Pay Under the General Schedule; Locality-Based Comparability Payments

Federal RegisterDec 30, 1994

Ask Donna

What actually matters in this document.

Text

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing final

regulations that reflect the final determination of the President's Pay

Agent concerning the locality pay areas within which locality-based

comparability payments will be paid beginning in January 1995. The

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

locality pay area, establish four new locality pay areas corresponding

to these metropolitan areas, and move five pay localities that were

established as locality pay areas in 1994 into the ``Rest of U.S.''

locality pay area. In addition, the regulations remove San Francisco as

an interim geographic adjustment area.

DATES: The regulations are effective January 1, 1995. They are

applicable on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or

after January 1, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Belva MacDonald, (202) 606-2858.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 18, 1994, the Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) published proposed regulations (59 FR 52467) based on

a recommendation of the Federal Salary Council 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. At the direction of 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 OPM), the Bureau of

Labor Statistics conducted local salary surveys in 1993-94 in these six

areas, which were in addition to the 27 Metropolitan Statistical Areas

(MSA's) and Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSA's) within

which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducted salary surveys for

the implementation of locality pay in January 1994.

The Council recommended 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.'' The data needed to make the

determination for the six proposed areas did not become available until

after the proposed regulations were published. Four of the proposed six

metropolitan areas met the conditions recommended by the Council for

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

as separate pay localities. These four new locality pay areas are (1)

Columbus, OH; (2) Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL; (3) Portland-Salem, OR-WA;

and (4) Richmond-Petersburg, VA. Two of the six proposed areas,

Albuquerque, NM, and New Orleans, LA, have pay disparities that are

more than 2/10ths of a percentage point below that for the ``Rest of

U.S.'' area. Therefore, they will remain in the ``Rest of U.S.'' area.

There are also five areas that were established by the Pay Agent as

locality pay areas for 1994 that are being dropped as separate locality

pay areas and combined with ``Rest of U.S.'' for 1995 because they have

pay disparities that are 2/10ths of a percentage point or more below

the ``Rest of U.S.'' These areas are (1) Memphis, TN-AR-MS; (2)

Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC; (3) Oklahoma City, OK; (4)

Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT; and (5) San Antonio, TX.

There are 27 locality pay areas for 1995. They consist of 26 areas

corresponding to MSA's or CMSA's, including certain ``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.

OPM received comments on locality pay areas from two members of

Congress, one individual, one agency, and three organizations. Section

5304(f)(1) of title 5, United States Code, authorizes the President's

Pay Agent to provide for such pay localities as the Pay Agent considers

appropriate. Comments on the proposed regulations were reviewed by the

President's Pay Agent. The Pay Agent decided to adopt the changes in

locality pay areas that were recommended by the Federal Salary Council.

The final regulations list each of the locality pay areas for 1995 and

are issued by OPM under the authority in 5 U.S.C. 5304(i).

Areas of Application

Three commenters requested that certain areas in the ``Rest of

U.S.'' locality pay area be added as ``areas of application'' to other

locality pay areas. One requested that Hartford County, CT, be added as

an area of application to the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island,

NY-NJ-CT-PA CMSA. Another requested that the Rhode Island cities of

Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston, Warwick, West Warwick, and Newport be

added as areas of application to the Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-

ME-CT CMSA. The third commenter requested that the Massachusetts

counties of Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket be added as areas of

application to the Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT CMSA.

However, none of these locations meet all of the criteria set forth by

the Federal Salary Council for establishment as areas of application

for locality pay purposes.

The Federal Salary Council's criteria for making its

recommendations on ``areas of application'' for the January 1995

locality payments, as outlined in an attachment to the Council's

memorandum of September 20, 1994, provided that to be considered for

county-wide areas of application, 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.

In the case of Hartford County, criterion 4--that commuting into or

from the central counties identified by the Census Bureau for the New

York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA CMSA be at a level of

5 percent--is not met.

With respect to the Rhode Island cities requested as areas of

application, under established policies, areas of application must

comprise entire counties (except in cases where a Federal facility

crosses pay area boundaries). Even if these individual cities could be

considered, they would not meet criterion 1--that an area of

application be contiguous to a pay locality. Also, they would not meet

the 5-percent commuting standard under criterion 4.

In the case of the Massachusetts counties requested as areas of

application, none of the counties meets criterion 2. Nantucket and

Dukes Counties do not meet criterion 4. Also, Nantucket County fails to

meet criterion 1, since it is not adjacent to the Boston-Worcester-

Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT CMSA.

An agency commented that inconsistent application of criteria for

areas of application could lead to unwarranted expansion of locality

pay areas and agreed that it is in the best interest of the locality

pay program to continue application of the criteria developed by the

Federal Salary Council in 1994.

Pay Administration

Locality pay rates to be implemented in January 1995 for the San

Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA CMSA are greater than interim geographic

adjusted rates for 1995. Therefore, the San Francisco CMSA was deleted

as an interim geographic adjustment (IGA) area by Executive order and

is being removed from the definition of interim geographic adjustment

area in Sec. 531.101. A conforming change also is being made to ensure

that an employee in San Francisco receiving a continued rate of pay

under Sec. 531.106 will not be adversely affected by the removal of San

Francisco as an IGA area. This is accomplished by providing an

exception in the rules governing the termination of an adjusted rate of

pay for an employee receiving a continued rate in an area that was an

IGA area when the continued rate first became applicable in January

1994. (See Sec. 531.103(f)(1).)

The definitions of scheduled annual rate of pay for purposes of

computing interim geographic adjustments, special pay adjustments for

law enforcement officers, and locality-based comparability payments in

Secs. 531.101, 531.301, and 531.602 have been revised to clarify that a

rate of pay resulting from any of these provisions may not be used as

the basis for computing the adjusted rate in question.

Comments Beyond the Scope of These Regulations

A professional association commented that locality payments in 1995

should be extended to Administrative Law Judges and other senior

positions that do not automatically receive locality pay. These

determinations are not within the purview of these regulations.

However, on December 1, 1994, the Pay Agent informed heads of executive

departments and agencies that 1995 locality payments would be extended

to administrative law judges and various other senior positions.

Waiver of Delay in Effective Date

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), I find that good cause exists to

make this rule effective in less than 30 days. The final regulations

are being made effective on January 1, 1995, to authorize locality-

based comparability payments in the locality pay areas established by

the final regulations on the first day of the first pay period

beginning on or after January 1, 1995, as required by 5 U.S.C.

5304(d)(2) and as directed by the President's memorandum of November

30, 1994, to the President's Pay Agent (59 FR 62549, December 5, 1994).

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 will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they

will apply only to Federal agencies and employees.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 531

Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Wages.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

James B. King,

Director.

Accordingly, OPM is amending 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, and 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 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, 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, 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, November 29, 1993, 3 CFR, 1993 Comp.,

p. 682.

Subpart A--Interim Geographic Adjustments

2. In Sec. 531.101, in the definition of scheduled annual rate of

pay, paragraph (1) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 531.101 Definitions.

* * * * *

Scheduled annual rate of pay means--

(1) The General Schedule rate of basic pay for the employee's grade

and step (or relative position in the rate range), including a special

rate for law enforcement officers under section 403 of the Federal

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

Stat. 1465), but exclusive of a special salary rate established under 5

U.S.C. 5305 or similar provision of law (other than section 403 of

FEPCA), an adjusted annual rate of pay under this subpart (including a

rate continued under Sec. 531.106), a special law enforcement adjusted

rate of pay under subpart C of this part (including a rate continued

under Sec. 531.307), a locality rate of pay under subpart F of this

part, or additional pay of any kind;

* * * * *

3. In Sec. 531.103, paragraph (f)(1) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 531.103 Administration of adjusted rates of pay.

* * * * *

(f) * * *

(1) An employee's official duty station is no longer located in an

interim geographic adjustment area, except that, for an employee

receiving an adjusted annual rate of pay that is continued under

Sec. 531.106(a), the continued rate terminates when the employee is no

longer in an area that was an interim geographic adjustment area when

the continued rate first became applicable in January 1994;

* * * * *

4. In Sec. 531.301, in the definition of Scheduled annual rate of

pay, paragraph (1) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 531.301 Definitions.

* * * * *

Scheduled annual rate of pay means--

(1) The General Schedule rate of basic pay for the employee's grade

and step (or relative position in the rate range), including a special

rate for law enforcement officers under section 403 of the Federal

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

Stat. 1465), but exclusive of a special salary rate established under 5

U.S.C. 5305 or similar provision of law (other than section 403 of

FEPCA), an adjusted annual rate of pay under subpart A of this part

(including a rate continued under Sec. 531.106), a special law

enforcement adjusted rate of pay under this subpart (including a rate

continued under Sec. 531.307), a locality rate of pay under subpart F

of this part, or additional pay of any kind;

* * * * *

Subpart F--Locality-Based Comparability Payments

5. In Sec. 531.602, in the definition of scheduled annual rate of

pay, paragraph (1) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 531.602 Definitions.