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107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1262

To amend subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code,

relating to prevailing rate systems for Federal employees.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 28, 2001

Mr. RODRIGUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Government Reform

A BILL

To amend subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 5, United

States Code, relating to prevailing rate systems for Federal employees.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Wage Worker

5 Pay Fairness Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. WAGE AREAS TO BE CONFORMED TO PAY LOCAL7 ITIES.

8 Paragraph (1) of section 5343(a) of title 5, United

9 States Code, is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) the Office of Personnel Management shall

2 define the boundaries of local wage areas for pre3 vailing rate employees so as to be the same as the

4 boundaries of the respective pay localities under sec5 tion 5304(f) (including as from time to time modi6 fied), subject to such exceptions as the Office, with

7 the approval of the Federal Salary Council (de8 scribed in section 5304(e)), may find to be nec9 essary;’’.

10 SEC. 3. AGENCY RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING WAGE

11 RATE SURVEYS.

12 Paragraph (3) of section 5343(a) of title 5, United

13 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(3) subject to paragraph (5), and subsections

15 (c)(1)–(3) and (d)—

16 ‘‘(A) wage surveys under this section shall

17 be conducted by the same agency as is respon18 sible under section 5304(d)(1)(A) for con19 ducting surveys of pay localities; and

20 ‘‘(B) the lead agency for a local wage area

21 shall, for purposes of the prevailing rate em22 ployees in that area, analyze wage survey data,

23 and develop and establish appropriate wage

24 schedules and rates;’’.
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1 SEC. 4. ANNUAL MINIMUM ADJUSTMENT.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 5343 of

3 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(b)’’

4 and inserting ‘‘(b)(1)’’, and by adding at the end the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘(2)(A) Effective as of the first day of the first appli7 cable pay period beginning on or after January 1 of each

8 year, the rates of pay for the regular and special wage

9 schedules shall be adjusted (by the lead agency or by the

10 Office of Personnel Management, as appropriate) by the

11 percentage equal to the overall average percentage adjust12 ment taking effect on that same date, with respect to Gen13 eral Schedule positions within the pay locality cor14 responding (or, if none corresponds exactly, the pay local15 ity most nearly corresponding, as determined by such

16 agency or Office) to the local wage area involved, under

17 sections 5303 and 5304–5304a.

18 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent any ad19 justment in wage schedules from taking effect in a year,

20 under any other provisions of this section (based on a

21 wage survey or interim survey), to the extent that the ad22 justment taking effect under subparagraph (A) in such

23 year does not, with respect to the local wage area involved,

24 fully provide for the adjustment required under those

25 other provisions with respect to such year.
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1 ‘‘(C) No provision of law enacted after the date of

2 the enactment of the Federal Wage Worker Pay Fairness

3 Act of 2001 may be held to supersede, repeal, or modify

4 this paragraph, except to the extent that it does so ex5 pressly.’’.

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) The first sentence of section 5343(a) of title 5, United

8 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘rates.’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘rates, subject to succeeding provisions of this section.’’.

10 (2) Section 5348 of title 5, United States Code, is

11 amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(c) No provision of law enacted after the date of

13 the enactment of the Federal Wage Worker Pay Fairness

14 Act of 2001 may be held to supersede, repeal, or modify

15 this section, except to the extent that it does so ex16 pressly.’’.

17 SEC. 5. RESTORATION OF ‘‘MONRONEY AMENDMENT’’ PRO18 TECTIONS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 5343(d)

20 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as fol21 lows:

22 ‘‘(2) When the agency specified in subsection

23 (a)(3)(A) determines that there is a number of comparable

24 positions in private industry insufficient to establish the

25 wage schedules and rates, such agency shall establish the
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1 wage schedules and rates to be applicable to prevailing

2 rate employees on the basis of—

3 ‘‘(A) local private industry rates; and

4 ‘‘(B) rates paid for comparable positions in pri5 vate industry in the nearest wage area that such

6 agency determines is most similar in the nature of

7 its population, employment, manpower, and industry

8 to the local wage area for which the wage survey is

9 being made.’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5343(d)(1)

11 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘A

12 lead agency, in making a wage survey,’’ and inserting ‘‘In

13 making a wage survey, the agency specified in subsection

14 (a)(3)(A)’’.

15 SEC. 6. PAY LOCALITY DEFINED.

16 Section 5342(a) of title 5, United States Code, is

17 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (2),

18 by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and

19 inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(4) ‘pay locality’ has the meaning given that

21 term by section 5302.’’.

22 SEC. 7. CONVERSION RULES.

23 Rates of pay for employees subject to subchapter IV

24 of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, shall be ini25 tially adjusted, following the enactment of this Act, under
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1 conversion rules prescribed by the Office of Personnel

2 Management in consultation with the Federal Salary

3 Council (described in section 5304(e) of title 5, United

4 States Code).

5 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

7 (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

8 take effect on October 1, 2001.

9 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The Federal Pre10 vailing Rate Advisory Committee (described in section

11 5347 of title 5, United States Code) shall submit to Con12 gress a written report—

13 (1) within 90 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, describing any transfer of func15 tions or duties, and any administrative actions, that

16 will be required in order to implement this Act; and

17 (2) within 180 days after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, describing—

19 (A) the extent to which the transfers and

20 actions described under paragraph (1) have oc21 curred; and

22 (B) to the extent that there remain any

23 transfers or actions (described under paragraph
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1 (1)) that have not yet occurred, the anticipated

2 timetable for their completion.

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