[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 19, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 79305-79306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32285]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AJ23


Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of the Los Angeles, CA, 
Appropriated Fund Wage Area

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final 
rule to remove Inyo County, CA, from the Los Angeles, CA, appropriated 
fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area. The county, excluding the 
China Lake Naval Weapons Center portion, will be defined to the Las 
Vegas, NV, FWS wage area. This will affect FWS employees at Death 
Valley National Park by placing them on a higher wage schedule.

DATES: Effective Date: This regulation is effective on January 18, 
2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chenty I. Carpenter by phone at (202) 
606-2838, by FAX at (202) 606-4264, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 17, 2000, the Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM) published a proposed rule (65 FR 50165) to move Inyo 
County, California, from the Los Angeles, CA, appropriated fund Federal 
Wage System (FWS) wage area to the Las Vegas, NV, FWS wage area. The 
proposed rule had a 30-day period for public comment, during which we 
received no comments.
    OPM considers the following regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 532.211 
when defining FWS wage area boundaries:
    (i) Distance, transportation facilities, and geographic features;
    (ii) Commuting patterns; and
    (iii) Similarities in overall population employment, and the kinds 
and sizes of private industrial establishments.
    Inyo County is currently an area of application county in the Los 
Angeles wage area. Based on our analysis of the

[[Page 79306]]

regulatory criteria for defining appropriated fund FWS wage areas, we 
find that Inyo County, excluding the portion occupied by China Lake 
Naval Weapons Center, should be part of the Las Vegas wage area. The 
distance criterion is the major factor in our determination. The county 
is much closer to the Las Vegas survey area than to the Los Angeles 
survey area. Inyo County is approximately 429 km (267 miles) from Los 
Angeles and 194 km (120 miles) from Las Vegas. The county is 
approximately 203 km (126 miles) from Nellis Air Force Base, the Las 
Vegas wage area's host installation. We reviewed the other criteria, 
but they did not favor one wage area more than another. The Las Vegas, 
NV, FWS wage area will consist of two survey counties, Clark and Nye 
Counties, NV, and four area of application counties, Esmeralda and 
Lincoln Counties, NV, Mohave County, AZ, and Inyo County, CA.
    China Lake Naval Weapons Center is located in Inyo, Kern, and San 
Bernardino Counties, CA. China Lake Naval Weapons Center will remain a 
part of the Los Angeles FWS wage area so that the installation can 
continue to be defined to a single wage area. The regulatory criteria 
we use to define FWS wage areas indicate that the main employment 
locations for FWS employees at China Lake are properly defined to the 
Los Angeles wage area.
    The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the 
national labor-management committee that advises OPM on FWS pay 
matters, recommended these changes by consensus. Based on its review of 
the regulatory criteria for defining FWS wage areas, FPRAC recommended 
no other changes in the geographic definition of the Los Angeles FWS 
wage area.

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 agencies and employees.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532

    Administrative practice and procedure, Freedom of information, 
Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wages.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Janice R. Lachance,
Director.
    Accordingly, the Office of Personnel Management is amending 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; Sec. 532.707 also issued under 5 
U.S.C. 552.

    2. In appendix C to subpart B, the wage area listing for the State 
of California is amended by revising the listing for Los Angeles; and 
for the State of Nevada, by revising the listing for Las Vegas, to read 
as follows:

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532--Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey 
Areas

* * * * *

California

* * * * *

Los Angeles

Survey Area

California:
    Los Angeles

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

California:
    Inyo (Includes the China Lake Naval Weapons Center portion only)
    Kern (Includes the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, Edwards Air 
Force Base, and portions occupied by Federal activities at Boron 
(City) only)
    Orange
    Riverside (Includes the Joshua Tree National Monument portion 
only)
    San Bernardino (All of San Bernardino County except that portion 
occupied by, and south and west of, the Angeles and San Bernardino 
National Forests)
    Ventura
* * * * *

Nevada

Las Vegas

Survey Area

Nevada:
    Clark
    Nye

Area of Application. Survey area plus:

Nevada:
    Esmeralda
    Lincoln
Arizona:
    Mohave
California:
    Inyo (Excludes the China Lake Naval Weapons Center portion only)
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 00-32285 Filed 12-18-00; 8:45 am]
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