47692 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 157 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Parts 531 and 550 

RIN 3206–AL09 

Locality-Based Comparability 

Payments and Evacuation Payments 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is issuing interim 

regulations concerning pay actions for 

employees affected by a pandemic 

health crisis. The interim regulations 

clarify the rules for determining an 

employee’s official worksite when he or 

she teleworks from an alternative 

worksite during an emergency situation, 

such as a pandemic health crisis. In 

addition, the interim regulations permit 

an agency to provide evacuation 

payments to an employee who is 

ordered to evacuate from his or her 

regular worksite and directed to work 

from home (or an alternative location 

mutually agreeable to the agency and 

the employee) during a pandemic health 

crisis. These regulations are issued as 

part of OPM’s efforts to provide agencies 

with guidance to ensure they are able to 

fulfill their critical missions while at the 

same time protect their employees 

should a pandemic health crisis occur. 

DATES: Effective Date: The interim 

regulations are effective on September 

18, 2006. 

Comment Date: Comments must be 

received on or before October 16, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver written 

comments to Jerome D. Mikowicz, 

Acting Deputy Associate Director for 

Pay and Performance Policy, Strategic 

Human Resources Policy Division, 

Office of Personnel Management, Room 

7H31, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, 

DC 20415–8200; by fax at (202) 606– 

0824; or by e-mail at pay-performancepolicy@opm.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Vicki Draper by telephone at (202) 606– 

2858; by fax at (202) 606–0824; or by email at pay-performancepolicy@opm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Personnel Management (OPM) is 

issuing interim regulations concerning 

pay actions for employees affected by a 

pandemic health crisis. These interim 

regulations (1) clarify the rules for 

determining an employee’s official 

worksite for the purpose of identifying 

his or her location-based pay 

entitlements when the employee 

teleworks from an alternative worksite 

during an emergency situation such as 

a pandemic health crisis and (2) 

authorize agencies to provide 

evacuation payments to an employee 

who is ordered to evacuate from his or 

her regular worksite and directed to 

work from the employee’s home (or an 

alternative location mutually agreeable 

to the agency and the employee) during 

a pandemic health crisis. 

Official Worksite 

On May 31, 2005, OPM issued interim 

regulations to define the requirements 

for determining an employee’s official 

worksite to identify an employee’s 

location-based pay entitlements, 

including special rate supplements and 

locality payments (70 FR 31278). 

Generally, an employee’s official 

worksite is the location of the position 

of record where the employee regularly 

performs his or her duties and the 

employee is entitled to the locality rate 

(or special rate supplement) designated 

for the official worksite. If the employee 

is covered by a telework agreement and 

if the employee is scheduled (while in 

duty status) to report at least once a 

week, on a regular and recurring basis, 

to the regular worksite for the 

employee’s position of record, then the 

regular worksite is the employee’s 

official worksite. The employee is 

entitled to the locality rate designated 

for the regular worksite. However, if a 

telework employee is not scheduled to 

report at least once a week on a regular 

and recurring basis to the regular 

worksite, the telework site is the official 

worksite and the employee is entitled to 

the locality rate designated for the 

telework site. (See 5 CFR 531.605(d)(1) 

and (2).) Under 5 CFR 531.605(d)(3), an 

agency may make a temporary exception 

to these rules in appropriate situations, 

such as an employee recovering from an 

injury or medical condition that 

prevents commuting to the regular 

worksite. 

During an emergency situation, such 

as a pandemic health crisis, an agency 

may direct a telework employee to work 

from his or her telework site for the 

duration of the emergency, and the 

employee may be prevented from 

reporting at least once a week on a 

regular and recurring basis to the regular 

worksite. In these interim regulations, 

we are amending 5 CFR 531.605(d)(3) to 

clarify that an agency may make a 

temporary exception to the requirement 

that a telework employee must report at 

least once a week on a regular and 

recurring basis to the regular worksite. 

An agency may make a temporary 

exception when the telework employee 

is affected by an emergency situation 

(such as a pandemic health crisis), 

which temporarily prevents him or her 

from commuting to the regular worksite. 

In such emergency situations, the 

employee would continue to be entitled 

to the locality rate for the regular 

worksite. 

Evacuation Payments 

Executive agencies may authorize 

evacuation payments under sections 

5522 and 5523 of title 5, United States 

Code, to employees whose departure 

from a place inside or outside the 

United States is officially authorized or 

ordered from any place where there is 

imminent danger to the lives of the 

employees. Section 5523(b) of title 5, 

United States Code, and OPM’s 

regulations at 5 CFR 550.403(c), also 

provide that additional special 

allowances may be granted to evacuated 

employees to offset the direct added 

expenses incident to their evacuation. 

These interim regulations add a new 

section at 5 CFR 550.409 to permit an 

agency to order its employees to 

evacuate from their worksites and 

perform work at home during a 

pandemic health crisis. The agency may 

designate an employee’s residence (or 

an alternative location mutually 

agreeable to the agency and the 

employee) as a safe haven and provide 

evacuation payments under 5 U.S.C. 

5523. Evacuated employees may be 

assigned to perform any work 

considered necessary or required to be 

performed during the period of 

evacuation without regard to the grades, 

levels, or titles of the employees. 

However, the employee must have the 

necessary knowledge and skills to 

perform the assigned work. An 

employee’s failure or refusal to perform 

assigned work may be a basis for 

terminating evacuation payments, in 

addition to disciplinary action. 

Currently, additional special 

allowances, including travel expenses 

and per diem, may be paid to an 

evacuated employee to offset any direct 

added expenses incurred as a result of 

the employee’s evacuation under 5 

U.S.C. 5523(b) and 5 CFR 550.403(c). 

OPM has determined similar authority 

is appropriate during a pandemic health 

crisis. The interim regulations at 5 CFR 

550.409(b) permit the head of an agency, 

in his or her sole and exclusive 

discretion, to grant special allowance 

payments, based upon a case-by-case 

analysis, to offset the direct added 

expenses incident to performing work 

from home (or an alternative location 

mutually agreeable to the agency and 

the employee) during a pandemic health 

crisis. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 157 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 47693 

Waiver of Notice of Proposed Rule 

Making and Delayed Effective Date 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), I 

find that good cause exists for waiving 

the general notice of proposed 

rulemaking. In response to a potential 

pandemic influenza event, the President 

recently issued the Federal 

Government’s Implementation Plan for 

the National Strategy for Pandemic 

Influenza. This proposal has been 

fashioned in furtherance of that plan. In 

light of the imminence of the potential 

threat, providing an advance notice and 

comment period, before these 

regulations become effective, would be 

both impracticable and against the 

public interest. Accordingly, a waiver of 

the requirements for proposed 

rulemaking is justified under these 

circumstances. 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review 

This rule has been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget in 

accordance with E.O. 12866. 

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 apply only to Federal 

agencies and employees. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR 531 and 550 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; Claims; Government 

employees; Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements; Wages. 

Office of Personnel Management. 

Linda M. Springer, 

Director. 

■ Accordingly, OPM is amending parts 

531 and 550 of title 5 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations as follows: 

PART 531—PAY UNDER THE 

GENERAL SCHEDULE 

■ 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(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, and 

5338; and 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 

■ 2. In § 531.605, revise paragraph (d)(3) 

to read as follows: 

§ 531.605 Determining an employee’s 

official worksite. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(3) An authorized agency official may 

make a temporary exception to the 

requirements in paragraphs (d)(1) and 

(2) of this section in appropriate 

situations of a temporary nature, such as 

the following: 

(i) An employee is recovering from an 

injury or medical condition; or 

(ii) An employee is affected by an 

emergency situation, which temporarily 

prevents the employee from commuting 

to his or her regular official worksite. 

* * * * * 

PART 550—PAY ADMINISTRATION 

(GENERAL) 

■ 3. The authority citation for subpart D 

of part 550 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5527; E.O. 10982, 3 

CFR parts 1959–1963, p. 502. 

■ 4. In subpart D, add § 550.409 to read 

as follows: 

§ 550.409 Evacuation payments during a 

pandemic health crisis. 

(a) An agency may order one or more 

employees to evacuate from their 

worksite and perform work from their 

home (or an alternative location 

mutually agreeable to the agency and 

the employee) during a pandemic health 

crisis. Under these circumstances, an 

agency may designate the employee’s 

home (or an alternative location 

mutually agreeable to the agency and 

the employee) as a safe haven and 

provide evacuation payments to the 

employee. An agency must compute the 

evacuation payments and determine the 

time period during which such 

payments will be made in accordance 

with § 550.404. An evacuated employee 

at a safe haven may be assigned to 

perform any work considered necessary 

or required to be performed during the 

period of evacuation without regard to 

his or her grade, level, or title. The 

employee must have the necessary 

knowledge and skills to perform the 

assigned work. Failure or refusal to 

perform assigned work may be a basis 

for terminating evacuation payments, as 

well as disciplinary action. 

(b) The head of an agency, in his or 

her sole and exclusive discretion, may 

grant special allowance payments, based 

upon a case-by-case analysis, to offset 

the direct added expenses incidental to 

performing work from home (or an 

alternative location mutually agreeable 

to the agency and the employee) during 

a pandemic health crisis. 

(c) An agency may terminate 

evacuation payments under the 

conditions listed in § 550.407. An 

agency must make any necessary 

adjustments in pay consistent with 

§ 550.408 after the evacuation is 

terminated. 

[FR Doc. 06–6990 Filed 8–16–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 630 

RIN 3206–AK61 

Absence and Leave 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is issuing final 

regulations concerning the use of sick 

leave. The final rules remove the 

requirement for an employee to 

maintain a minimum sick leave balance 

in his or her sick leave account in order 

to use the maximum amount of sick 

leave provided for family care and 

bereavement purposes. These 

regulations are being issued as part of 

OPM’s effort to standardize leave 

policies and provide agencies with 

guidance on leave programs available to 

assist employees in the event of a 

pandemic health crisis. 

DATES: Effective date: These regulations 

are effective on September 18, 2006. 

Applicability date: These regulations 

apply on the first day of the first 

applicable pay period beginning on or 

after September 18, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sharon Dobson by telephone at (202) 

606–2858; by fax at (202) 606–0824; or 

by e-mail at pay-performancepolicy@opm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Personnel Management (OPM) is 

issuing final regulations to revise the 

rules concerning the use of sick leave to 

provide care for a family member, make 

arrangements necessitated by the death 

of a family member, or attend the 

funeral of a family member. The revised 

regulations will assist employees in 

balancing their work and family 

responsibilities and needs. These final 

regulations will be issued to standardize 

and simplify leave programs and 

policies to support consolidating agency 

human resources and payroll systems, 

and to continue OPM’s efforts to 

provide agencies with timely guidance 

on leave programs and policies available 

to employees in the event of a pandemic 

health crisis. 


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