2002.

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 20415-8200, or FAX: [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chenty I. Carpenter, [phone]; FAX: [phone]; or e-mail [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Defense (DOD) requests that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) abolish the present Alameda-Contra Costa, CA, nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area and establish a new Santa Clara, CA, NAF wage area. This change is necessary because the closure of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Distribution Center in Oakland will leave the Alameda-Contra Costa wage area without a host activity to conduct a local wage survey. The Santa Clara NAF wage area will consist of Santa Clara County as the survey area. The area of application for the Santa Clara, CA, wage area will include Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo Counties. A full-scale survey for the Santa Clara wage area will be conducted in September 2002.

The Alameda-Contra Costa NAF wage area is presently composed of two survey area counties, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and two area of application counties, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. The Department of Defense recommended that Santa Clara County be redefined as the sole survey county and that Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo Counties be defined as area of application counties. Santa Clara County meets the minimum regulatory requirements to be an NAF survey area. There are about 90 FWS NAF employees working in Santa Clara County, and Moffett Federal Airfield has the capability to conduct a local wage survey. Santa Clara also meets the regulatory requirement of having a minimum of 1,800 private enterprise employees in establishments within the survey specifications. Since Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo Counties will have continuing NAF employment and do not meet the regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 532.219 to be separate survey areas, they must be areas of application. In defining counties as area of application counties, OPM considers the proximity of the largest activity in each county to the survey area; transportation facilities and commuting patterns; and similarities in overall population, private employment in the major industry categories, and the kinds and sizes of private industrial establishments.

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor-management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, recommended by consensus the abolishment of the present Alameda-Contra Costa wage area and the establishment of a new Santa Clara wage area.

Waiver of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Delayed Effective Date

Pursuant to section 553(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United States Code, I find that good cause exists for waiving the general notice of proposed rulemaking. The notice is being waived because it is necessary to abolish the present Alameda-Contra Costa wage area and establish the new Santa Clara wage area as soon as possible to allow DOD time to prepare for the Santa Clara full-scale survey that will be conducted in September 2002.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that this regulation will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because it 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.

Kay Coles James,

Director.

Accordingly, the Office of Personnel Management is amending 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.

Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 532—Nationwide Schedule of Nonappropriated Fund Regular Wage Surveys [Amended]

2. Appendix B to subpart B is amended by removing, under the State of California, “Alameda-Contra Costa,” and adding, under the State of California, after Santa Barbara, “Santa Clara,” under the wage area listing with the beginning month as “September,” and the fiscal year of full-scale survey as “Even.”

Appendix D to Subpart B of Part 532 [Amended]

3. Appendix D to subpart B is amended for the State of California by removing the two occurrences of “Alameda-Contra Costa” from the area of application, and adding “Santa Clara” as a new nonappropriated fund wage area after “Santa Barbara” to read as follows:

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SANTA CLARA

Survey area

California:

Santa Clara

Area of application. Survey area plus:

California:

Alameda

Contra Costa

San Mateo

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