[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31820]


[Federal Register: December 28, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 248

                                       Wednesday, December 28, 1994

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 6325-AG46


Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, 
PA; Harrisburg, PA; Washington, DC; and Waco, TX, Wage Areas

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed 
rule that would remove Schuylkill County, PA, from the Scranton-Wilkes-
Barre, PA, Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area. This rule would also 
move Adams County and Perry County, PA, from the Harrisburg survey area 
to the Harrisburg area of application. Additionally, this rule would 
add Manassas and Manassas Park, two independent cities in Virginia, to 
the Washington, DC FWS wage area definition. This rule also corrects a 
printing error by reinserting McLennan County, TX, in the Waco, TX, FWS 
wage area listing.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 27, 1995.

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:
Mark Allen, (202) 606-2848.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is 
currently engaged in an ongoing system-wide review of the geographic 
definitions of Federal Wage System (FWS) appropriated fund wage areas. 
OPM recently reviewed the definition of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA, 
FWS wage area. Based on an analysis of the regulatory wage area 
criteria in 5 CFR 532.211, OPM proposes to remove Schuylkill County, 
PA, from the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area of application and reassign the 
county to the Harrisburg, PA, area of application.
    5 CFR 532.211 lists the following criteria for consideration when 
redefining FWS wage areas:
    (i) Distance, transportation facilities, and geographic features;
    (ii) Commuting patterns; and
    (iii) Similarities in overall population, employment, and the kinds 
and sizes of private industrial establishments.
    Schuylkill County is on the southern boundary of the Scranton-
Wilkes-Barre wage area and is contiguous to the Harrisburg wage area. 
The criteria for transportation facilities, geographic features, 
commuting patters, overall population, and private industrial 
establishments do not favor defining Schuylkill County to either the 
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre wage area or the Harrisburg wage area more than 
the other. However, the distance criteria favor the Harrisburg wage 
area when measuring from the Federal employment site in Schuylkill 
County to either the FWS survey locations or the host installations for 
the two wage areas. OPM also gave consideration to the unusual FWS 
employment patterns in the region. The sole FWS employer in Schuylkill 
County is a recently activated Federal prison, the Federal Correctional 
Institution-Schuylkill. The new prison is close to older Federal Bureau 
of Prisons facilities near Allenwood, PA, and Lewisburg, PA, that are 
all in the Harrisburg FWS wage area. Citing the proximity of its 
facilities in the region, their organizational relationship, and 
staffing considerations, the Department of Justice has urged that 
employees at the new facility in Schuylkill County also be paid from 
the Harrisburg wage schedule.
    As part of the system-wide review of wage area boundaries, OPM is 
also considering whether current survey areas should be redefined. OPM 
proposes that Adams County, PA, be removed from the Harrisburg survey 
area but remain assigned to the Harrisburg area of application. OPM 
added the York, PA metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) to the 
Harrisburg survey area in 1988. At that time, the York, PA MSA was 
composed of Adams County, PA, and York County, PA. The Office of 
Management and Budget no longer defines Adams County as a metropolitan 
county. In addition, less than 1 percent of the FWS employees in the 
Harrisburg FWS wage area are stationed in Adams County, and the survey 
yield from Adams County has been minor in past surveys--less than 6 
percent of the Harrisburg survey data during the last full-scale wage 
survey in the wage area. Adams County's non-metropolitan status, low 
FWS employment, and low wage survey yield support removing the county 
from the Harrisburg survey area.
    OPM proposes that Perry County, PA, be removed from the Harrisburg 
survey area but remain assigned to the Harrisburg area of application. 
Perry County has no FWS employment and has historically yielded either 
no survey data or an insignificant amount of data. While Perry County 
remains part of the Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA MSA, the local wage 
survey committee in the wage area has reported that severe weather and 
unusually difficult road conditions create recurring delays and 
hardships in reaching Perry County establishments during January wage 
surveys, only to have little or no resultant survey days. This 
combination of very unusual circumstances supports the exceptional 
removal of Perry County from the survey area despite its continuing 
metropolitan status.
    The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee has reviewed and 
concurred with all of the proposed changes in the Scranton-Wilkes-
Barre, PA, and Harrisburg, PA, wage areas.
    OPM proposes to add the independent cities of Manassas and Manassas 
Park, VA, to the Washington, DC, appropriated find FWS wage area. 
Although these two cities are geographically within the boundaries of 
the survey county of Prince William, VA, they are politically separate 
from the surrounding county and should be listed separately as part of 
the Washington, DC, survey area. The Federal Prevailing Rte Advisory 
Committee has reviewed and concurred with this proposed change.
    OPM proposes to reinsert McLennan County, TX, in the listing for 
the Waco, TX, appropriated fund FWS wage area. Because of a printing 
error, McLennan County, TX, was omitted from the Waco, TX, survey area 
listing in 5 CFR part 532, as revised on January 1, 1994. McLennan 
County was included in earlier issuances of 5 CFR part 532, but was 
inadvertently deleted beginning with the January 1, 1992, edition.

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.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
James B. King,
Director.
    Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend 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. Appendix C to subpart B is amended by revising the wage area 
listings for Washington, District of Columbia; Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania; Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; and Waco, Texas; to 
read as follows:

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532--Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey 
Areas

* * * * *
District of Columbia
    Washington, DC

Survey Area

District of Columbia:
    Washington, D.C.
Maryland
    Charles
    Frederick
    Montgomery
    Prince George's
Virginia (cities):
    Alexandria
    Fairfax
    Falls Church
    Manassas
    Manassas Park
Virginia (counties):
    Arlington
    Fairfax
    Loudoun
    Prince William
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Maryland:
    Calvert
    St. Mary's
Virginia:
    Fauquier
    King George
    Stafford
* * * * *
Pennsylvania
    Harrisburg

Survey Area

Pennsylvania
    Cumberland
    Dauphin
    Lebanon
    York
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Pennsylvania:
    Adams
    Berks
    Juniata
    Lancaster
    Lycoming\19\
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    \19\Allenwood Federal Prison Camp portion only.
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    Mifflin
    Montour
    Northumberland
    Perry
    Schuylkill
    Snyder
    Union
* * * * *
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre

Survey Area

Pennsylvania
    Lackawanna
    Luzerne
    Monroe
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Pennsylvania
    Bradford
    Carbon
    Columbia
    Lycoming\20\
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    \20\Excluding Allenwood Federal Prison Camp.
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    Pike
    Sullivan
    Susquehanna
    Tioga
    Wayne
    Wyoming
* * * * *
Texas
* * * * *
Waco

Survey Area

Texas:
    Bell
    Coryell
    McLennan
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Texas:
    Anderson
    Bosque
    Brazos
    Falls
    Freestone
    Hamilton
    Hill
    Leon
    Limestone
    Mills
    Robertson
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-31820 Filed 12-27-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M