Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Certain Appropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Areas

85 FR 419Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Certain Appropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Areas

85 FR 419U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

85 FR 419The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to redefine the geographic boundaries of several appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas for pay-setting purposes. Based on reviews of Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) boundaries in a number of wage areas, OPM is redefining the following wage areas: Washington, DC; Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD; Detroit, MI; Jackson, MS; Meridian, MS; and Cleveland, OH.

85 FR 419Madeline Gonzalez, by telephone at (202) 606-2858 or by email at pay-leave-policy@opm.gov .

85 FR 419On August 14, 2019, OPM issued a proposed rule (84 FR 40297) to redefine the following counties: • Madison County, VA, from the Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD, area of application to the Washington, DC, area of application; • Ottawa County, OH, from the Cleveland, OH, area of application to the Detroit, MI, area of application; • Covington County, MS, from the Jackson, MS, area of application to the Meridian, MS, area of application. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), 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 30-day comment period ended on September 13, 2019. OPM received two comments requesting OPM consider revising the definition of the Seattle-Everett-Tacoma, WA, FWS wage area. OPM must receive the advice of FPRAC before making any changes to wage area boundaries. The comments are therefore beyond the scope of the proposed rule.

85 FR 419This 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).

85 FR 419This rule is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action because this rule is not significant under E.O. 12866.

85 FR 419OPM certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they will affect only Federal agencies and employees.

85 FR 419We have examined this rule in accordance with Executive Order 13132, Federalism, and have determined that this rule will not have any negative impact on the rights, roles and responsibilities of State, local, or tribal governments.

85 FR 419This regulation meets the applicable standard set forth in Executive Order 12988.

85 FR 419This 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.

85 FR 419This action pertains to agency management, personnel, and organization and does not substantially affect the rights or obligations of nonagency parties and, accordingly, is not a “rule” as that term is used by the Congressional Review Act (Subtitle E of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA)). Therefore, the reporting requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 does not apply.

85 FR 419This rule does not impose any new reporting or record-keeping requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

85 FR 419Administrative practice and procedure, Freedom of information, Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wages. Office of Personnel Management. Accordingly, OPM is amending 5 CFR part 532 as follows:

85 FR 4191. The authority citation for part 532 continues to read as follows:

85 FR 4195 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; § 532.707 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552.

85 FR 4192. In Appendix C to subpart B amend the table by revising the wage area listings for the District of Columbia and the States of Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, and Ohio to read as follows:

85 FR 419District of Columbia: Washington, DC Maryland: Charles Frederick Montgomery Prince George's Virginia (cities): Alexandria Fairfax Falls Church Manassas Manassas Park Virginia (counties): Arlington Fairfax Loudoun Prince William Area of Application. Survey area plus: Maryland: Calvert St. Mary's Virginia (city): Fredericksburg Virginia (counties): Clarke Culpeper Fauquier King George Madison Rappahannock Spotsylvania Stafford Warren West Virginia: Jefferson

85 FR 420Maryland (city): Baltimore Maryland (counties): Anne Arundel Baltimore Carroll Harford Howard Area of Application. Survey area plus: Maryland: Queen Anne's

85 FR 420Maryland: Washington Pennsylvania: Franklin West Virginia: Berkeley Area of Application. Survey area plus: Maryland: Allegany Garrett Pennsylvania: Fulton Virginia (cities): Harrisonburg Winchester Virginia (counties): Frederick Page Rockingham Shenandoah West Virginia: Hampshire Hardy Mineral Morgan

85 FR 420Michigan: Lapeer Livingston Macomb Oakland St. Clair Wayne Area of Application. Survey area plus: Michigan: Arenac Bay Clare Clinton Eaton Genesee Gladwin Gratiot Huron Ingham Isabella Lenawee Midland Monroe Saginaw Sanilac Shiawassee Tuscola Washtenaw Ohio: Fulton Lucas Ottawa Wood

85 FR 420Michigan: Delta Dickinson Marquette Area of Application. Survey area plus: Michigan: Alcona Alger Alpena Antrim Baraga Benzie Charlevoix Cheboygan Chippewa Crawford Emmet Gogebic Grand Traverse Houghton Iosco Iron Kalkaska Keweenaw Leelanau Luce Mackinac Manistee Menominee Missaukee Montmorency Ogemaw Ontonagon Oscoda Otsego Presque Isle Roscommon Schoolcraft Wexford

85 FR 420Michigan: Barry Calhoun Kalamazoo Van Buren Area of Application. Survey area plus: Michigan: Allegan Berrien Branch Cass Hillsdale Ionia Jackson Kent Lake Mason Mecosta Montcalm Muskegon Newaygo Oceana Osceola Ottawa St. Joseph

85 FR 420Mississippi: Hancock Harrison Jackson Area of Application. Survey area plus: Mississippi: George Pearl River Stone

85 FR 420Mississippi: Hinds Rankin Warren Area of Application. Survey area plus: Mississippi: Adams Amite Attala Claiborne Copiah Franklin Holmes Humphreys Issaquena Jefferson Jefferson Davis Lawrence Lincoln Madison Marion Pike Scott Sharkey Simpson Smith Walthall Wilkinson Yazoo

85 FR 421Alabama: Choctaw Mississippi: Forrest Lamar Lauderdale Area of Application. Survey area plus: Alabama: Sumter Mississippi: Clarke Covington Greene Jasper Jones Kemper Leake Neshoba Newton Perry Wayne

85 FR 421Mississippi: Clay Grenada Lee Leflore Lowndes Monroe Oktibbeha Area of Application. Survey area plus: Mississippi: Alcorn Bolivar Calhoun Carroll Chickasaw Choctaw Coahoma Itawamba Lafayette (Does not include the Holly Springs National Forest portion) Montgomery Noxubee Pontotoc (Does not include the Holly Spring National Forest portion) Prentiss Quitman Sunflower Tallahatchie Tishomingo Union (Does not include the Holly Springs National Forest portion) Washington Webster Winston Yalobusha

85 FR 421Indiana: Dearborn Kentucky: Boone Campbell Kenton Ohio: Clermont Hamilton Warren Area of Application. Survey area plus: Indiana: Franklin Ohio Ripley Switzerland Union Kentucky: Bracken Carroll Gallatin Grant Mason Pendleton Ohio: Adams Brown Butler Highland

85 FR 421Ohio: Cuyahoga Geauga Lake Medina Area of Application. Survey area plus: Ohio: Ashland Ashtabula Carroll Columbiana Erie Huron Lorain Mahoning Portage Sandusky Seneca Stark Summit Trumbull Wayne Pennsylvania: Mercer

85 FR 421Ohio: Delaware Fairfield Franklin Licking Madison Pickaway Area of Application. Survey area plus: Ohio: Coshocton Crawford Fayette Guernsey Hancock Hardin Hocking Holmes Knox Marion Morrow Muskingum Perry Richland Ross Union Wyandot

85 FR 421Ohio: Champaign Clark Greene Miami Montgomery Preble Area of Application. Survey area plus: Indiana: Randolph Wayne Ohio: Auglaize Clinton Darke Logan Shelby