[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 15, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55421-55423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17373]


 ========================================================================
 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. 88, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 15, 2023 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 55421]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

[Docket ID: OPM-2023-0017]
RIN 3206-AO60


Prevailing Rate Systems; Abolishment of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, 
as a Nonappropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Area

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule 
to abolish the Allegheny, Pennsylvania, nonappropriated fund (NAF) 
Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area and redefine Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 
to the Macomb, Michigan, NAF wage area; Trumbull County, OH, to the 
Niagara, New York, NAF wage area; Allegheny and Butler Counties, PA, to 
the Cumberland, PA, NAF wage area; Harrison County, West Virginia, to 
the Prince William, Virginia, NAF wage area; and Westmoreland County, 
PA, will no longer be defined. These changes are necessary because NAF 
FWS employment in the survey area is now below the minimum criterion of 
26 wage employees to maintain a wage area, and the local activities no 
longer have the capability to conduct local wage surveys.

DATES: Send comments on or before September 14, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and/or 
Regulatory Information Number (RIN) and title, by the following method:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    All submissions received must include the agency name and docket 
number or RIN for this document. The general policy for comments and 
other submissions from members of the public is to make these 
submissions available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov 
as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers 
or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ana Paunoiu, by telephone at (202) 
606-2858 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Allegheny, Pennsylvania, NAF FWS wage 
area is presently composed of one survey county, Allegheny County, PA, 
and five area of application counties: Cuyahoga and Trumbull Counties, 
OH; Butler and Westmoreland Counties, PA; and Harrison County, WV. 
Under section 532.219 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, the OPM 
may establish a NAF wage area when there are a minimum of 26 NAF wage 
employees in the survey area, a local activity has the capability to 
host annual local wage surveys, and the survey area has at least 1,800 
private enterprise employees in establishments within survey 
specifications. The Department of Defense (DOD) notified OPM that there 
has been a continuing decline of NAF FWS employment in the survey area 
and the local activities no longer have the capability to conduct local 
wage surveys. Currently, 11 DOD NAF FWS employees and 13 Department of 
Veterans Affairs NAF FWS employees work in Allegheny County.
    Since Cuyahoga and Trumbull Counites, OH; Allegheny and Butler 
Counties, PA; and Harrison County, WV, will have continuing NAF 
employment and do not meet the regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 532.219 
to be separate survey areas, they must be defined as areas of 
application to other wage areas. Section 532.219 lists the regulatory 
criteria OPM considers when defining FWS wage area boundaries. This 
regulation allows consideration of the following criteria: proximity of 
largest activity in each county, transportation facilities and 
commuting patterns, and similarities of the counties in overall 
population, private employment in major industry categories, and kinds 
and sizes of private industrial establishments.
    In selecting a wage area to which Cuyahoga County, OH, should be 
redefined, proximity favors the Macomb, MI, NAF wage area. All other 
criteria are inconclusive. Based on these findings, OPM is defining 
Cuyahoga County as an area of application to the Macomb NAF wage area.
    In selecting a wage area to which Trumbull County, OH, should be 
redefined, proximity favors the Niagara, NY, NAF wage area. All other 
criteria are inconclusive. Based on these findings, OPM is defining 
Trumbull County as an area of application to the Niagara NAF wage area.
    In selecting a wage area to which Alleghany County, PA, should be 
redefined, proximity favors the Cumberland, PA, NAF wage area. All 
other criteria are inconclusive. Based on these findings, OPM is 
defining Alleghany County as an area of application to the Cumberland 
NAF wage area.
    In selecting a wage area to which Butler County, PA, should be 
redefined, proximity favors the Cumberland, PA, NAF wage area. All 
other criteria are inconclusive. Based on these findings, OPM is 
defining Butler County as an area of application to the Cumberland NAF 
wage area.
    In selecting a wage area to which Harrison County, WV, should be 
redefined, proximity favors the Prince William, VA, NAF wage area. All 
other criteria are inconclusive. Based on these findings, OPM is 
defining Harrison County as an area of application to the Prince 
William NAF wage area.
    OPM is removing Westmoreland County from the wage area definition. 
There are no longer NAF FWS employees working in Westmoreland County. 
Under 5 U.S.C. 5343(a)(1)(B)(i), NAF wage areas ``shall not extend 
beyond the immediate locality in which the particular prevailing rate 
employees are employed.'' Therefore, Westmoreland County should not be 
defined as part of a NAF wage area.
    The Macomb wage area would consist of one survey county (Macomb 
County, MI) and 15 area of application counties (Alpena, Calhoun, 
Crawford, Grand Traverse, Huron, Iosco, Kent, Leelanau, Ottawa, 
Saginaw, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties, MI; and Cuyahoga, Lucas, and 
Ottawa Counties, OH).
    The Niagara wage area would consist of one survey county (Niagara 
County, NY) and four area of application counties (Trumbull County, OH; 
Erie and Genesee Counties, NY, and Erie County, PA).
    The Cumberland wage area would consist of one survey county

[[Page 55422]]

(Cumberland County, PA) and four area of application counties 
(Allegheny, Blair, Butler, and Franklin Counties, PA).
    The Prince William wage area would consist of one survey county 
(Prince William County, VA) and two area of application counties 
(Fauquier County, VA, and Harrison County, WV).
    The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the national labor-
management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters concerning 
the pay of FWS employees, recommended these changes by consensus. These 
changes would be effective on the first day of the first applicable pay 
period beginning on or after 30 days following publication of the final 
regulations.

Expected Impact of This Rule

    Section 5343 of title 5, U.S. Code, provides OPM with the authority 
and responsibility to define the boundaries of NAF FWS wage areas. Any 
changes in wage area definitions can have the long-term effect of 
increasing pay for Federal employees in affected locations. OPM expects 
this final rule to impact approximately 26 NAF FWS employees. 
Considering the small number of employees affected, OPM does not 
anticipate this rulemaking will substantially impact local economies or 
have a large impact in local labor markets. However, OPM is requesting 
comment in this rulemaking regarding the impact. As this and future 
wage area changes may impact higher volumes of employees in 
geographical areas and could rise to the level of impacting local labor 
markets, OPM will continue to study the implications of such impacts in 
this or future rules as needed.

Regulatory Review

    This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the 
terms of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) 
and is therefore not subject to review under E.O. 12866 and 13563 (76 
FR 3821, January 21, 2011).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    OPM certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Federalism

    OPM has examined this proposed rule in accordance with Executive 
Order 13132, Federalism, and have determined that this proposed rule 
will not have any negative impact on the rights, roles and 
responsibilities of State, local, or tribal governments.

Civil Justice Reform

    This regulation meets the applicable standard set forth in 
Executive Order 12988.

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995

    This proposed rule will not result in the expenditure by State, 
local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private 
sector, of $100 million or more in any year and it will not 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no 
actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule does not impose any reporting or record-keeping 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

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.
Kayyonne Marston,
Federal Register Liaison.
    Accordingly, OPM is proposing to amend 5 CFR part 532 as follows:

PART 532--PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS

0
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.

0
2. In appendix D to subpart B, amend the table by revising the wage 
area listing for the States of Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and 
Virginia to read as follows:

Appendix D to Subpart B of Part 532--Nonappropriated Fund Wage and 
Survey Areas

Definitions of Wage Areas and Wage Area Survey Areas

* * * * *

Michigan

Macomb

Survey Area

Michigan:
    Macomb

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Michigan:
    Alpena
    Calhoun
    Crawford
    Grand Traverse
    Huron
    Iosco
    Kent
    Leelanau
    Ottawa
    Saginaw
    Washtenaw
    Wayne
Ohio:
    Cuyahoga
    Lucas
    Ottawa
* * * * *

NEW YORK

Jefferson

Survey Area

New York:
    Jefferson

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

New York:
    Albany
    Oneida
    Onondaga
    Ontario
    Schenectady
    Steuben

Kings-Queens

Survey Area

New York:
    Kings
    Queens

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

New Jersey:
    Essex
    Hudson
New York:
    Bronx
    Nassau
    New York
    Richmond
    Suffolk

Niagara

Survey Area

New York:
    Niagara

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

New York:
    Erie
    Genesee
Ohio:
    Trumbull
Pennsylvania:
    Erie

Orange

Survey Area

New York:
    Orange

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

New York:
    Dutchess

[[Page 55423]]

    Westchester
* * * * *

PENNSYLVANIA

Cumberland

Survey Area

Pennsylvania:
    Cumberland

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Pennsylvania:
    Alleghany
    Blair
    Butler
    Franklin

York

Survey Area

Pennsylvania:
    York

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Pennsylvania:
    Lebanon
* * * * *

VIRGINIA

Alexandria-Arlington-Fairfax

Survey Area

Virginia (city):
    Alexandria
Virginia (counties):
    Arlington
    Fairfax

Area of Application. Survey area.

Chesterfield-Richmond

Survey Area

Virginia (city):
    Richmond
Virginia (county):
    Chesterfield

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Virginia (cities):
    Bedford
    Charlottesville
    Salem
Virginia (counties):
    Caroline
    Nottoway
    Prince George
West Virginia:
    Pendleton

Hampton-Newport News

Survey Area

Virginia (cities):
    Hampton
    Newport News

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Virginia (city):
    Williamsburg
Virginia (county):
    York

Norfolk-Portsmouth-Virginia Beach

Survey Area

Virginia (cities):
    Norfolk
    Portsmouth
    Virginia Beach

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

North Carolina:
    Pasquotank
Virginia (cities):
    Chesapeake
    Suffolk
Virginia (counties):
    Accomack
    Northampton

Prince William

Survey Area

Virginia:
    Prince William

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Virginia:
    Fauquier
West Virginia:
    Harrison
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-17373 Filed 8-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-P