[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 88 (Friday, May 5, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 26119-26120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11199]



 ========================================================================
 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
 
 The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 
 Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each 
 week.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 88 / Friday, May 5, 2000 / Rules and 
Regulations  

[[Page 26119]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AI95


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

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing a final rule to 
remove Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties, 
Colorado, from the Southern and Western Colorado appropriated fund 
Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area. These counties will now be in the 
Denver wage area. We are also removing Mesa County, CO, from the 
Southern and Western Colorado FWS wage area and adding it to the Utah 
FWS wage area. These changes more accurately reflect the regulatory 
criteria we use to define FWS wage areas. Finally, we are changing the 
name of the Southern and Western Colorado FWS wage area to the Southern 
Colorado FWS wage area to more accurately describe the geographic 
coverage of the redefined wage area.

DATES: Effective Date: This regulation is effective on June 5, 2000. 
Applicability Date: This regulation applies on the first day of the 
first applicable pay period beginning on or after June 5, 2000.

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 December 27, 1999, the Office of 
Personnel Management (OPM) published a proposed rule (64 FR 72292) to 
remove Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties, 
Colorado, from the Southern and Western Colorado appropriated fund FWS 
wage area and add them to the Denver FWS wage area as areas of 
application. We do not conduct wage surveys in areas of application. 
Instead, we apply the results that we obtain from surveys in the other 
counties in the applicable wage area. We also proposed to remove Mesa 
County, CO, from the Southern and Western Colorado FWS wage area and 
add it to the Utah FWS wage area as an area of application. Finally, we 
proposed to change the name of the Southern and Western Colorado FWS 
wage area to Southern Colorado.
    Under section 5343 of title 5, United States Code, OPM is 
responsible for defining FWS wage areas. For this purpose, we follow 
the regulatory criteria in section 532.211 of title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations. The Southern and Western Colorado wage area meets all of 
the regulatory requirements to remain a separate wage area. About 1,800 
FWS employees currently work in this wage area. The wage area's host 
activity, the United States Air Force Academy, has the capability to 
host annual local wage surveys. In addition, we find more than 
sufficient local private industry wage data in local wage surveys of 
the Southern and Western Colorado wage area to satisfy our regulatory 
requirements.
    We are moving Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Routt 
Counties to the Denver wage area based on our analysis of the 
regulatory criteria. The distance criterion for these counties favors 
the Denver wage area more than the Southern and Western Colorado wage 
area. The transportation facilities and geographic features criteria 
for these counties strongly favor 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 the other criteria we studied did not favor one wage 
area more than another.
    For Mesa County, CO, the distance to the closest city criterion 
favors the Utah wage area, while the distance to the closest host 
installation criterion favors the Denver wage area. The transportation 
facilities and geographic features criteria favor the Utah wage area. 
The kinds and sizes of industry and population criteria also favor the 
Utah wage area. All of the other criteria we studied had indeterminate 
findings. 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 in the Utah wage 
area and is just across the State line from Colorado National Monument. 
We are placing Colorado National Monument in the same wage area as 
Arches National Park because of the organizational relationships and 
geographic proximity of National Park Service facilities in this 
region.
    The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor-
management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters concerning 
the pay of FWS employees, reviewed and recommended these changes by 
consensus. The proposed rule had a 30-day public comment period, during 
which OPM did not receive any comments.

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.

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 A to subpart B of part 532 is amended for the State of 
Colorado by revising the wage area ``Southern & Western Colorado'' to 
read ``Southern Colorado''.

    3. Appendix C to subpart B is amended by revising the wage area 
listings for the States of Colorado and Utah, to read as follows:

[[Page 26120]]

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. 00-11199 Filed 5-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-P