[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 211 (Monday, November 2, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58659-58660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29190]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 211 / Monday, November 2, 1998 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 58659]]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AI48


Prevailing Rate Systems; Lead Agency Responsibility

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 change the lead agency responsibility for certain 
Federal Wage System (FWS) appropriated fund wage areas from the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the Department of Defense (DOD). 
A lead agency under the FWS is the Federal agency designated by OPM to 
conduct local wage surveys and establish wage schedules for FWS 
employees according to local prevailing rates within a wage area. There 
are currently 133 FWS appropriated fund wage areas. DOD is currently 
the lead agency in 110 wage areas, and VA is the lead agency in 23 wage 
areas. VA has requested that OPM designate DOD as the lead agency in 
all of the wage areas where VA currently has lead agency 
responsibility. This change would make DOD the lead agency in all FWS 
wage areas and is proposed because it would make more efficient use of 
the resources devoted by agencies to determining FWS pay rates.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Donald J. Winstead, Assistant 
Director for Compensation Administration, Workforce Compensation and 
Performance Service, Office of Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20415, or FAX: (202) 606-4264.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark A. Allen at (202) 606-2848, or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 5 U.S.C. 5343(a)(2), the Office of 
Personnel Management (OPM) is responsible for designating lead agencies 
in Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. Lead agencies are responsible 
for conducting surveys of private sector employers to establish wage 
schedules for FWS employees based on local prevailing rates. The 
Department of Defense (DOD) is the lead agency in 110 FWS wage areas, 
and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the lead agency in 23 
FWS wage areas. VA is currently the lead agency in the New Haven-
Hartford, Connecticut; Miami, Florida; Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida; 
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, 
Iowa; Des Moines, Iowa; Augusta, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; 
Southwestern Michigan; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; New York, New 
York; Rochester, New York; Asheville, North Carolina; Charlotte, North 
Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Southwestern Oregon; 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Eastern Tennessee; Houston-Galveston-Texas 
City, Texas; Roanoke, Virginia; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, FWS wage 
areas.
    VA has requested that OPM designate DOD as the lead agency in the 
wage areas where VA is currently designated as the lead agency. Since 
the establishment of the FWS in 1972, VA has played a key role in the 
administration of the pay program for FWS employees. However, for the 
past few years, VA has experienced reductions in overall employment in 
the human resources management areas both in field and headquarters 
activities. At the headquarters level, two out of three experienced 
specialists assigned to oversee FWS wage surveys are no longer 
available to work in that area because of retirements and 
reassignments. VA believes that a consolidation of the FWS survey 
function within one agency would be more efficient and would provide a 
consistency in the survey process that would strengthen the FWS program 
nationwide. DOD has expressed its willingness and indicated its ability 
to assume lead agency responsibility in the wage areas where VA is 
currently assigned lead agency responsibility.
    This proposed change was reviewed by the Federal Prevailing Rate 
Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor-management committee 
responsible for advising OPM on matters that affect the pay of FWS 
employees. The Committee recommended approval of the change by majority 
vote. The management members of FPRAC proposed this change because 
diminishing staff resources within VA headquarters have made it very 
difficult for VA to accomplish its wage survey work in an effective 
manner, and DOD has expressed its ability and willingness to assume 
lead agency responsibility in all FWS wage areas. All Committee members 
voted for the proposal except for the National Federation of Federal 
Employees, which abstained. The remaining labor members of FPRAC 
supported the proposed change with reservations, stating that although 
no reasonable alternative exists, they are concerned about the 
placement of Governmentwide FWS wage determinations within a single 
agency.

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.
Janice R. Lachance,
Director.

    Accordingly, the Office of Personnel Management is proposing 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 A to subpart B is amended for the New Haven-Hartford, 
Connecticut; Miami, Florida; Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida; Champaign-
Urbana, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, Iowa; Des 
Moines, Iowa; Augusta, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Southwestern 
Michigan; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; New York, New York; 
Rochester, New York; Asheville, North Carolina; Charlotte, North

[[Page 58660]]

Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Southwestern Oregon; 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Eastern Tennessee; Houston-Galveston-Texas 
City, Texas; Roanoke, Virginia; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, wage areas by 
revising the lead agency listings for those areas from ``VA'' to 
``DOD''.

[FR Doc. 98-29190 Filed 10-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-P