Prevailing Rate Systems; Abolishment of Marquette, MI, Nonappropriated Fund Wage Area

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing interim

regulations to abolish the Marquette, MI, nonappropriated fund (NAF)

Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area and add Dickinson County, MI, and

Marquette County, MI, as areas of application to the Lake, IL, NAF wage

area for pay-setting purposes. No employee's wage rate will be reduced

as a result of this change.

DATES: This interim rule becomes effective on July 10, 1995. Comments

must be received by August 9, 1995. Employees paid rates from the

Marquette, MI, NAF wage schedule will continue to be paid from that

schedule until their conversion to the Lake, IL, NAF wage schedule on

October 21, 1995, the normal effective date for new Marquette area wage

schedules.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Donald J. Winstead, Assistant

Director for Compensation Policy, Human Resources Systems Service, U.S.

Office of Personnel Management, Room 6H31, 1900 E Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20415.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul Shields, (202) 606-2848.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Defense recommended to the

Office of Personnel Management that the Marquette, MI, NAF wage area be

abolished and that Dickinson County, MI, and Marquette County, MI, be

added as areas of application to the Lake, IL, NAF wage area. With the

scheduled 1995 closing of the host installation, K.I. Sawyer Air Force

Base (AFB), there will no longer be a local activity with the

capability to do the Marquette, MI, survey. There will, however, still

be about five NAF employees in Dickinson County and possibly a few NAF

employees in Marquette County. The remaining three Marquette wage area

application counties, Chippewa and Houghton Counties, MI, and Langlade

County, WI, have no NAF FWS employees.

The provisions of 5 CFR 532.219 list the following criteria for

consideration when two or more counties are to be combined to

constitute a single wage area:

(1) Proximity of largest activity in each county;

(2) Transportation facilities and commuting patterns; and

(3) Similarities of the counties in:

(i) Overall population;

(ii) Private employment in major industry categories; and

(iii) Kinds and sizes of private industrial establishments.

These criteria are discussed in turn below.

Of the largest nearby activities with NAF employees, K.I. Sawyer

AFB, Marquette County, MI, is closest to Great Lakes Naval Training

Center, Lake County, IL. More distant are the 934th TAG MN/St. Paul

International Airport and Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Distances

from K.I. Sawyer AFB to the host activities of the surrounding wage

areas are as follows: Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Lake County,

IL, 561 km (349 miles); 934th TAG MN/St. Paul International Airport,

Hennepin County, MN, 697 km (433 miles); and Selfridge Air National

Guard Base, Macomb County, MI, 786 km (488 miles). The duty station of

the NAF employees in Dickinson County, MI--the Iron Mountain VA Medical

Center--is also closer to Lake County, IL, than the other nearby NAF

wage areas.

Considering transportation facilities from Marquette and Dickinson

Counties, MI, the largest installations in the three surrounding survey

areas can all be reached by primary undivided roads and Interstate

highways. An analysis of 1990 census commuting patterns data indicates

that no workers commute between either Marquette County, MI, or

Dickinson County, MI, and any of the three survey counties under

consideration.

In terms of similarities of the counties in overall population,

private employment, and kinds and sizes of private industrial

establishments, Marquette and Dickinson Counties are most similar to

Lake County.

In summary, consideration of the three criteria (proximity,

transportation facilities and commuting patterns, and similarities of

the counties) favors the definition of Dickinson and Marquette

Counties, MI, as areas of application to the Lake, IL, NAF wage area.

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee reviewed this

recommendation and by consensus recommended approval.

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

for waiving the general notice of proposed rulemaking. Also, pursuant

to section 553(d)(3) of title 5, United States Code, I find that good

cause exists for making this rule effective in less than 30 days. The

notice is being waived and the regulation is being made effective in

less than 30 days because preparations for the August 1995 Marquette,

MI, NAF wage area survey must otherwise begin immediately.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that these regulations will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they

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.

Office of Personnel Management.

Lorraine A. Green,

Deputy Director.

Accordingly, OPM 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; Sec. 532.707 also issued under 5

U.S.C. 552.

[[Page 35468]]

Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 532 [Amended]

2. In Appendix B to subpart B, the listing for the State of

Michigan is amended by removing the entry for Marquette.

3. Appendix D to subpart B is amended by removing the wage area

list for Marquette, Michigan, and by revising the list for Lake,

Illinois, to read as follows:

Appendix D to Subpart B of Part 532--Nonappropriated Fund Wage and

Survey Areas

* * * * *

Illinois

* * * * *

Lake

Survey area

Illinois:

Lake

Area of application. Survey area plus:

Illinois:

Cook

Michigan:

Dickinson (Effective date October 21, 1995)

Marquette (Effective date October 21, 1995)

Wisconsin:

Dane

Milwaukee

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95-16815 Filed 7-7-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325-01-M