Proposed Rule2022-20247
General Schedule Locality Pay Areas
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Personnel Management Office
Abstract
On behalf of the President's Pay Agent, the Office of Personnel Management is proposing regulations to establish Carroll County, IL, as an area of application to the Davenport-Moline, IA-IL locality pay area and Brooks County, TX, as an area of application to the Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX, locality pay area. The proposed changes in the geographic definitions of those locality pay areas would be applicable on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2023, subject to issuance of final regulations.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57650-57651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20247]
========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 182 / Wednesday, September 21, 2022 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 57650]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 531
RIN 3206-AO40
General Schedule Locality Pay Areas
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On behalf of the President's Pay Agent, the Office of
Personnel Management is proposing regulations to establish Carroll
County, IL, as an area of application to the Davenport-Moline, IA-IL
locality pay area and Brooks County, TX, as an area of application to
the Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX, locality pay area. The
proposed changes in the geographic definitions of those locality pay
areas would be applicable on the first day of the first applicable pay
period beginning on or after January 1, 2023, subject to issuance of
final regulations.
DATES: We must receive comments on or before October 21, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and/or
Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) and title, by the following method:
<bullet> Federal Rulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers
or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Ratcliffe by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c0b0a1b9edaca5a1b6a5edb0afaca9a3b980afb0adeea7afb6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4333223a6e2f262235266e332c2f2a203a032c332e6d242c35">[email protected]</span></a> or phone at 202-936-3081.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 5304 of title 5, United States Code
(U.S.C.), authorizes locality pay for General Schedule (GS) employees
with duty stations in the United States and its territories and
possessions. Section 5304(f) of title 5, United States Code, authorizes
the President's Pay Agent (the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Director of the Office
of Personnel Management (OPM)) to determine locality pay areas. The
boundaries of locality pay areas are based on appropriate factors,
which may include local labor market patterns, commuting patterns, and
the practices of other employers. The Pay Agent considers the views and
recommendations of the Federal Salary Council, a body composed of
experts in the fields of labor relations and pay policy and
representatives of Federal employee organizations. The President
appoints the members of the Council, which submits annual
recommendations to the Pay Agent about the administration of the
locality pay program, including the geographic boundaries of locality
pay areas. (The Federal Salary Council's recommendations are posted on
the OPM website at <a href="https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/#url=Federal-Salary-Council">https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/#url=Federal-Salary-Council</a>.) The
establishment or modification of pay area boundaries conforms to the
notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (5
U.S.C. 553).
This proposal provides notice and requests comments on proposed
regulations to implement the Pay Agent's plan to establish Carroll
County, IL, as an area of application to the Davenport-Moline, IA-IL
locality pay area and Brooks County, TX, as an area of application to
the Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX, locality pay area. The change
to establish Carroll County, IL, as an area of application to the
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL locality pay area was tentatively approved,
pending appropriate rulemaking, in the December 15, 2021, report of the
President's Pay Agent. (Annual Pay Agent reports on locality pay are
posted on the OPM website at <a href="https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/#url=Pay-Agent-Reports">https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/#url=Pay-Agent-Reports</a>.) Also,
in considering the Federal Salary Council's recommendation to make that
change, the Pay Agent reviewed updated GS employment data for other
locations and found that recent increases in GS employment for Brooks
County, TX, have resulted in the county now meeting the GS employment
criterion for establishment as an area of application to the Corpus
Christi locality pay area. More detail is provided below.
Criteria for Areas of Application
Locality pay areas consist of (1) the metropolitan statistical area
or combined statistical area (MSA or CSA) comprising the basic locality
pay area and, where criteria recommended by the Federal Salary Council
and approved by the Pay Agent are met, (2) areas of application. Areas
of application are locations that are adjacent to the basic locality
pay area and meet approved criteria for inclusion in the locality pay
area. Those criteria are explained below.
The Pay Agent's current criteria for evaluating locations adjacent
to a basic locality pay area for possible inclusion in the locality pay
area as areas of application are as follows: For adjacent CSAs and
adjacent multi-county MSAs the criteria are 1,500 or more GS employees
and an employment interchange rate of at least 7.5 percent. For
adjacent single counties, the criteria are 400 or more GS employees and
an employment interchange rate of at least 7.5 percent. The employment
interchange rate is defined as the sum of the percentage of employed
residents of the area under consideration who work in the basic
locality pay area and the percentage of the employment in the area
under consideration that is accounted for by workers who reside in the
basic locality pay area. (The employment interchange rate is calculated
by including all workers in assessed locations, not just Federal
employees.)
The Pay Agent also has criteria for evaluating Federal facilities
that cross county lines into a separate locality pay area. To be
included in an adjacent locality pay area, the whole facility must have
at least 500 GS employees, with the majority of those employees in the
higher-paying locality pay area, or that portion of a Federal facility
outside of a higher-paying locality pay area must have at least 750 GS
employees, the duty stations of the majority of those employees must be
within 10 miles of the separate locality pay area, and a significant
number of those employees
[[Page 57651]]
must commute to work from the higher-paying locality pay area.
Carroll County, IL
In the Federal Salary Council meeting on October 21, 2020, the
Council heard testimony regarding Carroll County, IL, currently
considered a ``Rest of U.S.'' location that is adjacent to the
Davenport locality pay area. At that time, Carroll County met the
employment interchange criterion but not the GS employment criterion to
be included in the Davenport locality pay area as an area of
application. Since that time and as noted in the Pay Agent's December
2021 report, Carroll County now meets the GS employment criterion for
establishment as an area of application to the Davenport locality pay
area.
The applicable criteria for Carroll County are those applied for
locations evaluated as single counties. To meet those criteria, Carroll
County would need 400 or more GS employees and an employment
interchange rate of 7.5 percent or more with the Davenport basic
locality pay area. Carroll County meets these criteria with
approximately 420 GS employees and an employment interchange rate of
18.14 percent with the Davenport basic locality pay area. Accordingly,
we propose that Carrol County, IL, be established as an area of
application to the Davenport locality pay area.
Brooks County, TX
In reviewing updated GS employment data, the Pay Agent has
identified Brooks County as meeting the applicable criteria applied for
locations evaluated as single counties. To meet these criteria, Brooks
County needed both 400 or more GS employees and an employment
interchange rate of 7.5 percent or more with the Corpus Christi basic
locality pay area. Brooks County now meets these criteria, with
approximately 420 GS employees and an interchange rate of 42.64 percent
with the Corpus Christi basic locality pay area. Accordingly, we
propose that Brooks County, TX, be established as an area of
application to the Corpus Christi locality pay area.
Regulatory Impact Analysis
OPM has examined the impact of this rule as required by Executive
Order 12866 and Executive Order 13563, which direct agencies to assess
all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public,
health, and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). This
rule is not a ``significant regulatory action,'' under Executive Order
12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
OPM certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities as this rule only
applies to Federal agencies and employees.
Federalism
OPM has examined this rule in accordance with Executive Order
13132, Federalism, and has determined that this 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 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 rule does not impose any new reporting or record-keeping
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 531
Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Wages.
Office of Personnel Management.
Stephen Hickman,
Federal Register Liaison.
Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend 5 CFR part 531 as follows:
PART 531--PAY UNDER THE GENERAL SCHEDULE
0
1. The authority citation for part 531 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5115, 5307, and 5338; sec. 4 of Public Law
103-89, 107 Stat. 981; and E.O. 12748, 56 FR 4521, 3 CFR, 1991
Comp., p. 316; Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5303(g), 5305,
5333, 5334(a) and (b), and 7701(b)(2); Subpart D also issued under 5
U.S.C. 5335 and 7701(b)(2); Subpart E also issued under 5 U.S.C.
5336; Subpart F also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5941(a);
E.O. 12883, 58 FR 63281, 3 CFR, 1993 Comp., p. 682; and E.O. 13106,
63 FR 68151, 3 CFR, 1998 Comp., p. 224.
Subpart F--Locality-Based Comparability Payments
0
2. In Sec. 531.603, revise paragraphs (b)(16) and (18) to read as
follows:
Sec. 531.603 Locality pay areas.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(16) Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX--consisting of the Corpus
Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX CSA and also including Brooks County, TX;
(18) Davenport-Moline, IA-IL--consisting of the Davenport-Moline,
IA-IL CSA and also including Carroll County, IL;
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-20247 Filed 9-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 21, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.