Office of Personnel Management October 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing this final rule to clarify and establish additional requirements regarding the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program, which was established pursuant to the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 (PSRA). This final rule expands on previous regulations concerning the PSHB Program and is intended to provide greater detail and clarity necessary to properly implement PSHB in 2025 and beyond. In particular, this final rule includes details on reconsideration of PSHB eligibility decisions, the Medicare Part B enrollment requirement, allocation of reserve credits, calendar year alignment of Government contribution requirements, financial reporting and actuarial calculations, premium payment prioritization from the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, and Medicare Part D integration.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to change the regulatory criteria used to define Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area boundaries and make changes in certain wage areas. The purpose of this change, which would affect around ten percent of the FWS workforce, is to make the FWS wage area criteria more similar to the General Schedule (GS) locality pay area criteria. This change is based on a December 2023 majority recommendation of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the statutory national level labor-management committee that advises OPM on the administration of the FWS. A summary of this proposed rule may be found in the docket for this rulemaking at www.regulations.gov.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes to modify the current system of records titled, "OPM/Central-7, Litigation and Claims Records." The system of records is also being retitled to reflect its proper categorization as an OPM Internal system of records. The modifications will expand the range of information covered to include not only litigation and claims matters, but also all other matters worked on by Office of General Counsel (OGC) staff, including, but not limited to, legal advisory work for OPM programs, the Office of the Director, and other Federal Government agencies, as well as records created or received in the course of the office's work on legal issues on behalf of the agency. Accordingly, the system name and number, system purposes, categories of individuals, categories of records, and routine uses are being substantially revised. Additionally, OPM is taking this opportunity to make minor and editorial changes and updates throughout the notice.