[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 33175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15802]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 22, 1999 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 33175]]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AI11


Prevailing Rate Systems; Abolishment of Kansas City, MO, Special 
Wage Schedule for Printing Positions

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is adopting as final an 
interim rule to abolish the Federal Wage System (FWS) special wage 
schedule for printing positions in the Kansas City, Missouri, wage 
area. Printing and lithographic employees in the Kansas City wage area 
will now be paid rates from the regular Kansas City wage schedule. This 
change is being made because of decreased employment in printing 
occupations in the Kansas City FWS wage area.

DATES: This regulation is effective on July 22, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Hopkins at (202) 606-2848, or 
send an email message to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 24, 1997, the Office of 
Personnel Management (OPM) published an interim regulation (62 FR 
67258) abolishing the Kansas City special printing schedule. The 
interim regulation had a 30-day period for public comment, during which 
OPM received no comments. The interim rule is therefore being made 
final.
    Printing and lithographic employees were converted to the regular 
schedule for the Kansas City wage area on a grade-for-grade basis, 
effective January 4, 1998. The conversion of employees stipulated that 
an employee's new rate of pay would be set at the rate for the step of 
the applicable grade of the regular schedule that equaled the 
employee's existing scheduled rate of pay. When the existing rate fell 
between two steps on the regular schedule, the employee's new rate was 
to be set at the rate for the higher of those two steps. In addition, 
pay retention provisions applied for the few employees who may not have 
received increases upon conversion to the regular wage schedule.
    This action was taken after the Department of Defense (DOD) 
recommended to OPM that the Kansas City, MO, special wage schedule for 
printing positions be abolished and that the regular Kansas City wage 
schedule apply to printing employees in the Kansas City wage area. The 
recommendation was based on the fact that the number of employees paid 
from the special schedule has declined in recent years from a total of 
about 70 employees in 1985 to a total of about 30 employees. With the 
reduced number of employees, DOD found it increasingly difficult to 
comply with the requirement that workers paid from the special printing 
schedule participate in the local wage survey process. A full-scale 
special wage survey in the Kansas City wage area required a substantial 
work effort in contacting about 70 printing establishments spread over 
8 counties and required the participation of about 10 percent of the 
employees who were paid from the special printing schedule.
    The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the 
statutory national-level labor-management committee responsible for 
advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, reviewed 
and concurred by consensus with this change.

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.
    Accordingly, under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 5343, the interim rule 
amending 5 CFR part 532 published on December 24, 1997 (63 FR 67258), 
is adopted as final without any changes.

Office of Personnel Management.
Janice R. Lachance,
Director.
[FR Doc. 99-15802 Filed 6-21-99; 8:45 am]
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