Computation of Pay for Biweekly Pay Periods, 24477-24478 [05-9191]

Agencies

• Office of Personnel Management
• Personnel Management Office

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 10, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24477-24478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9191]



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Rules and Regulations
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 10, 2005 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 24477]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 550

RIN 3206-AK62


Computation of Pay for Biweekly Pay Periods

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing final 
regulations to implement a change in law that requires the pay of heads 
of agencies and other designated employees to be calculated and paid on 
a biweekly basis instead of on a monthly basis. The final regulations 
also prescribe the circumstances under which an agency may calculate 
the pay of an employee on a biweekly pay period basis whose pay 
otherwise would be calculated on a monthly or other basis.

DATES: The regulations are effective June 9, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeanne Jacobson by telephone at (202) 
606-2858; by FAX at (202) 606-0824; or by e-mail at pay-performance-
policy@opm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is 
issuing final regulations to calculate pay on a biweekly pay period 
basis for employees whose pay was formerly calculated on a monthly 
basis. Section 1124 of Public Law 108-136 (November 24, 2003) amended 5 
U.S.C. 5504 to require the pay of heads of agencies (including the 
heads of military departments) to be calculated and paid on a biweekly 
basis instead of on a monthly basis. This law also amended 5 U.S.C. 
5504 to cover members of the Foreign Service, the Senior Foreign 
Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement 
Administration Senior Executive Service. In addition, 5 U.S.C. 
5504(c)(3), as amended, allows an agency to make exceptions and elect 
to calculate the pay of employees on a biweekly pay period basis whose 
pay otherwise would be calculated on a monthly or other basis. The law 
requires OPM to issue regulations providing guidelines for such 
exceptions.
    OPM issued proposed regulations on October 7, 2004, providing 
guidelines for agencies to use when electing to calculate the pay of 
employees on a biweekly pay period basis whose pay otherwise would be 
calculated on a monthly or other basis (69 FR 60097). The comment 
period for these proposed regulations ended on December 6, 2004. During 
the comment period, OPM received one comment from a Federal agency. The 
agency's concern dealt with the discussion in the Supplementary 
Information section of the Federal Register notice for the proposed 
regulations regarding how an agency head would be paid when he or she 
worked only a portion of a pay period. The agency thought the 
information in the ``Computation of Pay'' paragraph implied that an 
agency head who separated in the middle of a pay period would be paid 
for a full pay period of service. This was not the intent. An agency 
head who works only a portion of a pay period may be paid only for the 
number of hours worked in that pay period. Under 5 U.S.C. 5504, an 
agency must calculate the pay for fractional pay periods of work by 
dividing the agency head's annual salary by 2,087 to determine an 
hourly rate, and multiplying the hourly rate by the number of hours 
worked in the pay period.
    Since this was the only comment received, the proposed regulations 
are being adopted as final without any changes.

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.

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review

    This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget 
in accordance with Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR 550

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Government 
employees, Wages.

    Office of Personnel Management.
Dan G. Blair,
Acting Director.

0
Accordingly, OPM is amending part 550 of title 5 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 550--PAY ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL)

0
1. A new subpart F is added to part 550 to read as follows:
Subpart F--Computation of Pay for Biweekly Pay Periods
Sec.
550.601 Purpose.
550.602 Coverage.
550.603 Definitions.
550.604 Biweekly pay periods and computation of pay.
550.605 Exceptions.
550.606 Reporting exceptions to OPM.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5504; Public Law 108-136, 117 Stat. 1637.

Subpart F--Computation of Pay for Biweekly Pay Periods


Sec.  550.601  Purpose.

    This subpart provides regulations to implement 5 U.S.C. 5504 to 
compute pay on a biweekly pay period basis for employees in an agency, 
as defined in Sec.  550.603.


Sec.  550.602  Coverage.

    (a) This subpart applies to--
    (1) An employee in or under an agency, except an employee excluded 
by paragraph (b) of this section;
    (2) The head of an agency;
    (3) The head of a military department, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 102;
    (4) A Foreign Service officer;
    (5) A member of the Senior Foreign Service;
    (6) A member of the Senior Executive Service; or
    (7) A member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug 
Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service.
    (b) This subpart does not apply to--
    (1) An employee on the Isthmus of Panama in the service of the 
Panama Canal Commission; or
    (2) An employee or individual excluded from the definition of

[[Page 24478]]

employee in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2), except employees excluded by 5 U.S.C. 
5541(2)(ii), (iii), and (xiv) through (xvii) are covered by this 
subpart.


Sec.  550.603  Definitions.

    In this subpart--
    Agency means an executive agency, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105.
    Employee has the meaning given that term in 5 U.S.C. 2105.


Sec.  550.604  Biweekly pay periods and computation of pay.

    Agencies must apply the biweekly pay period and computation of pay 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5504 for employees covered by Sec.  550.602(a).


Sec.  550.605  Exceptions.

    An agency head or designee may deem that an employee excluded from 
coverage under Sec.  550.602(b)(2) is covered by 5 U.S.C. 5504 in 
situations where he or she determines that continuing to calculate the 
pay of such employees on a monthly or other basis would diminish the 
level of services provided to the public by the agency. An agency head 
or designee also may deem that otherwise excluded employees are covered 
by 5 U.S.C. 5504 when he or she determines that computing the pay of 
such employees under that provision of law would provide cost savings 
in agency operations.


Sec.  550.606  Reporting exceptions to OPM.

    Each agency must notify OPM in writing of any exceptions made under 
Sec.  550.605.

[FR Doc. 05-9191 Filed 5-9-05; 8:45 am]
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