[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53179-53181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25611]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AI74


Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Eastern South Dakota 
and Wyoming Appropriated Fund Wage Areas

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing a final rule 
that will redefine Jackson County, South Dakota, from the area of 
application of the Eastern South Dakota appropriated fund Federal Wage 
System (FWS) wage area to the area of application of the Wyoming wage 
area, and redefine Teton County, Wyoming, from the area of application 
of the Wyoming FWS wage area to the area of application of the Montana 
wage area. The redefinition of Jackson County will place all of 
Badlands National Park in one wage area and the redefintion of Teton 
County will place employees at Grand Teton National Park on the same 
wage schedule as employees at the nearby Yellowstone National Park.

DATES: Effective Date: This regulation is effective on November 1, 
1999. Applicability Date: This regulation applies on the first day of 
the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Hopkins, by phone at (202) 
606-2848, by FAX at (202) 606-0824, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 23, 1999, the Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM) published a proposed rule (64 FR 33427) to redefine 
Jackson County, South Dakota, from the area of application of the 
Eastern South Dakota appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage 
area to the area of application of the Wyoming wage area and to 
redefine Teton County, Wyoming, from the area of application of the 
Wyoming wage area to the area of application of the Montana wage area. 
Under section 5343 of title 5, United States Code, OPM is responsible 
for defining wage areas. For this purpose, we follow the regulatory 
criteria established in section 532.211 of title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), 
the statutory national labor-management committee responsible for 
advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, 
recommended by consensus that we redefine Jackson County, South Dakota, 
and Teton County, Wyoming. FPRAC found no compelling reasons to make 
other changes in the Eastern South Dakota and Wyoming FWS wage areas.

[[Page 53180]]

    The Eastern South Dakota wage area continues to meet the regulatory 
requirements to remain a separate wage area. There are currently about 
550 FWS workers in the wage area, the wage area's host activity 
continues to have the capacity to host local wage surveys, and wage 
surveys in the area continue to produce adequate wage data to determine 
local prevailing rates. Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria 
for defining FWS wage areas, FPRAC found mixed results for Jackson 
County. However, Badlands National Park is currently split by the 
boundary of the Wyoming wage area. The park headquarters is located in 
the Eastern South Dakota wage area, while most of the park is located 
in the Wyoming wage area. The redefinition of Jackson County to the 
Wyoming wage area will place the entire park in one wage area.
    The Wyoming wage area also continues to meet the regulatory 
requirements to remain a separate wage area. There are currently about 
1,300 FWS workers in the wage area, the wage area's host activity 
continues to have the capacity to host local wage surveys, and wage 
surveys in the area continue to produce adequate wage data to determine 
local prevailing rates. Based on the mixed nature of the regulatory 
analysis findings, there was no clear indication that Teton County 
should be redefined to one wage area more than another. However, the 
two main FWS employers in northwestern Wyoming are Yellowstone National 
Park and Grand Teton National Park. The parks are connected by the John 
D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway, with a distance of only about 8 
kilometers (5 miles) separating the parks.
    The parks are located in a region geographically isolated by the 
Rocky Mountains from both the Montana and Wyoming survey areas. 
Although the regulatory criteria do not favor defining Teton County to 
one wage area more than another, we are placing the parks in the same 
wage area based on FPRAC's recommendation. This change will place all 
Department of the Interior FWS employees stationed in northwestern 
Wyoming in the same wage area, including those FWS employees assigned 
to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.
    The proposed rule provided a 30-day public comment period, during 
which we received two comments, both of which supported these changes.

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.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Janice R. Lachance,
Director.

    Accordingly, the Office of Personnel Management amends 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 the Montana, Eastern South Dakota, and Wyoming wage areas 
to read as follows:

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

* * * * *

MONTANA

Survey Area

Montana:
    Cascade
    Lewis and Clark
    Yellowstone

Area of Application. Survey area plus

Montana:
    Beaverhead
    Big Horn
    Blaine
    Broadwater
    Carbon
    Carter
    Chouteau
    Custer
    Daniels
    Dawson
    Deer Lodge
    Fallon
    Fergus
    Flathead
    Gallatin
    Garfield
    Glacier
    Golden Valley
    Granite
    Hill
    Jefferson
    Judith Basin
    Lake
    Liberty
    Lincoln
    McCone
    Madison
    Meagher
    Mineral
    Missoula
    Musselshell
    Park
    Petroleum
    Phillips
    Pondera
    Powder River
    Powell
    Prairie
    Ravalli
    Richland
    Roosevelt
    Rosebud
    Sanders
    Sheridan
    Silver Bow
    Stillwater
    Sweet Grass
    Teton
    Toole
    Treasure
    Valley
    Wheatland
    Wibaux
Wyoming:
    Big Horn
    Park
    Teton
* * * * *

SOUTH DAKOTA

EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA

Survey Area

South Dakota:
    Minnehaha

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

South Dakota:
    Aurora
    Beadle
    Bennett
    Bon Homme
    Brookings
    Brown
    Brule
    Buffalo
    Campbell
    Charles Mix
    Clark
    Clay
    Codington
    Corson
    Davison
    Day
    Deuel
    Dewey
    Douglas
    Edmunds
    Faulk
    Grant
    Gregory
    Haakon
    Hamlin
    Hand
    Hanson
    Hughes
    Hutchinson
    Hyde
    Jerauld
    Jones
    Kingsbury
    Lake
    Lincoln
    Lyman
    McCook
    McPherson
    Marshall

[[Page 53181]]

    Mellette
    Miner
    Moody
    Potter
    Roberts
    Sanborn
    Spink
    Stanley
    Sully
    Todd
    Tripp
    Turner
    Union
    Walworth
    Washabaugh
    Yankton
    Ziebach
Iowa:
    Dickinson
    Emmet
    Lyon
    Osceola
Minnesota:
    Jackson
    Lincoln
    Lyon
    Murray
    Nobles
    Pipestone
    Rock
* * * * *

WYOMING

Survey Area

Wyoming:
    Albany
    Laramie
    Natrona
South Dakota:
    Pennington

Area of application. Survey area plus:

Wyoming:
    Campbell
    Carbon
    Converse
    Crook
    Fremont
    Goshen
    Hot Springs
    Johnson
    Lincoln
    Niobrara
    Platte
    Sheridan
    Sublette
    Sweetwater
    Uinta
    Washakie
    Weston
Nebraska:
    Banner
    Box Butte
    Cheyenne
    Dawes
    Deuel
    Garden
    Kimball
    Morrill
    Scotts Bluff
    Sheridan
    Sioux
South Dakota:
    Butte
    Custer
    Fall River
    Harding
    Jackson
    Lawrence
    Meade
    Perkins
    Shannon

[FR Doc. 99-25611 Filed 9-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-P