Pay Under the General Schedule; Locality-Based Comparability Payments

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 531

RIN 3206-AG39

Pay Under the General Schedule; Locality-Based Comparability

Payments

agency: Office of Personnel Management.

action: Proposed rule with request for comments.

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summary: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing proposed

regulations to remove six metropolitan areas from the ``Rest of U.S.''

locality pay area and establish six new locality pay areas

corresponding to these metropolitan areas. These proposed changes are

based on a recommendation of the Federal Salary Council and are subject

to certain conditions set forth by the Council for the purpose of

applying locality-based comparability payments in January 1995 under

the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990. The purpose of

this notice is to solicit public comments on the boundaries of locality

pay areas recommended by the Federal Salary Council before the

President's Pay Agent makes a final determination on this matter.

dates: Comments must be received on or before November 17, 1994.

addresses: Comments may be sent or delivered to Donald J. Winstead,

Acting Assistant Director for Compensation Policy, Personnel Systems

and Oversight Group, Office of Personnel Management, Room 6H31, 1900 E

Street NW., Washington, DC 20415.

for further information contact: Donald J. Winstead, (202) 606-2880.

supplementary information: Section 5304(a)(1) of title 5, United States

Code, provides that comparability payments shall be payable within each

locality determined to have a pay disparity greater than 5 percent.

Section 5304(f)(1) authorizes the President's Pay Agent (consisting of

the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management

(OPM)) to provide for such pay localities as the Pay Agent considers

appropriate. In so doing, the Pay Agent must give thorough

consideration to the views and recommendations of the Federal Salary

Council, a body composed of experts in the fields of labor relations

and pay and representatives of Federal employee organizations. Members

of the Federal Salary Council are appointed by the President and meet

regularly to consider issues related to the locality pay system for

General Schedule employees.

For the 1994 locality payments, the Federal Salary Council

recommended establishing a total of 28 locality pay areas. These

consisted of 27 areas corresponding to Metropolitan Statistical Areas

(MSA's) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSA's),

including ``areas of application'' contiguous to 2 CMSA's, plus 1 area

composed of the ``Rest of U.S.'' (i.e., those portions of the 48

contiguous States not located within another locality pay area). MSA's

and CMSA's are defined by OMB. After reviewing public comments on this

proposal, the Pay Agent adopted the Federal Salary Council's

recommendations on locality pay areas in their entirety. (See 58 FR

69169, December 30, 1993, and 5 CFR 531.603(b).)

On September 20, 1994, the Federal Salary Council presented its

recommendations to the Pay Agent concerning the areas in which

locality-based comparability payments should be paid beginning in

January 1995. The Council recommended the removal of six metropolitan

areas from the ``Rest of U.S.'' locality pay area and the establishment

of six new locality pay areas corresponding to these metropolitan

areas. The MSA's and CMSA's affected by this recommendation are the

following: (1) Albuquerque, NM; (2) Columbus, OH; (3) Miami-Fort

Lauderdale, FL; (4) New Orleans, LA; (5) Portland-Salem, OR-WA; and (6)

Richmond-Petersburg, VA. As noted in the Council's memorandum to the

Pay Agent, these six metropolitan areas are those in which the Bureau

of Labor Statistics conducted additional local salary surveys in 1993-

94 at the direction of the Pay Agent. These 6 new locality pay areas

would be in addition to the 28 locality pay areas established for the

1994 locality payments.

In its memorandum to the Pay Agent, the Federal Salary Council

noted that the pay disparities (between Federal and non-Federal pay

rates for the same levels of work) in the 6 recommended new areas and

the 27 previously established locality pay areas corresponding to

MSA's/CMSA's cannot be determined at this time because some of the data

needed to make this determination are not yet available. The Council

further stated its belief that any area in which the pay disparity is

2/10ths of a percentage point or more below the pay disparity for

``Rest of U.S.'' should be dropped as a separate pay locality and

combined with ``Rest of U.S.'' Thus, it is possible that once all of

the data needed to make this determination become available, one or

more of the areas listed in Sec. 531.603(b) of this proposed rule may

not meet the test recommended by the Federal Salary Council.

The Federal Salary Council's memorandum to the Pay Agent also noted

that the identification of ``areas of application''--i.e., areas

contiguous to an MSA or CMSA that are included in the corresponding pay

locality for locality pay purposes--has received considerable attention

by the Council. During the past year, the Council has received requests

covering 10 separate geographic areas for removal from the ``Rest of

U.S.'' locality pay area and inclusion in one of the remaining 27

locality pay areas with higher rates.

After carefully considering the application of the criteria

developed for the 1994 locality payments and the possibility of

revising these criteria, the Council has determined that it continues

to be in the best interest of the locality pay program to use the same

criteria applied by the Council last year for ``areas of application.''

Although the criteria applied by the Council for the January 1994

locality payments remain the same in substance, the Council's

memorandum to the Pay Agent included a clarification of the criterion

that makes use of Census Bureau data on commuting patterns for the

purpose of determining ``economic linkage'' with a pay locality. (See

item A.4., below.) The criteria applied by the Federal Salary Council

in making its recommendations on ``areas of application'' for the

January 1995 locality payments, as stated in an attachment to the

Council's memorandum of September 20, 1994, are as follows:

Criteria for Recommendation as Areas of Application to Pay Localities

A. County-wide areas of application. To be considered, the affected

county must,

1. Be contiguous to a pay locality

2. Contain at least 2,000 GS-GM employees

3. Have a significant level of urbanization, based on 1990 Census

data. A ``significant level of urbanization'' is defined as a

population density of more than 200 per square mile or at least 90

percent of the population in urbanized areas.

4. Demonstrate some economic linkage with the pay locality, defined

as commuting at a level of 5 percent or more into or from the areas in

question. The areas in question are the contiguous county under

consideration and the central counties (or in the case of New England,

the central cores) identified by the Census Bureau for the process of

defining the CMSA's or MSA's involved.

B. Federal facilities crossing pay locality boundaries. To be

included in the pay locality the portion of a federal facility which

crosses pay locality boundaries and which is not in the pay locality

must,

Have at least 1,000 GS-GM employees,

Have the duty station(s) of the majority of GS-GM

employees within 10 miles of the prime critical survey boundary area,

and

Have a significant number of its employees commuting from

the pay locality.

Based on the criteria developed by the Federal Salary Council for

the January 1994 locality-based comparability payments, the Council

recommended in August 1993 that Santa Barbara County, CA, be considered

as an ``area of application'' within the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange

County, CA, locality pay area and that St. Mary's County, MD, be

considered as an ``area of application'' within the Washington-

Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV, locality pay area under the criteria for

county-wide areas of application. In addition, the Council recommended

that the portion of Edwards Air Force Base, CA, which lies outside the

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA CMSA be considered as an ``area

of application'' within the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA,

locality pay area under the criteria for Federal facilities crossing

pay locality boundaries. As noted above, the Pay Agent accepted these

recommendations in their entirety.

The Federal Salary Council's recommendation to the Pay Agent for

the January 1995 locality payments relies on the same criteria applied

by the Council for the previous year, as clarified above. The Council

has determined that no additional counties or Federal facilities meet

these criteria. Based on the Council's recommendation, the proposed

regulations do not include any new ``areas of application'' within the

locality pay areas listed in Sec. 531.603(b).

After the 30-day public comment period on these proposed

regulations, the Pay Agent will consider the comments received from

Federal employees, agencies, employee organizations, and other

interested parties before making its determination on the establishment

of pay localities. The Pay Agent also will consider any additional

views and recommendations expressed directly to the Pay Agent by any

member of the Federal Salary Council or by employee organizations not

represented on the Council. The final regulations issued by OPM will

reflect the Pay Agent's final determination on this matter.

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review

This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget

in accordance with E.O. 12866.

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 apply only to Federal agencies and employees.

List of Subjects 5 CFR Part 531

Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Wages.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

James B. King,

Director.

Accordingly, OPM is proposing to amend part 531 of title 5, Code of

Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 531--PAY UNDER THE GENERAL SCHEDULE

1. The authority citation for part 531 is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5115, 5307, 5338; sec. 4 of Pub. L. 103-89,

107 Stat. 981; and E.O. 12748, 56 FR 4521, February 4, 1991, 3 CFR

1991 Comp., p. 316;

Subpart A also issued under section 302 of the Federal Employees

Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA), Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat.

1462; 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; and E.O. 12786, 56 FR 67453,

December 30, 1991, 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, 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 (October 2, 1992), 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, November 29, 1993, 3 CFR 1993 Comp., p.

682.

Subpart F--Locality-Based Comparability Payments

2. In Sec. 531.603, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 531.603 Locality pay areas.

* * * * *

(b) The following are locality pay areas for the purpose of this

subpart:

(1) Albuquerque, NM--consisting of the Albuquerque, NM MSA;

(2) Atlanta, GA--consisting of the Atlanta, GA MSA;

(3) Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT--consisting of the

Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT CMSA;

(4) Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI--consisting of the Chicago-Gary-

Kenosha, IL-IN-WI CMSA;

(5) Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN--consisting of the Cincinnati-

Hamilton, OH-KY-IN CMSA;

(6) Cleveland-Akron, OH--consisting of the Cleveland-Akron, OH

CMSA;

(7) Columbus, OH--consisting of the Columbus, OH MSA;

(8) Dallas-Fort Worth, TX--consisting of the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

CMSA;

(9) Dayton-Springfield, OH--consisting of the Dayton-Springfield,

OH MSA;

(10) Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO--consisting of the Denver-Boulder-

Greeley, CO CMSA;

(11) Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI--consisting of the Detroit-Ann

Arbor-Flint, MI CMSA;

(12) Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX--consisting of the Houston-

Galveston-Brazoria, TX CMSA;

(13) Huntsville, AL--consisting of the Huntsville, AL MSA;

(14) Indianapolis, IN--consisting of the Indianapolis, IN MSA;

(15) Kansas City, MO-KS--consisting of the Kansas City, MO-KS MSA;

(16) Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA--consisting of the Los

Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA CMSA, plus Santa Barbara County,

CA, and that portion of Edwards Air Force Base, CA, not located within

the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA CMSA;

(17) Memphis, TN-AR-MS MSA--consisting of the Memphis, TN-AR-MS

MSA;

(18) Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL--consisting of the Miami-Fort

Lauderdale, FL CMSA;

(19) New Orleans, LA--consisting of the New Orleans, LA MSA;

(20) New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA--

consisting of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA

CMSA;

(21) Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC--consisting of the

Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC MSA;

(22) Oklahoma City, OK--consisting of the Oklahoma City, OK MSA;

(23) Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD--consisting

of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD CMSA;

(24) Portland-Salem, OR-WA--consisting of the Portland-Salem, OR-WA

CMSA;

(25) Richmond-Petersburg, VA--consisting of the Richmond-

Petersburg, VA MSA;

(26) Sacramento-Yolo, CA--consisting of the Sacramento-Yolo, CA

CMSA;

(27) St. Louis, MO-IL--consisting of the St. Louis, MO-IL MSA;

(28) Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT--consisting of the Salt Lake City-

Ogden, UT MSA;

(29) San Antonio, TX--consisting of the San Antonio, TX MSA;

(30) San Diego, CA--consisting of the San Diego, CA MSA;

(31) San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA--consisting of the San

Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA CMSA;

(32) Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA--consisting of the Seattle-

Tacoma-Bremerton, WA CMSA;

(33) Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV--consisting of the

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV CMSA, plus St. Mary's County, MD; and

(34) Rest of U.S.--consisting of those portions of the continental

United States not located within another locality pay area.

[FR Doc. 94-25697 Filed 10-17-94; 8:45 am]

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