Prevailing rate systems,

[Federal Register: June 22, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 119)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 33175]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr22jn99-1]

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[[Page 33175]]

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AI11

Prevailing Rate Systems; Abolishment of Kansas City, MO, Special Wage Schedule for Printing Positions

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is adopting as final an interim rule to abolish the Federal Wage System (FWS) special wage schedule for printing positions in the Kansas City, Missouri, wage area. Printing and lithographic employees in the Kansas City wage area will now be paid rates from the regular Kansas City wage schedule. This change is being made because of decreased employment in printing occupations in the Kansas City FWS wage area.

DATES: This regulation is effective on July 22, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Hopkins at (202) 606-2848, or send an email message to jdhopkin@opm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 24, 1997, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published an interim regulation (62 FR 67258) abolishing the Kansas City special printing schedule. The interim regulation had a 30-day period for public comment, during which OPM received no comments. The interim rule is therefore being made final.

Printing and lithographic employees were converted to the regular schedule for the Kansas City wage area on a grade-for-grade basis, effective January 4, 1998. The conversion of employees stipulated that an employee's new rate of pay would be set at the rate for the step of the applicable grade of the regular schedule that equaled the employee's existing scheduled rate of pay. When the existing rate fell between two steps on the regular schedule, the employee's new rate was to be set at the rate for the higher of those two steps. In addition, pay retention provisions applied for the few employees who may not have received increases upon conversion to the regular wage schedule.

This action was taken after the Department of Defense (DOD) recommended to OPM that the Kansas City, MO, special wage schedule for printing positions be abolished and that the regular Kansas City wage schedule apply to printing employees in the Kansas City wage area. The recommendation was based on the fact that the number of employees paid from the special schedule has declined in recent years from a total of about 70 employees in 1985 to a total of about 30 employees. With the reduced number of employees, DOD found it increasingly difficult to comply with the requirement that workers paid from the special printing schedule participate in the local wage survey process. A full-scale special wage survey in the Kansas City wage area required a substantial work effort in contacting about 70 printing establishments spread over 8 counties and required the participation of about 10 percent of the employees who were paid from the special printing schedule.

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the statutory national-level labor-management committee responsible for advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, reviewed and concurred by consensus with this change.

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.

Accordingly, under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 5343, the interim rule amending 5 CFR part 532 published on December 24, 1997 (63 FR 67258), is adopted as final without any changes.

Office of Personnel Management. Janice R. Lachance, Director.

[FR Doc. 99-15802Filed6-21-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325-01-P