[Federal Register: June 27, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 123)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 33097-33098]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27jn95-1]

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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. 
Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each 
week.

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[[Page 33097]]

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Parts 451, 531, 550, 551, 591, and 630

RIN 3206-AG15

 
Incentive Awards; Pay and Leave Administration

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final 
regulations to incorporate certain incentive awards and pay and leave 
administration rules contained in the provisionally retained Federal 
Personnel Manual (FPM) material, which expired on December 31, 1994, 
into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and to remove certain 
recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

DATES: The final rules are effective on July 27, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barbara Colchao, (202) 606-2720, concerning questions about the final 
regulations for incentive awards in 5 CFR part 451, and Bryce Baker 
(202) 606-2858, concerning questions about the final regulations for 
pay and leave administration in 5 CFR parts 531, 550, 551, 591, and 
630.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 28, 1994, OPM published interim 
regulations (59 FR 66629) to incorporate a small number of 
miscellaneous incentive awards and pay and leave administration 
provisions in the provisionally retained FPM, which expired on December 
31, 1994, into the CFR.

    The rules relate to--
    (1) Incentive awards--cash award limitations, documentation of 
informal recognition items, and eligible award recipients;
    (2) Application of the two-step promotion rule for promotions from 
GS-1 and GS-2 positions;
    (3) Application of leave without pay towards the completion of 
waiting periods for within-grade increases;
    (4) Counting travel time as ``hours of work;''
    (5) Sunday premium pay for periods of paid leave and excused 
absence;
    (6) Payments during evacuation;
    (7) Back pay computations;
    (8) Computing cost-of-living allowances for employees receiving pay 
retention; and
    (9) Leave for uncommon tours of duty.
    These rules did not establish any new requirements, and they 
removed the recordkeeping requirements related to waiving the biweekly 
pay cap on premium pay and the reporting requirements for payments 
during evacuation.
    The 60-day comment period ended on February 27, 1995. OPM received 
comments from one agency, one employee organization, and one 
individual. These comments, as well as certain technical changes in the 
final regulations, are summarized below.

Incentive Awards

    An agency noted that the former, provisionally retained FPM 
material (FPM Chapter 451, Subchapter 3, section 3-2c) encouraging 
agencies to establish honorary awards for private citizens was not 
incorporated in regulation. The agency asked under what authority 
agencies could continue to grant awards to private citizens. Agencies 
may grant such awards under agency-specific authorities that would be 
appropriate depending on the nature of the contribution to be 
recognized. However, awards authorized by chapter 45 of title 5, United 
States Code, may be granted only to Federal employees or former Federal 
employees for contributions made while in the Federal service. To 
clarify that former Federal employees may receive awards authorized by 
5 U.S.C. chapter 45 and reflect expired FPM material and statutory 
intent, OPM is amending 5 CFR 451.104(f) to include separated 
employees, as well as the legal heirs or estates of deceased employees, 
as eligible award recipients.

Sunday Premium Pay for Periods of Paid Leave and Excused Absence

    An individual commented that part-time employees are not entitled 
to Sunday premium pay. OPM agrees. To clarify this, we have revised 5 
CFR 550.171 and the definition of Sunday work in 5 CFR 550.103(o). This 
clarification is consistent with the information in expired Federal 
Personnel Manual Letter 550-79, which stated that part-time employees 
and employees who work intermittently are not entitled to premium pay 
for Sunday work; it also reflects a Comptroller General opinion 
regarding the compensation of part-time employees (46 Comp. Gen. 337 
(1966)).

Leave for Uncommon Tours of Duty

    An employee organization commented that the manner in which leave 
is to be charged to employees on uncommon tours of duty--specifically, 
firefighters who work 24-hour shifts--is not clear. In 5 CFR 630.210, 
the interim regulation provides agencies with the authority to require 
that an employee with an uncommon tour of duty must accrue and use 
leave on the basis of that uncommon tour of duty. Leave accrual must be 
directly proportional to the leave accrual rates in 5 U.S.C. 6303(a). 
Also, leave must be charged on an hour-for-hour basis for each hour of 
absence from the uncommon tour of duty. The regulation in 5 CFR 630.210 
does not change the methodology for charging leave to employees on 
uncommon tours of duty that was previously published in the Federal 
Personnel Manual.
    A firefighter whose leave is administered on the basis of a 144-
hour biweekly tour of duty, and who has 15 or more years of service, 
accrues 374 hours of annual leave over a period of 26 biweekly pay 
periods (25 pay periods times 14 hours, plus 1 pay period times 24 
hours), which equals 10 percent of the number of hours in 26 biweekly 
pay periods (3,744 hours). Similarly, an employee whose leave is 
administered on the basis of an 80-hour biweekly tour of duty, and who 
has 15 or more years of service, accrues 208 hours of annual leave over 
a period of 26 biweekly pay periods (26 pay periods times 8 hours), 
which also equals 10 percent of the number of hours in 26 biweekly pay 
periods (2,080 hours). This proportional relationship between the 
annual leave [[Page 33098]] accrual rates of the affected employees 
ensures equitable treatment.
    In the interim regulations, section 630.210(a) states that ``[o]ne 
hour (or appropriate fraction thereof) of leave shall be charged for 
each hour (or appropriate fraction thereof) of absence from the 
uncommon tour of duty.'' Since the leave accrual rates for firefighters 
on uncommon tours of duty have been adjusted to fully reflect their 
longer work schedule, an hour-for-hour charging methodology is 
necessary to maintain an equitable relationship with other employees. 
When an employee with 15 or more years of service who works 80 hours 
per day period takes 1 week of annual leave, the employee is charged 40 
hours, or about 19 percent of the leave accrued in 1 year. Similarly, 
when a firefighter with 15 or more years of service who works 144 hours 
per pay period takes 1 week of annual leave, the employee is charged 72 
hours, or about 19 percent of the leave accrued in 1 year. OPM believes 
the manner in which leave must be charged for employees on uncommon 
tours of duty was clearly stated in the interim regulation. Therefore, 
no change has been made in this provision of the final regulations.
Miscellaneous Amendments

    The authority cited in 5 CFR 531.401(c) for within-grade increase 
purposes is being revised to give the correct citation. (The Executive 
order previously cited has been revoked.) The definition of acceptable 
level of competence in 5 CFR 531.403, for within-grade increase 
purposes, is being revised to refer to the next higher rate within the 
grade, as well as the next higher step of the grade, in order to 
address the situation of GM employees, whose rates of basic pay are 
between General Schedule step rates.

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 employees and agencies.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Parts 451, 531, 550, 551 and 630

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Decorations, medals, 
awards, Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Travel and 
transportation expenses, Wages.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
James B. King,
Director.

    Accordingly, the interim rule amending parts 451, 531, 550, 551, 
591, and 630 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which was 
published at 59 FR 66629 on December 28, 1994, is adopted as final with 
the following changes:

PART 451--INCENTIVE AWARDS

    1. The authority citation for part 451 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 4501-4507.

    2. In Sec. 451.104, paragraph (f) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 451.104  Policy.

* * * * *
    (f) An award under this subpart may be granted to a separated 
employee or the legal heir(s) or estate of a deceased employee.
* * * * *

PART 531--PAY UNDER THE GENERAL SCHEDULE

    3. The authority citation for part 531 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5115, 5307, and 5338; sec. 4 of Pub. L. 103-
89, 107 Stat. 981; and E.O. 12748, 56 FR 4521, 3 CFR 1991 Comp., p. 
316;

    Subpart A also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; section 
302 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA), 
Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462; and E.O. 12786, 56 FR 67453, 3 CFR, 
1991 Comp., p. 376;
    Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5303(g), 5333, 5334(a), and 
7701(b)(2);
    Subpart C also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; sections 
302 and 404 of FEPCA, Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462 and 1466; and 
section 3(7) of Pub. L. 102-378, 106 Stat. 1356;
    Subpart D also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5335(g) 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(g)(1), and 5553; 
and E.O. 12883, 58 FR 63281, 3 CFR 1993 Comp., p. 682.

Subpart D--Within-Grade Increases

    4. In Sec. 531.401, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 531.401  Principal authorities.

* * * * *
    (c) Section 5338 of title 5, United States Code, provides that 
``The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations 
necessary for the administration'' of General Schedule pay rates, 
including within-grade increases.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec. 531.403, the definition of acceptable level of 
competence is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 531.403  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Acceptable level of competence means fully successful performance 
by an employee of the duties and responsibilities of his or her 
assigned position that warrants advancement of the employee's rate of 
basic pay to the next higher step of the grade or the next higher rate 
within the grade (as defined in this section) of his or her position, 
subject to the requirements of Sec. 531.404 of this subpart.
* * * * *
PART 550--PAY ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL)

Subpart A--Premium Pay

    6. The authority citation for part 550, subpart A, is revised to 
read as follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5304 note, 5305 note, 5541(2)(iv), 5548, and 
6101(c); E.O. 12748, 3 CFR 1991 Comp., p. 316.

    7. In Sec. 550.103, paragraph (o) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 550.103  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (o) Sunday work means nonovertime work performed by a full-time 
employee during a regularly scheduled daily tour of duty when any part 
of that daily tour of duty is on a Sunday. For any such tour of duty, 
not more than 8 hours of work are Sunday work, unless the employee is 
on a compressed work schedule, in which case the entire regularly 
scheduled daily tour of duty constitutes Sunday work.
* * * * *
    8. Section 550.171 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 550.171  Authorization of pay for Sunday work.

    A full-time employee is entitled to pay at his or her rate of basic 
pay plus premium pay at a rate equal to 25 percent of his or her rate 
of basic pay for each hour of Sunday work (as defined in 
Sec. 550.103(o)) and each hour that would be Sunday work but for the 
placement of the employee in paid leave or excused absence status.

[FR Doc. 95-15534 Filed 6-26-95; 8:45 am]
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