[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72292-72293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33364]


 ========================================================================
 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. 64, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 72292]]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AI95


Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Southern and Western 
Colorado Appropriated Fund Wage Areas

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing a proposed rule 
that would redefine Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and 
Routt Counties, Colorado, from the Southern and Western Colorado 
appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area to the area of 
application of the Denver wage area, and redefine Mesa County, CO, from 
the Southern and Western Colorado FWS wage area to the area of 
application of the Utah FWS wage area. In addition, we propose to 
change the name of the Southern and Western Colorado FWS wage area to 
Southern Colorado.
    The redefinition of Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Mesa, Pitkin, Rio 
Blanco, and Routt Counties, CO, would more accurately reflect the 
regulatory criteria used to define FWS wage areas. The change in the 
wage area name to the Southern Colorado FWS wage area would more 
accurately describe the geographic coverage of the redefined wage area.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 26, 2000.

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 20415-8200, or FAX: (202) 606-4264.

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: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is 
engaged in an ongoing project to review the geographic definitions of 
selected appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. The 
Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the national labor-
management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters concerning 
the pay of FWS employees, has recommended by consensus that we redefine 
Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties, 
Colorado, from the Southern and Western Colorado appropriated fund FWS 
wage area to the area of application of the Denver FWS wage area, and 
redefine Mesa County, CO, from the Southern and Western Colorado FWS 
wage area to the area of application of the Utah FWS wage area. After 
careful consideration of FPRAC's recommendations, and based on the 
regulatory criteria for defining FWS wage areas, we have found that it 
is appropriate to redefine these counties. In addition, FPRAC 
recommended that the name of the Southern and Western Colorado wage 
area be changed to Southern Colorado. Although FPRAC carefully 
considered the possibility of recommending other changes in the 
Southern and Western Colorado FWS wage area, the Committee did not find 
that additional changes would be appropriate at this time.
    Section 532.211 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, lists the 
following criteria for consideration when OPM defines FWS wage area 
boundaries:
    (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.
    The Southern and Western Colorado wage area continues to meet all 
regulatory requirements to remain a separate wage area. There are 
currently about 1,800 FWS workers in the wage area. The wage area's 
host activity, the United States Air Force Academy, still has the 
capacity to host annual local wage surveys. In addition, local wage 
surveys in the Southern and Western Colorado survey area find more than 
sufficient local private industry wage data to satisfy the regulatory 
criteria for FWS wage survey adequacy under 5 CFR 532.239.
    Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria for defining FWS 
wage areas, FPRAC found sufficient rationale to recommend that OPM 
redefine Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties 
to the Denver wage area. The distance criterion for these counties 
favored the Denver wage area more than the Southern and Western 
Colorado wage area. The transportation facilities and geographic 
features criteria for these counties strongly favored the Denver wage 
area because the most favorable route by road from these counties goes 
through the present Denver wage area before reaching the Southern and 
Western Colorado survey area. All other criteria studied did not favor 
one wage area more than another.
    For Mesa County, CO, the distance to the closest city criterion 
favored the Utah wage area, while the distance to the closest host 
installation criterion favored the Denver wage area. The transportation 
facilities and geographic features criteria favored the Utah wage area. 
The kinds and sizes of industry and population criteria also favored 
the Utah wage area. All other criteria studied had indeterminate 
findings. An additional factor taken into consideration for Mesa County 
was that the Colorado National Monument, located in Mesa County, is 
administratively in the same National Park Service region as most of 
the National Parks in Utah. Arches National Park is defined to the Utah 
wage area and is located just across the State line from the Colorado 
National Monument. Based on the regulatory criteria analysis and 
because of the organizational relationships and geographic proximity of 
National Park Service facilities in the region, FPRAC recommended that 
we place the Colorado National Monument in the same wage area as the 
Arches National Park.

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.


[[Page 72293]]


Office of Personnel Management.
Janice R. Lachance,
Director.
    Accordingly, the Office of Personnel Management 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 A to subpart B of part 532 is amended for the State of 
Colorado by removing the wage area listing for ``Southern & Western 
Colorado'' and adding alphabetically in its place a listing for 
``Southern Colorado''.
    3. Appendix C to subpart B is amended by revising the wage area 
listings for Denver, Colorado, and Utah, and by removing the wage area 
listing for Southern & Western Colorado and adding in its place a 
listing of Southern Colorado to read as follows:

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

* * * * *

Colorado

Denver

Survey Area

Colorado:
    Adams
    Arapahoe
    Boulder
    Denver
    Douglas
    Gilpin
    Jefferson

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Colorado:
    Clear Creek
    Eagle
    Elbert
    Garfield
    Grand
    Jackson
    Lake
    Larimer
    Logan
    Morgan
    Park
    Phillips
    Pitkin
    Rio Blanco
    Routt
    Sedgwick
    Summit
    Washington
    Weld
    Yuma

Southern Colorado

Survey Area

Colorado:
    El Paso
    Pueblo
    Teller

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Colorado:
    Alamosa
    Archuleta
    Baca
    Bent
    Chaffee
    Cheyenne
    Conejos
    Costilla
    Crowley
    Custer
    Delta
    Dolores
    Fremont
    Gunnison
    Hinsdale
    Huerfano
    Kiowa
    Kit Carson
    Las Animas
    Lincoln
    Mineral
    Montrose
    Otero
    Ouray
    Pitkin
    Prowers
    Rio Grande
    Saguache
    San Juan
    San Miguel
* * * * *

Utah

Survey Area

Utah:
    Box Elder
    Davis
    Salt Lake
    Tooele
    Utah
    Weber

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Utah:
    Beaver
    Cache
    Carbon
    Daggett
    Duchesne
    Emery
    Garfield
    Grand
    Iron
    Juab
    Millard
    Morgan
    Piute
    Rich
    San Juan (Only includes the Canyonlands National Park portion.)
    Sanpete
    Sevier
    Summit
    Uintah
    Wasatch
    Washington
    Wayne
Colorado:
    Mesa
    Moffat

[FR Doc. 99-33364 Filed 12-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-U