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

67295

Vol. 62, No. 247

Wednesday, December 24, 1997

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Parts 831, 842, 870, and 890

RIN 3206–AI12

Retirement and Insurance—Exemption

From Continuity of Coverage

Requirements for Certain Decennial

Census Employees With Dual

Appointments

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) is proposing

regulations to provide an exemption

from continuity of coverage

requirements for Federal retirement,

health insurance, and life insurance

benefits, for certain Federal employees

who accept a second appointment to

perform intermittent decennial census

duties. The purpose of this exemption is

to facilitate hiring Federal employees for

the decennial census by eliminating

administrative complexities that would

otherwise result under current

regulations. Employees will retain the

retirement and insurance benefits to

which they are entitled under their

primary Federal jobs, while earning

additional wages in their second jobs

with the Census Bureau.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before January 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Mary

Ellen Wilson, Retirement Policy

Division, Office of Personnel

Management, P.O. Box 57, Washington,

DC 20044; or deliver to OPM, Room

4351, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington

DC. Comments may also be submitted

by electronic mail to combox@opm.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

Parts 831 and 842: Robert Girouard,

(202) 606–0299; and for Parts 870 and

890: Karen Leibach, (202) 606–0004.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

An individual who is hired into a

Federal position from outside

Government under a temporary,

intermittent appointment is excluded

from retirement and insurance coverage

under the Civil Service Retirement

System (CSRS), the Federal Employees

Retirement System (FERS), the Federal

Employees’ Group Life Insurance

Program (FEGLI), and the Federal

Employees Health Benefits Program

(FEHB). However, by regulation, Federal

employees in positions covered by

retirement, health insurance, and life

insurance, who move to Federal

positions not covered by these benefits,

can generally continue their benefit

coverage if they have no break in

Federal service. This continuity of

coverage rule also applies when a

Federal employee accepts a second,

concurrent Federal job that would

otherwise be excluded from coverage.

The Bureau of the Census, U.S.

Department of Commerce (‘‘Census

Bureau’’) has asked OPM for an

exemption from this continuity of

coverage requirement, when a Federal

employee is hired by the Census Bureau

for a second job performing intermittent

decennial census duties.

The Census Bureau anticipates

evaluating 2.6 million applicants and

hiring 260 thousand workers for peak

operations of the year 2000 decennial

census. The Census Bureau is placing a

special emphasis on hiring current

Federal employees for decennial census

operations, because of the scale of hiring

that must be carried out by the Census

Bureau beginning in 1998; the special

skills of Federal employees; and the low

unemployment rate, which reduces the

supply of labor readily available for

temporary hiring.

It is anticipated that 95 to 98 percent

of Federal employees hired for second

jobs by the Census Bureau will be hired

as intermittent, excepted-service

appointees, under temporary

appointments not to exceed one year.

These appointments will generally be

made under section 23(b) of title 13,

United States Code, which allows

Federal employees to be compensated

for second positions conducting census

field work, without regard to the

restrictions on dual compensation found

in section 5533 of title 5, United States

Code.

Continuity of coverage rules for

retirement and insurance make it

difficult for the Census Bureau to hire

Federal employees for second

appointments. While each Federal

employee retains benefit coverage under

his or her primary position with little or

no additional benefits accruing from the

intermittent Census employment, the

Census Bureau would be required to

coordinate closely with each employee’s

agency to determine the amount of

additional retirement deductions and

insurance premiums that would have to

be withheld as a result of continuity of

coverage. The administrative

complexities resulting from week by

week coordination with the employee’s

primary agency would be highly

susceptible to error and would make

large-scale hiring from the pool of

Federal employees administratively

prohibitive. Placing Federal employees

hired to perform short term decennial

census service on the same benefit

footing as persons hired from outside

the Government will significantly

reduce the coordination burden, and

assist the Census Bureau in meeting its

unique staffing requirements.

For these reasons, the Office of

Personnel Management is proposing to

amend the continuity of coverage rules

to exempt Federal employees hired by

the Census Bureau under temporary,

intermittent appointments to perform

decennial census duties. OPM’s

authority to make this exemption is in

sections 8347(g), 8402(c)(1), 8716(b),

and 8913(b) of title 5, United States

Code.

In order for these regulations to meet

their stated purpose of providing timely

relief, they must take effect by the

Spring of 1998, when the Census Bureau

will begin hiring Federal employees for

decennial census rehearsal activities.

Therefore, the Office of Personnel

Management is issuing the proposed

regulations with a 30-day comment

period.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that this regulation will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

because the regulation will only affect

retirement and insurance benefits of

retired Government employees and their

survivors.

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory

Review

This rule has been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget in

accordance with Executive Order 12866.
67296 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 24, 1997 / Proposed Rules

List of Subjects

5 CFR Parts 831 and 842

Administrative practice and

procedure, Air traffic controllers,

Alimony, Claims, Disability benefits,

Firefighters, Government employees,

Income taxes, Intergovernmental

relations, Law enforcement officers,

Pensions, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Retirement.

5 CFR Part 870

Administrative practice and

procedure, Government employees,

Hostages, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Life

insurance, Retirement.

5 CFR Part 890

Administrative practice and

procedure, Government employees,

Health facilities, Health insurance,

Health professions, Hostages, Iraq,

Kuwait, Lebanon, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements,

Retirement.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Janice R. Lachance,

Director.

Accordingly, OPM proposed to amend

Parts 831, 842, 870, and 890 of Title 5

of the Code of Federal Regulations as

follows:

PART 831—RETIREMENT

1. The authority citation for part 831

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8347; § 831.102 also

issued under 5 U.S.C. 8334; § 831.106 also

issued under 5 U.S.C. 552a; § 831.108 also

issued under 5 U.S.C. 8336(d)(2);

§ 831.201(b)(1) also issued under 5 U.S.C.

8347(g); § 831.201(b)(6) also issued under 5

U.S.C. 7701(b)(2); § 831.201(g) also issued

under sections 11202(f), 11232(e), and

11246(b) of title XI of Pub. L. 105–33, 111

Stat. 251; § 831.204 also issued under section

102(e) of Pub. L. 104–8, 109 Stat. 102, as

amended by section 153 of Pub. L. 104–134,

110 Stat. 1321; § 831.303 also issued under

5 U.S.C. 8334(d)(2); § 831.502 also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 8337; § 831.502 also issued

under section 1(3), E.O. 11228, 3 CFR 1964–

1965 Comp. p. 317; § 831.663 also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 8339(j) and (k)(2); §§ 831.663

and 831.664 also issued under Pub. L. 103–

66, 107 Stat. 412; § 831.682 also issued under

section 201(d) of the Pub. L. 99–251, 100

Stat. 23; subpart S also issued under 5 U.S.C.

8345(k); subpart V also issued under 5 U.S.C.

8343a and section 6001 of Pub. L. 100–203,

101 Stat. 1330–275; § 831.2203 also issued

under section 7001(a)(4) of Pub. L. 101–508,

104 Stat. 1388–328.

Subpart B—Coverage

2. In § 831.201, paragraph (b)(1) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 831.201 Exclusions from retirement

coverage.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) Employment in an excluded

category follows employment subject to

subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5,

United States Code, without a break in

service or after a separation from service

of 3 days or less, except in the case of:

(i) An alien employee whose duty

station is located in a foreign country;

or

(ii) An employee hired by the Census

Bureau under a temporary, intermittent

appointment to perform decennial

census duties.

* * * * *

PART 842—FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

RETIREMENT SYSTEM—BASIC

ANNUITY

3. The authority citation for section

842 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8461(g); §§ 842.104 and

842.106 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8461(n);

§ 842.105 also issued under 5 U.S.C.

8402(c)(1) and 7701(b)(2); § 842.106 also

issued under section 102(e) of the District of

Columbia Financial Responsibility and

Management Assistance Act of 1995, Pub. L.

104–8, 109 Stat. 102, as amended by section

153 of Pub. L. 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321;

§ 842.107 also issued under sections 11202(f),

11232(e), and 11246(b) of the National

Capital Revitalization and Self-Government

Improvement Act of 1997, title XI of Pub. L.

105–33, 111 Stat. 251; §§ 842.604 and

842.611 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8417;

§ 842.607 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8416

and 8417; § 842.614 also issued under 5

U.S.C. 8419; § 842.615 also issued under 5

U.S.C. 8418; § 842.703 also issued under

section 7001(a)(4) of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–508;

§ 842.707 also issued under section 6001 of

the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

1987, Pub. L. 100–203; § 842.708 also issued

under section 4005 of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1989, Pub. L. 101–239

and section 7001 of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–508;

subpart H also issued under 5 U.S.C. 1104.

Subpart A—Coverage

4. In § 842.105, paragraph (b) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 842.105 Regulatory exclusions.

* * * * *

(b) When an employee who is covered

by FERS moves to a position listed in

paragraph (a) of this section without a

break in service or after a separation of

3 days or less, his or her FERS coverage

will continue, except in the case of an

employee hired by the Census Bureau

under a temporary, intermittent

appointment to perform decennial

census duties.

* * * * *

PART 870—FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’

GROUP LIFE INSURANCE PROGRAM

5. The authority citation for part 870

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8716; subpart J also

issued under sec. 599C of Pub. L. 101–513,

104 Stat. 2064, as amended; § 870.302 also

issued under sections 11202(f), 11232(e), and

11246(b) and (c) of Pub. L. 105–33, 111 Stat.

251.

6. In § 870.301, add paragraph (d) to

read as follows:

§ 870.301 Eligibility for life insurance.

* * * * *

(d) Notwithstanding any other

provision in this part, the hiring of a

Federal employee, whether in pay status

or nonpay status, for a temporary,

intermittent position with the decennial

census has no effect on the amount of

his/her Basic or Option B insurance, the

withholdings or Government

contribution for his/her insurance, or

the determination of when 12 months in

nonpay status ends.

PART 890—FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM

7. The authority citation for part 890

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8913; § 890.803 also

issued under 50 U.S.C. 403p, 22 U.S.C. 4069c

and 4069c-1; subpart L also issued under sec.

599C of Pub. L. 101–513, 104 Stat. 2064, as

amended; § 890.102 also issued under

sections 11202(f), 11232(e), and 11246(b) and

(c) of Pub. L. 105–33, 111 Stat.251.

8. In § 890.102, paragraph (g) is added

to read as follows:

§ 890.102 Coverage

* * * * *

(g) Notwithstanding any other

provision in this part, the hiring of a

Federal employee, whether in pay status

or nonpay status, for a temporary,

intermittent position with the decennial

census has no effect on the withholding

or Government contribution for his/her

coverage or the determination of when

365 days in nonpay status ends.

[FR Doc. 97–33732 Filed 12–23–97; 8:45 am]

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