Prevailing Rate Systems; Special Wage Schedules for Supervisors of Negotiated Rate Bureau of Reclamation Employees

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing a final rule to

establish special wage schedules for the supervisors of certain Bureau

of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, employees who negotiate

their wage rates.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 27, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul Shields, (202) 606-2848.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 7, 1994, at 59 FR 46201, the

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a proposed rule to

establish special wage schedules for the supervisors of certain Bureau

of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, employees who negotiate

their wage rates, with a 30-day comment period. During the comment

period, which ended October 7, 1994, OPM received comments from a local

union officer and six employees.

Discussion of Comments

1. The local union officer and two employees said they thought the

new special schedule system would be expensive and recommended that the

current process of linking the pay of supervisors with bargaining unit

rates of pay be continued or modified.

We do not agree with these comments. This new special schedule

proposal was developed by the Bureau of Reclamation working in

partnership with the covered supervisors and reflects agreements

reached in those discussions. When the agency removed the supervisors

from the bargaining units in 1990, the only pay system available was

the Federal Wage System (FWS) under the provisions of title 5, United

States Code. The agency received authority to temporarily continue (as

an agency ``set-aside'' practice) the historical pay differentials at

each location, subject to the statutory pay limitations of the FWS. Pay

setting for these supervisors is complicated by the combined factors of

wage negotiations for bargaining unit employees, delays in those

negotiations, pay limitation statutes, and FWS locality pay rates. The

purpose of this special schedule is to eliminate, in the pay-setting

process for these supervisors, the dependence on negotiated rates for

the bargaining unit and the associated complications of delays in

negotiations.

Based on the information currently available, the proposed special

schedule will not result in a significant increase in operating costs.

Under the new survey process, the special wage survey for supervisors

will be timed to coincide with the annual survey that is done for

bargaining unit employees. The surveys will be done at the same time

with many of the same firms being surveyed for both purposes. The

special wage survey committees and data collector personnel will be the

same, with a few additions for the supervisory survey.

2. Several questions were raised about how special wage area

boundaries were set up. Special wage area boundaries were generally

established to correspond to the boundaries currently being used for

the wage surveys for bargaining unit employees. However, in some cases,

areas were consolidated either because of the desire to simplify the

survey and wage setting process, the geographic location of the Bureau

of Reclamation projects, the desire to permit use of the same survey

company in more than one project, or the similarity of the rates being

paid to the Bureau of Reclamation supervisors in consolidated areas.

Three employees recommended that the survey area for the Hungry

Horse Project Office be extended to include Pend Oreille County,

Washington, which would include Boundary Dam, a facility of Seattle

City Light Company. As a city government facility, Boundary Dam does

not meet the statutory FWS requirement that only private industry

companies be surveyed. However, since Pend Oreille County is within the

survey area used for the bargaining unit employees, and the Bureau of

Reclamation is attempting to coordinate surveys for the supervisors

with those of the bargaining unit, we have added Pend Oreille County to

the Hungry Horse Project Office survey area. This will also facilitate

the process in the future should the local area survey committee need

to add private industry survey companies in that county.

3. The local union officer and three employees commented on the

industries and companies to be included in the special surveys. The

union suggested that only unionized companies be surveyed. We do not

agree with this suggestion because under statutes and regulations, FWS

pay-setting is based on a determination of private industry prevailing

rates, regardless of union organization. The three employees expressed

concern that private industry electric utility and hydro-electric

companies would not be included in the surveys. No changes in the

regulation are needed. These industries are expressly included by the

regulation at Sec. 532.285(c)(1) (Standard Industrial Classification

Major Group 49--Electric, Gas, and Sanitary Services).

4. Two employees expressed concern that the survey jobs being used

in the special surveys would not cover jobs in large hydro-electric

facilities with multi-crafts. We do not feel a change is necessary.

This special schedule process takes into account the number of crafts

supervised and the range of work supervised through application of the

classification criteria found in Factor 1 and Subfactor IIIA of the FWS

Job Grading Standard for Supervisors. These job aspects are covered by

Subfactor IIIA, Scope of Assigned Work Function and Organizational

Authority, which addresses aspects reflecting the variety of crafts and

the range of work. For example, at Level A-4, the scope and diversity

of work supervised is addressed. Similarly, one of the elements used in

distinguishing the difference among situations in Factor 1, Nature of

Supervisory Responsibility, is the number of levels of supervision

through which work activities are [[Page 5310]] controlled. More levels

of supervision tend to be associated with a greater number of crafts

supervised.

One employee asked how the four levels for Supervisors I-IV fit

into the survey process. As explained in Sec. 532.285 (b) and (c)(3) of

the final regulation, survey jobs representing positions at up to four

levels will be tailored to correspond to the positions of each covered

supervisor in that area. They will be matched to private industry jobs

in each special wage area. Special schedule rates for each position

will be based on prevailing rates for that particular job in private

industry. The special survey and wage schedule for a given area

includes only those occupations and levels having employees in that

area. The regulation was not changed in this respect.

5. An employee expressed concern that current supervisors would not

be adequately compensated for their experience upon conversion to the

new special schedule as compared to newly hired supervisors. The new

special schedule provides special consideration to current supervisors

in the first year of implementation. Under Sec. 532.285(f)(2), current

supervisors are placed in step 2 of the new special schedule, unless

their rate of pay exceeds step 2, in which case they will be placed in

step 3. Pay retention benefits will apply to any employee whose current

rate of pay exceeds step 3. New employees will enter at step 1 of the

grade, unless a higher rate is established in accordance with the

advanced in-hire rate procedure. The new special schedule provides

added compensation for the experience of current employees, and no

changes are necessary.

6. Two employees recommended that the definition of compensation

measured in industry surveys be expanded to include other company

benefits, such as a company vehicle with gas provided to get to and

from work, paid insurance coverage, company housing, and company stock

purchase options. The regulation will not be modified in this regard.

Under FWS statutes and practices, surveyed wages do include certain

bonuses, incentive rates, and cost of living allowances. Surveying the

additional benefits suggested would require a change in the law.

7. Finally, one employee commented that while the beginning month

of the survey for each special area is specified in the rule,

implementation or effective dates for the new schedules are not

specified. No change is necessary because, as with the regular FWS,

beginning dates for the special surveys are specified in the

regulation, and by statute (5 U.S.C. 5344(a)) increases in rates of pay

are effective not later than the first day of the first pay period

beginning on or after the 45th day following the date the survey is

ordered to be made.

Other Changes

The special schedule survey cycle in this rule has been changed

from 3 years to 2 years because it has been determined that the 3-year

proposal exceeded OPM's regulatory flexibility. The prevailing rate law

grants OPM great flexibility to establish special schedules that differ

from regular schedules in terms of wage area boundaries; industrial,

geographic, and occupational survey coverage; step rate structures; and

wage rate progressions. However, the regulatory flexibility to adjust

the normal 2-year survey cycle allows only for more frequent, not less

frequent full-scale surveys.

In Sec. 532.285(f)(1), the reference to ``fiscal year 1995'' has

been deleted because this final rule will not be effective until well

into the fiscal year.

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 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.

2. Subpart B is amended by adding Sec. 532.285 to read as follows:

Sec. 532.285 Special wage schedules for supervisors of negotiated rate

Bureau of Reclamation employees.

(a) The Department of the Interior shall establish and issue

special wage schedules for wage supervisors of negotiated rate wage

employees in the Bureau of Reclamation. These schedules shall be based

on annual special wage surveys conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation

in each special wage area. Survey jobs representing Bureau of

Reclamation positions at up to four levels will be matched to private

industry jobs in each special wage area. Special schedule rates for

each position will be based on prevailing rates for that particular job

in private industry.

(b) Each supervisory job shall be described at one of four levels

corresponding to the four supervisory situations described in Factor I

and four levels of Subfactor IIIA of the FWS Job Grading Standard for

Supervisors. They shall be titled in accordance with regular FWS

practices, with the added designation of level I, II, III, or IV. The

special survey and wage schedule for a given special wage area includes

only those occupations and levels having employees in that area. For

each position on the special schedule, there shall be three step rates.

Step 2 is the prevailing rate as determined by the survey; step 1 is 96

percent of the prevailing rate; and step 3 is 104 percent of the

prevailing rate.

(c) For each special wage area, the Bureau of Reclamation shall

designate and appoint a special wage survey committee, including a

chairperson and two other members (at least one of whom shall be a

supervisor paid from the special wage schedule), and one or more two-

person data collection teams (each of which shall include at least one

supervisor paid from the special wage schedule). The local wage survey

committee shall determine the prevailing rate for each survey job as a

weighted average. Survey specifications are as follows for all surveys:

(1) Tailored to the Bureau of Reclamation activities and types of

supervisory positions in the special wage area, private industry

companies to be surveyed shall be selected from among the following

Standard Industrial Classification Major Groups: 12 coal mining; 13 oil

and gas extraction; 14 mining and quarrying of nonmettalic minerals,

except fuels; 35 manufacturing industrial and commercial machinery and

computer equipment; 36 manufacturing electronic and other electrical

equipment and components, except computer equipment; 42 motor freight

transportation and warehousing; 48 communications; 49 electric, gas,

and sanitary services; and 76 miscellaneous repair services. No minimum

employment size is required for surveyed establishments.

(2) Each local wage survey committee shall compile lists of all

companies in the survey area known to have potential job matches. For

the first survey, all companies on the list will be surveyed.

Subsequently, companies shall be removed from the survey list if they

[[Page 5311]] prove not to have job matches, and new companies will be

added if they are expected to have job matches. Survey data will be

shared with other local wage survey committees when the data from any

one company is applicable to more than one special wage area.

(3) For each area, survey job descriptions shall be tailored to

correspond to the position of each covered supervisor in that area.

They will be described at one of four levels (I, II, III, or IV)

corresponding to the definitions of the four supervisory situations

described in Factor I and four levels of Subfactor IIIA of the FWS Job

Grading Standard for Supervisors. A description of the craft, trade, or

labor work supervised will be included in each supervisory survey job

description.

(d) Special wage area boundaries shall be identical to the survey

areas covered by the special wage surveys. The areas of application in

which the special schedules will be paid are generally smaller than the

survey areas, reflecting actual Bureau of Reclamation worksites and the

often scattered location of surveyable private sector jobs. Special

wage schedules shall be established in the following areas:

The Great Plains Region

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Montana: All counties except Lincoln, Sanders,Lake, Flathead,

Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Granite, and Ravalli

Wyoming: All counties except Lincoln, Teton, sublette, Uinta, and

Sweetwater

Colorado: All counties except Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Mesa,

Delta, Montrose, San Miguel, Ouray, Delores, San Juan, Montezuma, La

Plata, and Archuleta

North Dakota: All counties

South Dakota: All counties

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Montana: Broadwater, Jefferson,Lewis and Clark, Yellowstone, and

Bighorn Counties

Wyoming: All counties except Lincoln, Teton, Sublette, Uinta, and

Sweetwater

Colorado: Boulder, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Eagle, Fremont, Gilpin,

Grand, Lake, Larimer, Park, Pitkin, Pueblo, and Summitt

Beginning month of survey: August

The Mid-Pacific Region

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

California: Shasta, Sacramento, Butte, San Francisco, Merced,

Stanislaus

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

California: Shasta, Sacramento, Fresno, Alameda, Tehoma, Tuolumne,

Merced

Beginning month of survey: October

Green Springs Power Field Station

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Oregon: Jackson

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Oregon: Jackson

Beginning month of survey: April

Pacific NW. Region Drill Crew

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Montana: Flathead, Missoula

Oregon: Lane, Bend, Medford, Umatilla, Multnomah

Utah: Salt Lake

Idaho: Ada, Canyon, Adams

Washington: Spokane, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Oregon: Deschutes, Jackson, Umatilla

Montana: Missoula

Idaho: Ada

Washington: Grant, Lincoln, Douglas, Okanogan, Yakima

Beginning month of survey: April

Snake River Area Office (Central Snake/Minidoka)

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Idaho: Ada, Caribou, Bingham, Bannock

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Idaho: Gem, Elmore, Bonneville, Minidoka, Boise, Valley, Power

Beginning month of survey: April

Hungry Horse Project Office

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Montana: Flathead, Missoula, Cascade, Sanders, Lake

Idaho: Bonner

Washington: Pend Oreille

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Montana: Flathead

Beginning month of survey: March

Grand Coulee Power Office (Grand Coulee Project Office)

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Oregon: Multnomah

Washington: Spokane, King

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Washington: Grant, Douglas, Lincoln, Okanogan

Beginning month of survey: April

Upper Columbia Area Office (Yakima)

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Washington: King, Yakima

Oregon: Multnomah

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Washington: Yakima

Oregon: Umatilla

Beginning Month of Survey: September

Colorado River Storage Project Area

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Arizona: Apache, Coconino, Navajo

Colorado: Moffat, Montrose, Routt, Gunnison, Rio Blanco, Mesa,

Garfield, Eagle, Delta, Pitkin, San Miguel, Delores, Montezuma, La

Plata, San Juan, Ouray, Archuleta, Hindale, Mineral

Wyoming: Unita, Sweetwater, Carbon, Albany, Laramie, Goshen, Platte,

Niobrara, Converse, Natrona, Fremont, Sublette, Lincoln

Utah: Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne,

Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute,

Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah,

Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber

Special Survey Area of Application (Counties)

Arizona: Coconino

Colorado: Montrose, Gunnison, Mesa

Wyoming: Lincoln

Utah: Daggett

Beginning month of survey: March

Elephant Butte Area

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

New Mexico: Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Dona Ana, Otero, Eddy, Lea,

Roosevelt, Chaves, Lincoln, Sierra, Socorro, Catron, Cibola,

Valencia, Bernalillo, Torrance, Guadalupe, De Baca, Curry, Quay

Texas: El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Presido, Brewster,

Pecos, Reeves, Loving, Ward, Winkler

Arizona: Apache, Greenlee, Graham, Cochise

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

New Mexico: Sierra

Beginning month of survey: June

Lower Colorado Dams Area

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Nevada: Clark

California: Los Angeles

Arizona: Maricopa

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Nevada: Clark

California: San Bernardino

Arizona: Mohave

Beginning month of survey: August

Yuma Projects Area

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

California: San Diego

Arizona: Maricopa, Yuma

(Note: Bureau of Reclamation may add other survey counties for

dredge operator supervisors because of the uniqueness of the

occupation and difficulty in finding job matches.)

Special Wage Area of Application (Counties)

Arizona: Yuma

Beginning month of survey: November (Maintenance) and April

(Dredging)

Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO, Area

Special Wage Survey Area (Counties)

Colorado: Jefferson, Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Larimer

Special Wage Survey Area of Application (Counties)

Colorado: Jefferson

Beginning month of survey: February

(e) These special schedule positions will be identified by pay plan

code XE, grade 00, and the Federal Wage System occupational codes will

be used. New employees shall be hired at step 1 of the

[[Page 5312]] position. With satisfactory or higher performance,

advancement between steps shall be automatic after 52 weeks of service.

(f) (1) In the first year of implementation, all special areas will

have full-scale surveys.

(2) Current employees shall be placed in step 2 of the new special

schedule, or, if their current rate of pay exceeds the rate for step 2,

they shall be placed in step 3. Pay retention shall apply to any

employee whose rate of basic pay would otherwise be reduced as a result

of placement in these new special wage schedules.

(3) The waiting period for within-grade increases shall begin on

the employee's first day under the new special schedule.

[FR Doc. 95-2013 Filed 1-26-95; 8:45 am]

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