2010-16780. Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Chicago, IL; Fort Wayne-Marion, IN; Indianapolis, IN; Cleveland, OH; and Pittsburgh, PA, Appropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Areas

AGENCY:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION:

Proposed rule with request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is issuing a proposed rule that would redefine the geographic boundaries of the Chicago, IL; Fort Wayne-Marion, IN; Indianapolis, IN; Cleveland, OH; and Pittsburgh, PA, appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. The proposed rule would redefine Benton County, IN, from the Chicago wage area to the Indianapolis wage area; Carroll and Howard Counties, IN, from the Fort Wayne-Marion wage area to the Indianapolis wage area; and Carroll County, OH, from the Pittsburgh wage area to the Cleveland wage area. These changes are based on recent consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee to best match the counties proposed for redefinition to a nearby FWS survey area. No other changes are proposed for the Chicago, Fort Wayne-Marion, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh FWS wage areas.

DATES:

We must receive comments on or before August 9, 2010.

ADDRESSES:

Send or deliver comments to Jerome D. Mikowicz, Deputy Associate Director for Pay and Leave, Employee Services, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415-8200; email [e-mail]; or FAX: [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Madeline Gonzalez, [phone]; e-mail [e-mail]; or FAX: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed rule to redefine the Chicago, IL; Fort Wayne-Marion, IN; Indianapolis, IN; Cleveland, OH; and Pittsburgh, PA, appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. This proposed rule would redefine Benton County, IN, from the Chicago wage area to the Indianapolis wage area; Carroll and Howard Counties, IN, from the Fort Wayne-Marion wage area to the Indianapolis wage area; and Carroll County, OH, from the Pittsburgh wage area to the Cleveland wage area.

OPM considers the following regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 532.211 when defining 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.

In addition, OPM regulations at 5 CFR 532.211 do not permit splitting Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) for the purpose of defining a wage area, except in very unusual circumstances (e.g., organizational relationships among closely located Federal activities).

OPM recently completed reviews of the definitions of the Kokomo, IN; Lafayette, IN; and Canton-Massillon, OH MSAs and, based on analyses of the regulatory criteria for defining wage areas, is proposing the changes described below. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor-management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, recommended these changes by consensus. These changes would be effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after 30 days following publication of the final regulations. FPRAC recommended no other changes in the geographic definitions of the Chicago, Fort Wayne-Marion, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh wage areas.

Kokomo, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area

Howard and Tipton Counties, IN, comprise the Kokomo, IN MSA. The Kokomo MSA is currently split between the Fort Wayne-Marion and Indianapolis, IN, wage areas. Howard County is part of the area of application of the Fort Wayne-Marion wage area and Tipton County is part of the area of application of the Indianapolis wage area.

Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria for Howard County, the core county in the Kokomo MSA, we recommend that the entire Kokomo MSA be defined to the Indianapolis area of application. The distance criterion for Howard County favors the Indianapolis wage area more than the Fort Wayne-Marion wage area. The commuting patterns criterion slightly favors the Indianapolis wage area. All other criteria are inconclusive. Based on this analysis, OPM proposes to redefine Howard County to the Indianapolis area of application so that the entire Kokomo MSA is in one wage area. There are currently no FWS employees working in Howard County.

Lafayette, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area

Benton, Carroll, and Tippecanoe Counties, IN, comprise the Lafayette, IN MSA. The Lafayette MSA is currently split between the Chicago, IL; Fort Wayne-Marion, IN; and Indianapolis, IN, wage areas. Benton County is part of the area of application of the Chicago wage area, Carroll County is part of the area of application of the Fort Wayne-Marion wage area, and Tippecanoe County is part of the area of application of the Indianapolis wage area.

Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria for Tippecanoe County, the location of the main population center in the Lafayette MSA, we recommend that the entire Lafayette MSA be defined to the Indianapolis area of application. The distance criterion for Tippecanoe County favors the Indianapolis wage area more than the Chicago or Fort Wayne-Marion wage areas. All other criteria are inconclusive. However, more than twice as many people currently commute from Tippecanoe County into the Indianapolis survey area (2%) than into the Chicago survey area (0.11%) or the Fort Wayne-Marion survey area (0.14%). Based on this analysis, we believe Tippecanoe County is appropriately defined to the Indianapolis wage area. Since there appear to be no unusual circumstances that would permit splitting the Lafayette MSA, OPM proposes to redefine Benton and Carroll Counties to the Indianapolis wage area so that the entire Lafayette MSA is in one wage area. There are currently no FWS employees working in Benton or Carroll Counties.

Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area

Carroll and Stark Counties, OH, comprise the Canton-Massillon, OH MSA. The Canton-Massillon MSA is currently split between the Cleveland, OH, and Pittsburgh, PA, wage areas. Carroll County is part of the area of application of the Pittsburgh wage area and Stark County is part of the area of application of the Cleveland wage area.

Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria for Stark County, the core county in the Canton-Massillon MSA, we recommend that the entire Canton-Massillon MSA be defined to the Cleveland wage area. The distance criterion for Stark County favors the Cleveland wage area more than the Pittsburgh wage area. All other criteria are inconclusive. However, more than twice as many people currently commute from Stark County into the Cleveland survey area (2%) than into the Pittsburgh survey area (0.07%). Based on this analysis, we believe Stark County is appropriately defined to the Cleveland wage area. Since there appear to be no unusual circumstances that would permit splitting the Canton-Massillon MSA, OPM proposes to redefine Carroll County to the Cleveland wage area. There are two Army Corps of Engineers FWS employees currently working in Carroll County.

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.

John Berry,

Director.

Accordingly, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is proposing 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; § 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 Chicago, IL; Fort Wayne-Marion, IN; Indianapolis, IN; Cleveland, OH; and Pittsburgh, PA, wage areas to read as follows:

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532—Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey Areas

ILLINOIS

Chicago

Survey Area

Illinois:

Cook

Du Page

Kane

Lake

McHenry

Will

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Illinois:

Boone

De Kalb

Grundy

Iroquois

Kankakee

Kendall

La Salle

Lee

Livingston

Ogle

Stephenson

Winnebago

Indiana:

Jasper

Lake

La Porte

Newton

Porter

Pulaski

Starke

Wisconsin:

Kenosha

INDIANA

Fort Wayne-Marion

Survey Area

Indiana:

Adams

Allen

DeKalb

Grant

Huntington

Wells

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Indiana:

Blackford

Cass

Elkhart

Fulton

Jay

Kosciusko

LaGrange

Marshall

Miami

Noble

St. Joseph

Steuben

Wabash

White

Whitley

Ohio:

Allen

Defiance

Fulton

Henry

Mercer

Paulding

Putnam

Van Wert

Williams

INDIANAPOLIS

Survey Area

Indiana:

Boone

Hamilton

Hancock

Hendricks

Johnson

Marion

Morgan

Shelby

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Indiana:

Bartholomew

Benton

Brown

Carroll

Clay

Clinton

Decatur

Delaware

Fayette

Fountain

Henry

Howard

Madison

Montgomery

Parke

Putnam

Rush

Sullivan

Tippecanoe

Tipton

Vermillion

Vigo

Warren

OHIO

Cleveland

Survey Area

Ohio:

Cuyahoga

Geauga

Lake

Medina

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Ohio:

Ashland

Ashtabula

Carroll

Columbiana

Erie

Huron

Lorain

Mahoning

Ottawa

Portage

Sandusky

Seneca

Stark

Summit

Trumbull

Wayne

PENNSYLVANIA

Pittsburgh

Survey Area

Pennsylvania:

Allegheny

Beaver

Butler

Washington

Westmoreland

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Pennsylvania:

Armstrong

Bedford

Blair

Cambria

Cameron

Centre

Clarion

Clearfield

Clinton

Crawford

Elk (Does not include the Allegheny National Forest portion)

Erie

Fayette

Forest (Does not include the Allegheny National Forest portion)

Greene

Huntingdon

Indiana

Jefferson

Lawrence

Mercer

Potter

Somerset

Venango

Ohio:

Belmont

Harrison

Jefferson

Tuscarawas

West Virginia:

Brooke

Hancock

Marshall

Ohio