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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

59300

Vol. 62, No. 212

Monday, November 3, 1997

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206–AI06

Prevailing Rate Systems; Removal of

Putnam, Richmond, and Rockland

Counties, NY, and Monmouth County,

NJ, from the New York, NY,

Appropriated Fund Survey Area

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management is issuing a proposed rule

that would remove Putnam, Richmond,

and Rockland Counties, NY, and

Monmouth County, NJ, from the survey

area of the New York, NY, appropriated

fund Federal Wage System wage area.

The four counties would remain in the

area of application of the New York, NY,

wage area.

DATES: Comments must be received by

December 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments

to Donald J. Winstead, Assistant

Director for Compensation Policy,

Human Resources Systems Service,

Office of Personnel Management, Room

7H31, 1900 E Street NW., Washington,

DC 20415, or FAX: (202) 606–0824.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frank Derby at (202) 606–2848, or email: fjderby@opm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Personnel Management (OPM) is

engaged in an ongoing project to review

the geographic definitions of selected

Federal Wage System (FWS)

appropriated fund wage areas. OPM

recently reviewed the definition of the

New York, New York, FWS wage area

and is proposing the change described

below.

When the Federal Wage System was

established in 1972, the New York, NY,

survey area was composed of Bronx,

Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens,

Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and

Westchester Counties, NY; and Essex,

Hudson, Morris, and Union Counties,

NJ. In 1975, the Federal Prevailing Rate

Advisory Committee agreed by

consensus with a proposal to

recommend that the New York, NY,

survey area be expanded to include

Putnam County, NY; and Bergen,

Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, and

Somerset Counties, NJ. This change was

made so as to include 100 percent of the

New York wage area’s FWS employment

in the New York, NY, survey area and

to provide for a larger number of

surveyable private industrial

establishments.

As the largest FWS survey—with a

sample of more than 900 industrial

establishments—the New York, NY,

FWS wage survey has become

increasingly difficult to conduct because

its logistical demands create unusual

burdens on local agency activities

already strained by downsizing and

budget constraints. To reduce the

logistical burdens of the New York, NY,

FWS wage survey, OPM would remove

Putnam, Richmond, and Rockland

Counties, NY; and Monmouth County,

NJ, from the New York, NY, survey area.

Of the 19 counties in the New York, NY,

survey area, OPM proposes that these

four counties be removed from the

survey area because their removal

appears to offer the best means of

reducing the logistical burdens of

surveys in the New York, NY, wage area

while least affecting the determination

of prevailing rates for FWS employees

in that wage area.

Putnam County is located north of

Westchester County, New York. There

are currently no FWS employees

stationed in Putnam County and, in

addition, there are only 11 surveyable

private industrial establishments in the

county (less than 1 percent of the wage

area total).

Richmond County, Staten Island, is

accessible from the rest of the New

York, NY, survey area only via four toll

bridges. There are currently about 91

FWS employees stationed in Richmond

County (2 percent of the wage are total).

There are only 33 surveyable private

industrial establishments in Richmond

County (less than 1 percent of the wage

area total).

Rockland County is located to the

north of Bergen County, New Jersey, and

to the west of Westchester County, New

York. There are currently no FWS

employees stationed in Rockland

County and, in addition, there are only

72 surveyable private industrial

establishments in the county (1 percent

of the wage area total).

Monmouth County is located to the

south of Middlesex County, New Jersey,

and is the southeastern-most county in

the New York, NY, wage area. There are

currently about 335 FWS employees

stationed in Monmouth County (8

percent of the wage area total). When

Monmouth County was added to the

New York, NY, survey area in 1975,

there were more than 1,500 FWS

employees stationed in the county.

While there were about 1,000 FWS

employees stationed at Fort Monmouth

in 1975, there are now only about 60

FWS employees stationed at that

installation. In addition, there are only

133 surveyable private industrial

establishments in the county (2 percent

of the wage area total).

The removal of these four counties

from the New York, NY, FWS survey

area would leave 90 percent of the wage

area’s FWS employment in the New

York, NY, survey area, and would

include the number of surveyable

private industrial establishments in the

New York, NY, survey universe by only

4 percent. OPM also considered the

possible removal of other counties from

the New York survey area but none

appeared to offer as convincing a

rationale for removal as do Putnam,

Richmond, Rockland, or Monmouth

Counties.

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory

Committee, the statutory national-level

labor-management committee

responsible for advising OPM on

matters concerning the pay of FWS

employees, has reviewed and concurred

by consensus with this proposed

change.

Because of a typographical error in

appendix C to subpart B of 5 CFR part

532, the wage area listing for the New

York, NY wage area follows

immediately after the wage area listing

for the Newburgh, NY, wage area

without showing the title of the New

York, NY, wage area. This rule would

correct that inadvertent omission.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that these regulations will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

because they affect only Federal

agencies and employees.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 1997 / Proposed Rules 59301

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532

Administrative practice and

procedure, Freedom of information,

Government employees, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Wages.

Office of Personnel Management.

Janice R. Lachance,

Acting Director.

Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend

5 CFR part 532 as follows:

PART 532—PREVAILING RATE

SYSTEMS

1. The authority citation for part 532

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; § 532.707

also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552.

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532

[Amended]

2. Appendix C to subpart B is

amended by revising the wage area

listings for the Newburgh, New York,

and New York, New York, wage area to

read as follows: Appendix C to Subpart

B of Part 532—Appropriated Fund Wage

and Survey Areas.

* * * * *

New York

* * * * *

Newburgh

Survey Area

New York:

Dutchess

Orange

Ulster

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

New York:

Delaware

Sullivan

New York

Survey Area

New York:

Bronx

Kings

Nassau

New York

Queens

Suffolk

Westchester

New Jersey:

Bergen

Essex

Hudson

Middlesex

Morris

Passaic

Somerset

Union

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

New York:

Putnam

Richmond

Rockland

New Jersey:

Monmouth

Sussex

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–28971 Filed 10–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–M

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 630

RIN: 3206–AI03

Emergency Leave Transfer Program

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management is issuing proposed

regulations governing the establishment

of an emergency leave transfer program

to permit the transfer of unused annual

leave to Federal employees adversely

affected by a major disaster or

emergency, as declared by the President.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before January 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent or

delivered to Donald J. Winstead,

Assistant Director for Compensation

Administration, Office of Personnel

Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E Street

NW., Washington, DC 20415; FAX (202)

606–0824; or email to

payleave@opm.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo

Ann Perrini, (202) 606–2858, FAX (202)

606–0824, or email to

payleave@opm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

9004 of Pub. L. 105–18, June 12, 1997,

added section 6391 to title 5, United

States Code, to provide that in the event

of a major disaster or emergency, as

declared by the President, that results in

severe adverse effects for a substantial

number of employees, the President

may direct the Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) to establish an

emergency leave transfer program under

which an employee in any Executive

agency may donate annual leave for

transfer to employees of his or her

agency or to employees in other

agencies who are adversely affected by

such disaster or emergency. The Act

also permits agency leave banks

established under 5 U.S.C. 6362 to

donate leave under an emergency leave

transfer program established by OPM.

The Federal leave sharing program

has proven to be an effective and costefficient means of allowing Federal

employees to help their fellow workers

in times of need. Under the current

voluntary leave transfer program

established under 5 U.S.C. 6332, an

employee may donate unused annual

leave for transfer to other Federal

employees who have medical

emergencies and who have exhausted

their own leave. The emergency leave

transfer program will be in addition to

the voluntary leave transfer and leave

bank programs and will provide leave

benefits specific to the needs of

employees affected by major disasters or

emergencies. The emergency leave

transfer program will permit employees

to donate annual leave to employees

who do not necessarily face a medical

emergency but who need to take leave

because of other effects of disasters or

emergencies, such as a flood or an

earthquake that has destroyed an

employee’s property or an emergency

situation such as that created by the

Oklahoma City bombing on April 19,

1995. In addition, employees approved

as emergency leave recipients under the

emergency leave transfer program will

be able to use donated leave without

having to exhaust their own accrued

and accumulated annual and sick leave.

Establishment of Emergency Leave

Bank

When directed by the President, OPM

will establish an emergency leave

transfer program for a major disaster or

emergency that is declared by the

President under which employees may

transfer their unused annual leave to

employees in their own agencies or

other agencies who are adversely

affected by the disaster or emergency.

We anticipate that the authority to

establish an emergency leave transfer

program for an emergency or disaster

declared by the President will be

exercised only after appropriate

consultation with the agencies affected

by the emergency or disaster. OPM will

establish and maintain an emergency

leave bank for each such disaster or

emergency that will contain the

aggregate amount of annual leave

donated by emergency leave donors in

the agencies for a specific disaster or

emergency. OPM will coordinate the

transfer of donated annual leave from

each agency to the emergency leave

bank. An emergency leave donor may

not contribute annual leave for transfer

to a specific emergency leave recipient

under this program. However, an

employee may continue to donate his or

her unused annual leave to a specific

leave recipient under the separate

authority for voluntary leave transfer in