[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21934]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 7, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 172

                                       Wednesday, September 7, 1994

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AG12

 

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

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 7, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Donald J. Winstead, Acting 
Assistant Director for Compensation Policy, Personnel Systems and 
Oversight Group, 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: Bureau of Reclamation electrical power 
employees in mixed bargaining units (including both workers and 
supervisors) were historically paid negotiated rates under the 
authority of section 9(b) of Pub. L 92-392 and section 704 of Pub. L. 
95-454. The historical practice was to pay supervisors a negotiated 
percentage differential above the rates of the workers supervised.
    In 1989, the Department of the Interior began pulling supervisors 
out of these mixed bargaining units as contracts expired, and a new 
method of paying the supervisors was needed. In 1990, OPM approved a 
temporary set-aside practice under former Federal Personnel Manual 
Supplement 532-1, Appendix V, Listing of Agency Special Wage Schedules 
and Rates Documented Under the Federal Wage System (FWS), to continue 
paying existing negotiated supervisory differentials for the 
supervisors removed from the bargaining units. This was based on 
expected serious, pay-based recruitment and retention problems if 
supervisors were placed on regular FWS schedules.
    The Department of the Interior has now requested the authority to 
establish FWS special wage schedules for the supervisors that use a 
special job evaluation system and pay rates based on wage surveys of 
private sector supervisory jobs. The special wage schedules would cover 
approximately 109 supervisors in 13 special wage areas (Great Plains 
Region, Mid-Pacific Region, Green Springs Power Field Station, Pacific 
Northwest Region Drill Crew, Snake River Area Office, Hungry Horse 
Project Office, Grand Coulee Power Office, Upper Columbia Area Office 
(Yakima), Colorado River Storage Project Area, Elephant Butte Area, 
Lower Colorado Dams Area, Yuma Projects Area, and Bureau of 
Reclamation, Denver). Positions formerly evaluated as Foremen II, III, 
and IV under the Department of the Interior Evaluation Plan for 
Supervisory and Leader Positions are covered.
    No current employee will have his or her pay rate reduced as a 
result of these new special schedules. During implementation of the new 
special schedules, the initial special wage schedules will not be 
subject to statutory pay increase limitations.

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.

Office of Personnel Management.
James B. King,
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). Full-scale surveys 
shall be planned and conducted in each area at least every 3 years, 
with wage change surveys in each intervening year. More frequent full-
scale surveys may be scheduled to balance the agency survey workload. 
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 nonmetallic 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 
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 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, Tehama, 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

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, Lune, 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 Bernadino
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 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 (fiscal year 1995), 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. 94-21934 Filed 9-6-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M