Rule2026-11182
Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex to the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington Federal Wage System Wage Area
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Published
June 4, 2026
Effective
July 6, 2026
Issuing agencies
Personnel Management Office
Abstract
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to redefine the Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area coverage of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC), which spans small portions of Washington County, Maryland, which is in the Washington-Baltimore- Arlington wage area, and Adams County, Pennsylvania, which is in the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA wage area. OPM will redefine the RRMC portion of Adams County from the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA wage area to the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington wage area so that all of the RRMC is in the same wage area. Portions of Adams County outside of RRMC will continue to be defined to the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA, wage area. This change will align wage area coverage for installations within the Pentagon Reservation and prevent pay disparities among FWS employees working at the RRMC.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 107 (Thursday, June 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 107 (Thursday, June 4, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33579-33584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11182]
========================================================================
Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 107 / Thursday, June 4, 2026 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 33579]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 532
[Docket ID: OPM-2026-0133]
RIN 3206-AP11
Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Raven Rock Mountain
Complex to the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington Federal Wage System Wage
Area
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final
rule to redefine the Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area coverage of
the Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC), which spans small portions of
Washington County, Maryland, which is in the Washington-Baltimore-
Arlington wage area, and Adams County, Pennsylvania, which is in the
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA wage area. OPM will redefine the RRMC
portion of Adams County from the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA wage area
to the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington wage area so that all of the RRMC
is in the same wage area. Portions of Adams County outside of RRMC will
continue to be defined to the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA, wage area.
This change will align wage area coverage for installations within the
Pentagon Reservation and prevent pay disparities among FWS employees
working at the RRMC.
DATES:
Effective date: This regulation is effective July 6, 2026.
Applicability date: This change applies on the first day of the
first applicable pay period beginning on or after July 6, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ana Paunoiu by telephone at (202) 606-
2858 or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a2a3b232a35363339231a352a37743d352c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="84f4e5fdf4ebe8ede7fdc4ebf4e9aae3ebf2">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 25, 2026, OPM issued a proposed
rule (91 FR 9170) to amend Appendix C of 5 CFR part 532, subpart B--
Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey Areas, to redefine the FWS wage area
coverage of the RRMC. The rule also proposed several additional
corrections and revisions to Appendix C and corrections and revisions
to Appendix A of 5 CFR 532, subpart B--Nationwide Schedule of
Appropriated Fund Regular Wage Surveys. These additional corrections
and revisions concern formatting, spelling, typographical errors,
inconsistencies, and omissions made in final rule 90 FR 7428, published
on January 21, 2025. The proposed rule had a 60-day comment period,
during which OPM received no comments. Therefore, this final rule
adopts the proposed rule at 91 FR 9170 without change.
The revisions to Appendix A and Appendix C of 5 CFR part 532,
subpart B, in this final rule are as follows:
This final rule will make the following revision to Appendix A:
adds the State of Connecticut, and a listing for the New Haven-Hartford
wage area, with ``DOD'' as lead agency; ``April'' as the listing of the
beginning month of survey; and ``Odd'' Fiscal Year of full-scale
survey. The listing for the New Haven-Hartford wage area was
inadvertently omitted in final rule.
This final rule will make the following revisions to Appendix C:
(1) Birmingham-Cullman-Talladega Wage Area
Adds ``until'' between ``effective'' and ``January'' to read
``(effective until January 2028)'' for Talladega County, Alabama, in
the area of application. Talladega County, AL, was moved from the
Anniston-Gadsden survey area to the Birmingham-Cullman-Talladega area
of application, effective October 1, 2025, until January 2028. This
county will subsequently be moved from the Birmingham-Cullman-Talladega
area of application to the Birmingham-Cullman-Talladega survey area
effective for local wage surveys beginning in January 2028. The final
rule inadvertently omitted the word ``until.''
(2) Washington-Baltimore-Arlington Wage Area
Adds Adams (Only includes the Raven Rock Mountain Complex) County,
PA, to the area of application of the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington
wage area.
Revises the name of ``Berkley'' County, West Virginia, to read
``Berkeley.''
(3) Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale Wage Area
Adds St. Lucie County, Florida, to the area of application of the
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale wage area. Due to a formatting
error, St. Lucie County was listed as a separate wage area, instead of
being part of the Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale wage area.
Deletes ``St. Lucie'' as a wage area entry.
(4) Augusta Wage Area
Replaces ``:'' with ``.'' after ``Survey area,'' to read ``Area of
Application. Survey area,'' for the Augusta wage area, in the State of
Maine. The Augusta wage area does not have an area of application. As
such, the correct punctuation is a period instead of a colon.
(5) Chicago-Naperville Wage Area
Deletes ``IL'' from the title of the ``Chicago-Naperville, IL''
wage area to read ``Chicago-Naperville'' to be consistent with how we
list the titles of other wage areas.
(6) Harrisburg-York-Lebanon Wage Area
Adds ``(Does not include the Raven Rock Mountain Complex)'' after
``Adams'' to read ``Adams (Does not include the Raven Rock Mountain
Complex)'' in the area of application of the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon
wage area.
(7) Roanoke Wage Area
Deletes the Cities of Staunton and Waynesboro, Virginia, which were
incorrectly included and duplicated in the area of application of the
Roanoke wage area. These cities were moved to the Washington-Baltimore-
Arlington wage area and were inadvertently not deleted from the Roanoke
wage area.
Deletes Augusta (Does not include the Shenandoah National Park
portion) County, VA, which was incorrectly included and duplicated in
the area of application of the Roanoke wage area. The entire Augusta
County was moved to the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington wage area, and
the Shenandoah National Park portion was inadvertently not deleted from
the Roanoke wage area.
[[Page 33580]]
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 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 rulemaking to impact around 50 FWS employees. Considering the
small number of employees affected, OPM does not anticipate that this
rule will substantially impact local economies or have a large impact
in local labor markets. 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
OPM has examined the impact of this rulemaking as required by
Executive Orders 12866 and 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
rulemaking is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive
Order 12866. The rule is not an E.O. 14192 regulatory action because it
is not significant under E.O. 12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Director of OPM certifies that this rule would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
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 rulemaking 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 in 1995 dollars, updated annually for
inflation. That threshold is currently approximately $206 million. This
rulemaking 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.
Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995
This rulemaking 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 in 1995 dollars, updated annually for
inflation. That threshold is currently approximately $206 million. This
rulemaking 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.
Congressional Review Act
The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs has determined this rule does not meet the
criteria listed in 5 U.S.C. 804(2). In addition, this is a rule
relating to agency management or personnel and does not come within the
meaning of the term ``rule'' as used in 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(C). Therefore,
the reporting requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 does not apply.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rulemaking 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.
Signing Statement
The Director of OPM, Scott Kupor, reviewed and approved this
document and has authorized the undersigned to electronically sign and
submit this document to the Office of the Federal Register for
publication.
Office of Personnel Management
Jerson Matias,
Federal Register Liaison.
Accordingly, OPM amends 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 A to subpart B, amend the table by adding in alphabetic
order by state the New Haven-Hartford wage survey listing for the State
of Connecticut.
Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 532--Nationwide Schedule of
Appropriated Fund Regular Wage Surveys
* * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal year of
State Wage area Lead agency Beginning month of full-scale survey
survey odd or even
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Connecticut..................... New Haven-Hartford DoD............... April............. Odd.
* * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0
3. In Appendix C to subpart B--Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey Areas,
amend the table by revising the wage area listing for the District of
Columbia and for the States of Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Maine,
Pennsylvania, and Virginia to read as follows:
Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532--Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey
Areas
* * * * *
Definitions of Wage Areas and Wage Area Survey Areas
ALABAMA
Birmingham-Cullman-Talladega
Survey Area
Alabama:
Calhoun (effective for wage surveys beginning in January 2028)
[[Page 33581]]
Etowah (effective for wage surveys beginning in January 2028)
Jefferson
St. Clair
Shelby
Talladega (effective for wage surveys beginning in January 2028)
Tuscaloosa
Walker
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Alabama:
Bibb
Blount
Calhoun (effective until January 2028)
Chilton
Clay
Coosa
Cullman
Etowah (effective until January 2028)
Fayette
Greene
Hale
Lamar
Marengo
Perry
Pickens
Talladega (effective until January 2028)
Winston
Dothan
Survey Area
Alabama:
Dale
Houston
Georgia:
Early
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Alabama:
Barbour
Coffee
Geneva
Henry
Georgia:
Clay
Miller
Seminole
Huntsville
Survey Area
Alabama:
Limestone
Madison
Marshall
Morgan
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Alabama:
Colbert
DeKalb
Franklin
Lauderdale
Lawrence
Marion
Tennessee:
Giles
Lincoln
Wayne
Montgomery-Selma
Survey Area
Alabama:
Autauga
Elmore
Montgomery
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Alabama:
Bullock
Butler
Crenshaw
Dallas
Lowndes
Pike
Wilcox
* * * * *
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington
Survey Area
District of Columbia:
Washington, DC
Maryland (city):
Baltimore (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Maryland (counties):
Anne Arundel (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Baltimore (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Carroll (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Charles
Frederick
Harford (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Howard (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Montgomery
Prince George's
Washington (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Pennsylvania:
Franklin (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Virginia (cities):
Alexandria
Fairfax
Falls Church
Manassas
Manassas Park
Virginia (counties):
Arlington
Fairfax
King George (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Loudoun
Prince William
West Virginia:
Berkeley (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Maryland (city):
Baltimore (effective until July 2027)
Maryland (counties):
Allegany
Anne Arundel (effective until July 2027)
Baltimore (effective until July 2027)
Calvert
Caroline
Carroll (effective until July 2027)
Dorchester
Garrett
Harford (effective until July 2027)
Howard (effective until July 2027)
Kent
Queen Anne's
St. Mary's
Talbot
Washington (effective until July 2027)
Pennsylvania:
Adams (Only includes the Raven Rock Mountain Complex)
Franklin (effective until July 2027)
Fulton
Virginia (cities):
Fredericksburg
Harrisonburg
Staunton
Waynesboro
Winchester
Virginia (counties):
Albemarle (Only includes the Shenandoah National Park portion)
Augusta
Caroline
Clarke
Culpeper
Fauquier
Frederick
Greene (Only includes the Shenandoah National Park portion)
King George (effective until July 2027)
Madison
Orange
Page
Rappahannock
Rockingham
Shenandoah
Spotsylvania
Stafford
Warren
Westmoreland
West Virginia:
Berkeley (effective until July 2027)
Hampshire
Hardy
Jefferson
Mineral
Morgan
FLORIDA
Cocoa-Beach
Survey Area
Florida:
Brevard
Area of Application. Survey area.
Jacksonville
Survey Area
Florida:
Alachua
Baker
Clay
Columbia (effective for wage surveys beginning in January 2027)
Duval
Nassau
Orange (effective for wage surveys beginning in January 2027)
St. Johns
Sumter (effective for wage surveys beginning in January 2027)
Georgia:
Camden
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Florida:
Bradford
Citrus
Columbia (effective until January 2027)
Dixie
[[Page 33582]]
Flagler
Gilchrist
Hamilton
Lafayette
Lake
Levy
Madison
Marion
Orange (effective until January 2027)
Osceola
Polk
Putnam
Seminole
Sumter (effective until January 2027)
Suwannee
Taylor
Union
Volusia
Georgia:
Charlton
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale
Survey Area
Florida:
Miami-Dade
Palm Beach (effective for wage surveys beginning in May 2027)
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Florida:
Broward
Collier
Glades
Hendry
Highlands
Indian River
Lee
Martin
Monroe
Okeechobee
Palm Beach (effective until May 2027)
St. Lucie
Panama City
Survey Area
Florida:
Bay
Gulf
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Florida:
Calhoun
Franklin
Gadsden
Holmes
Jackson
Jefferson
Leon
Liberty
Wakulla
Washington
Georgia:
Decatur
Pensacola
Survey Area
Florida:
Escambia
Santa Rosa
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Alabama:
Baldwin
Clarke
Conecuh
Covington
Escambia
Mobile
Monroe
Washington
Florida:
Okaloosa
Walton
Tampa-St. Petersburg
Survey Area
Florida:
Hillsborough
Pasco
Pinellas
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Florida:
Charlotte
De Soto
Hardee
Hernando
Manatee
Sarasota
* * * * *
ILLINOIS
Bloomington-Pontiac
Survey Area
Illinois:
Champaign
Menard
Sangamon
Vermilion
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Illinois:
Christian
Clark
Coles
Crawford
Cumberland
De Witt
Douglas
Edgar
Ford
Jasper
Livingston
Logan
McLean
Macon
Morgan
Moultrie
Piatt
Scott
Shelby
Chicago-Naperville
Survey Area
Illinois:
Cook
Du Page
Kane
Lake
McHenry
Will
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Illinois:
Boone
Bureau
De Kalb
Grundy
Iroquois
Kankakee
Kendall
La Salle
Ogle
Putnam
Stephenson
Winnebago
Indiana:
Jasper
Lake
La Porte
Newton
Porter
Pulaski
Starke
Wisconsin:
Kenosha
* * * * *
MAINE
Augusta
Survey Area
Maine:
Kennebec
Knox
Lincoln
Area of Application. Survey area.
Central And Northern Maine
Survey Area
Maine:
Aroostook
Penobscot
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Maine:
Hancock
Piscataquis
Somerset
Waldo
Washington
* * * * *
PENNSYLVANIA
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon
Survey Area
Pennsylvania:
Cumberland
Dauphin
Lebanon
Union (effective for wage surveys beginning in May 2026)
York
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Pennsylvania:
Adams (Does not include the Raven Rock Mountain Complex)
Clinton
Juniata
Lancaster
Lycoming
Mifflin
Perry
Snyder
Union (effective until May 2026)
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden
Survey Area
Delaware:
Kent (effective for wage surveys beginning in October 2027)
[[Page 33583]]
New Castle (effective for wage surveys beginning in October
2027)
Maryland:
Cecil (effective for wage surveys beginning in October 2027)
New Jersey:
Burlington (Excluding the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
portion)
Camden
Gloucester
Salem (effective for wage surveys beginning in October 2027)
Pennsylvania:
Bucks
Chester
Delaware
Montgomery
Philadelphia
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Delaware:
Kent (effective until October 2027)
New Castle (effective until October 2027)
Sussex
Maryland:
Cecil (effective until October 2027)
Somerset
Wicomico
Worcester (Does not include the Assateague Island portion)
New Jersey:
Atlantic
Cape May
Cumberland
Salem (effective until October 2027)
Pennsylvania:
Berks
Schuylkill
Pittsburgh
Survey Area
Pennsylvania:
Allegheny
Beaver
Butler
Cambria (effective for wage surveys beginning in July 2027)
Washington
Westmoreland
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Ohio:
Belmont
Harrison
Jefferson
Pennsylvania:
Armstrong
Bedford
Blair
Cambria (effective until July 2027)
Cameron
Centre
Clarion
Clearfield
Crawford
Elk (Does not include the Allegheny National Forest portion)
Erie
Fayette
Forest (Does not include the Allegheny National Forest portion)
Greene
Huntingdon
Indiana
Jefferson
Lawrence
Mercer
Potter
Somerset
Venango
West Virginia:
Brooke
Hancock
Marshall
Ohio
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre
Survey Area
Pennsylvania:
Lackawanna
Luzerne
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Pennsylvania:
Bradford
Columbia
Montour
Northumberland
Sullivan
Susquehanna
Wyoming
* * * * *
VIRGINIA
Richmond
Survey Area
Virginia (cities):
Colonial Heights
Hopewell
Petersburg
Richmond
Virginia (counties):
Charles City
Chesterfield
Dinwiddie
Goochland
Hanover
Henrico
New Kent
Powhatan
Prince George
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Virginia (cities):
Charlottesville
Emporia
Virginia (counties):
Albemarle (Does not include the Shenandoah National Park
portion)
Amelia
Brunswick
Buckingham
Charlotte
Cumberland
Essex
Fluvanna
Greene (Does not include the Shenandoah National Park portion)
Greensville
King and Queen
King William
Lancaster
Louisa
Lunenburg
Mecklenburg
Nelson
Northumberland
Nottoway
Prince Edward
Richmond
Sussex
Roanoke
Survey Area
Virginia (cities):
Radford
Roanoke
Salem
Virginia (counties):
Botetourt
Craig
Montgomery
Roanoke
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Virginia (cities):
Buena Vista
Covington
Danville
Galax
Lexington
Lynchburg
Martinsville
Virginia (counties):
Alleghany
Amherst
Appomattox
Bath
Bedford
Bland
Campbell
Carroll
Floyd
Franklin
Giles
Halifax
Henry
Highland
Patrick
Pittsylvania
Pulaski
Rockbridge
Wythe
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake
Survey Area
North Carolina:
Currituck
Pasquotank (effective for wage surveys beginning in May 2026)
Virginia (cities):
Chesapeake
Hampton
Newport News
Norfolk
Poquoson
Portsmouth
Suffolk
Virginia Beach
Williamsburg
Virginia (counties):
Gloucester
James City
York
Area of Application. Survey area plus:
Maryland:
Worcester (Only includes the Assateague Island portion)
North Carolina:
Camden
Chowan
Dare
Gates
Hertford
Pasquotank (effective until May 2026)
Perquimans
[[Page 33584]]
Tyrrell
Virginia (city):
Franklin
Virginia (counties):
Accomack
Isle of Wight
Mathews
Middlesex
Northampton
Southampton
Surry
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2026-11182 Filed 6-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-P
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