Personnel Management Office – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a request for review of a revised information collection for Occupational Questionnaire (OPM Forms 1203-FX and 1203-EZ). The Occupational Questionnaire is an optical scan form designed to collect applicant information and qualifications in a format suitable for automated processing and to create applicant records for an automated examining system. Each version of this form contains a unique scan form identifier in the upper left-hand corner for the scanning equipment to recognize which version is being used. The 1203 series was commonly referred to as the Qualifications and Availability Form C. OPM has re- titled the series as Occupational Questionnaire, to fit a more generic need. OPM uses these forms to carry out its responsibility for open competitive examining for admission to the competitive service in accordance with section 3304, of title 5, United States Code. OPM has not revised the Form 1203-FX Occupational Questionnaire commonly referred to as Form C. Upon clearance from the Office of Management and Budget in 2002, the Occupational Questionnaire was available via OPM's Web site and OPM's USAJOBS Web site. OPM Form 1203- EZ is a three page version that is shorter and was previously approved by OMB in 2002. The approved OPM Form1203-EZ is being discontinued because over the past two years the form was not used. The Form 1203 FX version allowed the applicant to transmit information via facsimile, mail, or the Internet using a fillable Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) file. The public reporting burden of collecting this information is estimated to vary from 20 minutes to 45 minutes. The average time to complete this form is 30 minutes. Over the past three years an annual average of 54,202 applicants used Form 1203-FX for a public burden of 27,101 hours per year. A comment request for these forms was published in the Federal Register on November 9, 2005 [FR Vol. 70, No. 216]. During the initial 60-day comment request period, OPM received only one comment from the Department of the Treasury: ``None [bureaus] are using the three-page version, OPM Form 1203-EZ; therefore, we have no objections to OPM's plans to discontinue this three-page version.'' Further, ``* * * we definitely do see the need for continued use of the regular OPM Form 1203-FX, and are glad to hear that OPM plans to continue its availability.'' For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on 202- 606-8358, fax at 202-418-3251, or e-mail at mbtoomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

This gives notice of OPM decisions granting authority to make appointments under Schedules A, B, and C in the excepted service as required by 5 CFR 6.6 and 213.103.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review of a revised information collection. RI 92-22, Annuity Supplement Earnings Report, is used each year to obtain the earned income of each Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuitant receiving an annuity supplement. The annuity supplement is paid to eligible FERS annuitants who are not retired on disability and are not yet age 62. The supplement approximates the portion of a full career Social Security benefit earned while under FERS and ends at age 62. Like Social Security benefits, the annuity supplement is subject to an earnings limitation. Comments are particularly invited on: Whether this information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Office of Personnel Management, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. We estimate 700 RI 92-22 forms are completed annually. Each form requires approximately 15 minutes to complete. The annual estimated burden is 175 hours. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, Fax (202) 418-3251 or via e-mail to MaryBeth.Smith- Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for extension of a currently approved information collection. Section 837.103 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, requires agencies to collect information from retirees who become employed in Government positions. Agencies need to collect timely information regarding the type and amount of annuity being received so the correct rate of pay can be determined. Agencies provide this information to OPM so a determination can be made whether the reemployed retiree's annuity must be terminated. Comments are particularly invited on: whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Office of Personnel Management, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Approximately 3,000 reemployed retirees are asked this information annually. It takes each reemployed retiree approximately 5 minutes to provide the information for an annual estimated burden of 250 hours. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, FAX (202) 418-3251 or via e-mail to MaryBeth.Smith- Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for reclearance of a revised information collection. SF 3104, Application for Death Benefits/Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), is used by persons applying for death benefits which may be payable under FERS because of the death of an employee, former employee, or retiree who was covered by FERS at the time of his/her death or separation from Federal Service. SF 3104B, Documentation and Elections in Support of Application for Death Benefits when Deceased was an Employee at the Time of Death, is used by applicants for death benefits under FERS if the deceased was a Federal employee at the time of death. Comments are particularly invited on: Whether this information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of OPM, and whether it will have practical utility; Whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and Ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. It is estimated that approximately 7,481 SF 3104 forms will be processed annually. This form requires approximately 60 minutes to complete. An annual burden of 7,481 hours is estimated. Approximately 3,366 SF 3104B forms are expected to be processed annually. It is estimated that the form requires approximately 60 minutes to complete. An annual burden of 3,366 hours is estimated. The total annual burden is 10,847. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, fax (202) 418-3251 or via e-mail to MaryBeth.Smith- Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

On behalf of the President's Pay Agent, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is providing notice about two changes in locality pay area boundaries in 2007 under the locality pay program for General Schedule and certain other employees. Grayson County, TX, will be added to the Dallas locality pay area, and Berks County, PA, will be added to the Philadelphia locality pay area. These changes will occur automatically under existing regulations. OPM also plans to issue a notice later about changes in the regulations needed to update the official descriptions of the Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH-ME-RI locality pay area and the Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO locality pay area. As required by OPM regulations, the additions to locality pay areas are effective as of the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2007. Both the additions and the planned description changes are the result of changes made by the Office of Management and Budget in Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Combined Statistical Areas.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing interim regulations dealing with the use of OPM's allotment authority to allow for pretax salary reductions as part of OPM's flexible benefits plan. Using an allotment from an employee's pay to the employing agency allows certain payments (e.g., employee health insurance premiums, contributions to a flexible spending arrangement, and contributions to a health savings account) to be paid with pretax dollars, as provided under section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, these regulations include certain policy clarifications and changes to make the regulations more readable.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review of a revised information collection. RI 20-63, Survivor Annuity Election for a Spouse, is used by annuitants to elect a reduced annuity with a survivor annuity for their spouse. RI 20-116 is a cover letter for RI 20-63 giving information about the cost to elect less than the maximum survivor annuity. This letter may be used to decline to elect. RI 20- 117 is a cover letter for RI 20-63 giving information about the cost to elect the maximum survivor annuity. This letter may be used to ask for more information or to decline to elect. RI 20-117 is accompanied by RI 20-63A, Information on Electing a Survivor Annuity for Your Spouse, or RI 20-63B, Information on Electing a Survivor Annuity for Your Spouse When You Are Providing a Former Spouse Annuity. Both booklets explain the election. RI 20-63A is for annuitants who do not have a former spouse who is entitled to survivor annuity benefit; RI 20-63B is for those who do have a former spouse who is entitled to a benefit. These booklets do not require OMB clearance. They have been included because they provide the annuitant additional information. Comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Office of Personnel Management, and whether it will have practical utility, whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Approximately 2,400 RI 20-63 forms are returned each year electing survivor annuities and 200 annuitants return the cover letter to ask for information about the cost to elect less than the maximum survivor annuity or to refuse to provide any survivor benefit. It is estimated to take approximately 45 minutes to complete the form with a burden of 1,800 hours and 10 minutes to complete the letter, which gives a burden of 34 hours. The total burden for RI 20-63 is 1,834 hours. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, FAX (202) 418-3251 or via e-mail to MaryBeth.Smith- Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

This notice publishes the ``2005 Nonforeign Area Cost-of- Living Allowance Survey Report: Caribbean and Washington, DC, Areas.'' The Federal Government uses the results of surveys such as these to set cost-of-living allowance (COLA) rates for General Schedule, U.S. Postal Service, and certain other Federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This report contains the results of the COLA surveys conducted by the Office of Personnel Management in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Washington, DC area during the spring of 2005.

The Office of Personnel Management is issuing final regulations to provide a higher annual leave accrual rate of 1 day (8 hours) per biweekly pay period for members of the Senior Executive Service, employees in senior-level and scientific or professional positions, and other employees covered by equivalent pay systems.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for reclearance of a revised information collection. RI 30-2, Annuitant's Report of Earned Income, is used annually to determine if disability retirees under age 60 have earned income which will result in the termination of their annuity benefits. We estimate 21,000 RI 30-2 forms are completed annually. The RI 30- 2 takes approximately 35 minutes to complete for an estimated annual burden of 12,250 hours. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, Fax (202) 418-3251 or via e-mail to MaryBeth.Smith- Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review of a revised information collection. RI 25-41, Initial Certification of Full-Time School Attendance, is used to determine whether a child is unmarried and a full-time student in a recognized school. OPM must determine this in order to pay survivor annuity benefits to children who are age 18 or older. Approximately 1,200 RI 25-41 forms are completed annually. It takes approximately 90 minutes to complete the form. The annual burden is 1,800 hours. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, FAX (202) 418-3251 or via E-mail to MaryBeth.Smith- Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency clearance and review for a reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection for the OPM Form 1300, Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program Online Application and Resume Builder. Approval of this request is necessary to facilitate the timely nomination of PMF applicants to the PMF Program. This also serves as the 60 Day Notice for review for full clearance. As a result of Executive Order 13318 and OPM regulations on the PMF Program issued on May 19, 2005 (70 FR 28775), effective June 20, 2005, eligible graduate students interested in applying to the PMF Program must be nominated by their accredited graduate school's Dean, Chairperson, or Academic Program Director (otherwise referred to as the Nomination Official). In addition, per OMB's approval of the OPM Form 1300 for the PMF Class of 2006 on September 31, 2005, several contingencies were requested. One of those contingencies was for OPM to commit to developing future systems/system changes that would streamline the application process for those seeking Federal jobs. The following significant changes have been made to the application and nomination process: (1) The PMF Program has recently migrated from an in-house online application and resume builder system to a vacancy announcement approach via USAJOBS; and (2) the nomination process was modified to create a PMF Nomination Form (which OPM proposes to become the new OPM Form 1300), which will serve as a fax-back form for the Nomination Official to fill-out and fax to OPM. Applicants will be directed to a vacancy announcement on USAJOBS and asked to upload their resume. Upon submission of their application, a Nomination Form will generate for the applicant to hand-carry to their school's Nomination Official for possible nomination to the PMF Program. If at any stage the applicant is found ineligible or ultimately not selected as a Finalist, he/she would still have the flexibility to apply to other Federal opportunities on USAJOBS. We estimate 2,500 to 3,000 applications will be received and processed in the 2006/2007 open season for PMF applications. During the 2005/2006 open season OPM received approximately 2,982 applications, leading to 2,755 nominations by colleges and universities. Using the new OPM Form 1300 (PMF Nomination Form) we estimate Nomination Officials will need one-half hour to receive, review, and render a decision for nomination. The annual estimated burden for Nomination Officials to select nominees is 1,500 hours. Comments are particularly invited on: Whether this information is necessary for the proper performance of functions on the Office of Personnel Management, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey at (202) 606-2150 fax (202) 418-3251, or e-mail to mbtoomey@opm.gov. Please include your complete mailing address with your request.

This gives a consolidated notice of all positions excepted under Schedules A, B, and C as of June 30, 2006, as required by Civil Service Rule VI, Exceptions from the Competitive Service.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for reclearance of a revised information collection. RI 30-9, Reinstatement of Disability Annuity Previously Terminated Because of Restoration to Earning Capacity, informs former disability annuitants of their right to request restoration under title 5, U.S.C. Section 8337. It also specifies the conditions to be met and the documentation required for a person to request reinstatement. Approximately 200 forms are completed annually. The form takes approximately 60 minutes to respond, including a medical examination. The annual estimated burden is 200 hours. Burden may vary depending on the time required for a medical examination. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, FAX (202) 418-3251 or via E-mail to MaryBeth.Smith- Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations on a plain language rewrite of its regulations regarding the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program as part of a broader review of OPM regulations. The purpose of the revision is to make the regulations more readable.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is adopting as a final rule, without changes, an interim rule that amended its direct- hire authority regulations to allow non-Department of Defense agencies to recruit and appoint highly-qualified individuals for certain Federal acquisition positions deemed a shortage category under the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003.

Title VI of the Civil Service Reform Act, now codified in 5 U.S.C. 4703, authorizes the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to conduct demonstration projects that experiment with new and different human resources management concepts to determine whether changes in policies and procedures result in improved Federal human resources management. OPM approved a demonstration project covering several operating units of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). OPM has authority to implement new legislation affecting demonstration projects (5 U.S.C. 4703 and 5 CFR 470.101(b) and 470.103). Modifications to the demonstration project plan also require OPM approval (5 CFR 470.315). As provided for in title II of Public Law 109-108, Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006, signed November 22, 2005, this notice expands the coverage of the DOC Demonstration Project to include up to 3,500 additional employees in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) increasing the total number of employees in NOAA to 6,925, as well as additional NOAA organizations and locations. This expansion results in the total number of employees covered by the DOC Demonstration Project to 8,500 individuals. This notice also serves to make changes to the plan to accommodate the expansion. These changes include the addition of specific occupational series, Departmental Personnel Management Board composition, and pre-project cost formulas for the NOAA organizations new to the demonstration project as part of the expansion.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations implementing mandatory employee surveys as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. The regulations add a new subpart which requires agencies to conduct an annual survey of their employees. In addition, the final regulations provide a list of questions that must appear in each agency's employee survey.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing interim regulations concerning pay actions for employees affected by a pandemic health crisis. The interim regulations clarify the rules for determining an employee's official worksite when he or she teleworks from an alternative worksite during an emergency situation, such as a pandemic health crisis. In addition, the interim regulations permit an agency to provide evacuation payments to an employee who is ordered to evacuate from his or her regular worksite and directed to work from home (or an alternative location mutually agreeable to the agency and the employee) during a pandemic health crisis. These regulations are issued as part of OPM's efforts to provide agencies with guidance to ensure they are able to fulfill their critical missions while at the same time protect their employees should a pandemic health crisis occur.

This gives notice of OPM decisions granting authority to make appointments under Schedules A, B, and C in the excepted service as required by 5 CFR 6.6 and 213.103.

Under current Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program regulations, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may waive the eligibility requirements for health benefits coverage as an annuitant for an individual when, in its sole discretion, it determines that it would be against equity and good conscience not to allow a person to be enrolled in the FEHB Program as an annuitant. The regulations state that an individual's failure to satisfy eligibility requirements must be due to exceptional circumstances. They also list specific situations where a waiver will not be granted by OPM such as when an individual's retirement is based on a disability or an involuntary separation, or when an individual was misadvised by his/her employing office. This proposed regulation eliminates these specific situations from the regulation. This proposed regulation will provide OPM with more flexibility when granting waivers.

This notice publishes revised living-cost indexes relating to the ``2002 Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Survey Report: Caribbean and Washington, DC, Areas;'' the ``2003 Nonforeign Area Cost- of-Living Allowance Survey Report: Alaska and Washington, DC, Areas;'' and the ``2004 Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Survey Report: Pacific and Washington, DC, Areas.'' The Federal Government uses the results of these surveys to set cost-of-living allowance (COLA) rates for General Schedule, U.S. Postal Service, and certain other Federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Office of Personnel Management revised the COLA area living-cost indexes based on additional rental data analyses undertaken after the publication of these reports in response to comments we received.

This notice publishes the ``Nonforeign Area General Population Rental Equivalence Survey Report.'' The General Population Rental Equivalence Survey (GPRES) was a special research project in which the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) collected data on homeowner estimates of the rental value of their homes and market rents in the nonforeign area cost-of-living allowance (COLA) areas and in the Washington, DC area. OPM conducted GPRES to determine whether rental survey data collected in the COLA surveys should be adjusted to account for homeowner shelter costs. Based on the GPRES results, OPM has determined that no adjustment is appropriate. OPM is publishing this report to inform interested parties of the research results and provide an opportunity for comment.