[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28488-28489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9894]


 ========================================================================
 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. 70, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 18, 2005 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 28488]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AK83


Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Central North 
Carolina Appropriated Fund Wage Area

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 the geographic boundaries of the Central North 
Carolina Federal Wage System (FWS) appropriated fund wage area. The 
proposed rule would remove Edgecombe and Wilson Counties, NC, from the 
survey area and add Hoke County, NC, to the survey area. The 
redefinition of Edgecombe, Hoke, and Wilson Counties would align the 
geographic definition of the Central North Carolina wage area more 
closely with the regulatory criteria used to define FWS wage areas.

DATES: We must receive comments on or before June 17, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Donald J. Winstead, Deputy 
Associate Director for Pay and Performance Policy, Strategic Human 
Resources Policy Division, Office of Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 
1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415-8200; email [email protected]; or FAX: (202) 606-4264.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madeline Gonzalez, (202) 606-2838; 
email [email protected]; or FAX: (202) 606-4264.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is 
engaged in an ongoing project to review the geographic definitions of 
Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. OPM considers the following 
regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 532.211 when defining 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.
    OPM reviewed each county in the Central North Carolina wage area 
and found that the area of application for the wage area is 
appropriately defined. As part of the review of wage area boundaries, 
OPM also considers whether the survey areas within each wage area 
should be changed. Based on an analysis of the regulatory criteria for 
defining FWS wage areas, OPM proposes to remove Edgecombe and Wilson 
Counties, NC, from the survey area because there are no FWS employees 
working in Edgecombe or Wilson Counties. Defining Edgecombe and Wilson 
Counties as part of the Central North Carolina area of application 
would allow FWS pay rates to reflect more closely the prevailing rates 
where FWS employees actually work. The amount of wage survey data 
obtained from Edgecombe and Wilson Counties has been relatively low in 
past surveys, with only about 15 percent of the Central North Carolina 
survey data during the last full-scale wage survey coming from private 
industrial establishments located in these two counties. Edgecombe and 
Wilson Counties would remain in the Central North Carolina area of 
application.
    In addition, OPM proposes to add Hoke County to the Central North 
Carolina survey area. Hoke County is currently defined as part of the 
Central North Carolina area of application. While there are no FWS 
employees working in Hoke County, Fort Bragg, the Central North 
Carolina's host activity, extends into Hoke County. Also, Hoke County 
is one of the two counties of the Fayetteville, NC Metropolitan 
Statistical Area (MSA). The other county of the Fayetteville, NC MSA, 
Cumberland County, is already defined as part of the Central North 
Carolina survey area.
    These changes would be effective for the next full-scale wage 
survey in the Central North Carolina wage area, which is scheduled to 
begin in May 2006.
    The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the 
national labor-management committee that advises OPM on FWS pay 
matters, reviewed and recommended these changes by consensus. Based on 
its review of the regulatory criteria for defining FWS wage areas, 
FPRAC recommended no other changes in the geographic definition of the 
Central North Carolina wage area.

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.
Dan G. Blair,
Acting 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. In appendix C to subpart B, the wage area listing for the State 
of North Carolina is amended by revising the listing for Central North 
Carolina to read as follows:

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

North Carolina

* * * * *

Central North Carolina

Survey Area

North Carolina:
    Cumberland
    Durham
    Harnett
    Hoke
    Johnston
    Orange
    Wake
    Wayne

Area of Application. Survey Area Plus:

North Carolina:
    Alamance
    Bladen
    Caswell

[[Page 28489]]

    Chatham
    Davidson
    Davie
    Edgecombe
    Franklin
    Forsyth
    Granville
    Guilford
    Halifax
    Lee
    Montgomery
    Moore
    Nash
    Northampton
    Person
    Randolph
    Richmond
    Robeson
    Rockingham
    Sampson
    Scotland
    Stokes
    Surry
    Vance
    Warren
    Wilson
    Yadkin
South Carolina:
    Dillon
    Marion
    Marlboro
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-9894 Filed 5-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-P