Office of Personnel Management – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing proposed regulations governing probation on initial appointment to a competitive position, performance-based reduction in grade and removal actions, and adverse actions. The proposed rule will effect a revision of OPM's regulations to make procedures relating to these subjects more efficient and effective. The proposed rule also amends the regulations to incorporate other statutory changes and technical revisions.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for clearance to revise an information collection. Combined Federal Campaign Applications, OMB Control No. 3206-0269, which include OPM Forms 1647-A, -B, and -E, are used to review the eligibility of national, international, and local charitable organizations and Department of Defense morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR)/Family Support and Youth Activities/Programs (FSYA/FSYP) organizations that wish to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign. The proposed revisions reflect changes in eligibility guidance from the Office of Personnel Management. On March 12, 2019, we published a 60-day notice and request for comments. We received two comments: One recommending changes to questions regarding volunteerism (which would require additional burden on CFC-participating charities); and one requesting changes which have already been implemented or which go beyond the authority of OPM. There are, therefore, no recommended revisions to this ICR. We estimate 10,000 responses to this information collection annually. Each form takes approximately two hours to complete. The annual estimated burden is 20,000 hours.

The Retirement Services, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a revised information collection request (ICR), Health Benefits Election Form (OPM 2809).

The Retirement Services, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general public and other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a revised information collection, Application for Death Benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (SF 3104); and Documentation & Elections in Support of Application for Death Benefits When Deceased Was an Employee at the Time of Death (SF 3104B).

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Suitability Executive Agent Programs, is notifying the general public and other Federal agencies that OPM is seeking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) renewal of a previously approved information collection, Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306).

This notice identifies Schedule A, B, and C appointing authorities applicable to a single agency that were established or revoked from March 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019.

This notice identifies Schedule A, B, and C appointing authorities applicable to a single agency that were established or revoked from April 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019.

This notice identifies Schedule A, B, and C appointing authorities applicable to a single agency that were established or revoked from February 1, 2019 to February 28, 2019.

This notice identifies Schedule A, B, and C appointing authorities applicable to a single agency that were established or revoked from December 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018.

The President adjusted the rates of basic pay and locality payments for certain Federal civilian employees effective in January 2019. This notice serves as documentation for the public record.

This rule proposes to amend the geographic boundaries of several nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. Based on consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes to define St. Joseph County, Indiana, as an area of application county to the Lake, Illinois, NAF FWS wage area; Greene County, Missouri, as an area of application county to the Leavenworth- Jackson-Johnson, Kansas, NAF FWS wage area; Lucas County, Ohio, as an area of application county to the Macomb, Michigan, NAF FWS wage area; and the municipality of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, as an area of application county to the Guaynabo-San Juan, PR, NAF FWS wage area. These changes are necessary because NAF FWS employees are now working in these locations, but the locations are not currently defined to NAF wage areas. In addition, OPM is proposing to remove the municipalities of Ceiba, Isabela, Toa Baja, and Vieques, PR, and the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas, from the wage area definition of the Guaynabo-San Juan NAF wage area because there are no longer NAF FWS employees working in these locations.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on an existing information collection request (ICR) 3206-0272, Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) Enrollment System. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as amended by the Clinger-Cohen Act, OPM is soliciting comments for this collection. The information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on March 12, 2019 allowing for a 60-day public comment period. No comments were received for this information collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing to revise the table of reduction factors for early commencing dates of survivor annuities for spouses of separated employees who die before the date on which they would be eligible for unreduced deferred annuities, and to revise the annuity factor for spouses of deceased employees who die in service when those spouses elect to receive the basic employee death benefit in 36 installments under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986. These rules are necessary to ensure that the tables conform to the economic and demographic assumptions adopted by the Board of Actuaries and published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2019.

The Office of Personnel Management published a document in the Federal Register of May 17, 2019, concerning adjusted present value factors applicable to retirees who elect to provide survivor annuity benefits to a spouse based on post-retirement marriage, and to retiring employees who elect the alternative form of annuity or elect to credit certain service with nonappropriated fund instrumentalities. The document referenced a different, separate notice and cited incorrect publication dates for the other notice.

This rule amends the special appropriated fund wage schedules for U.S. insular areas in OPM regulations to designate the Department of Defense (DOD) as the sole lead agency for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Midway, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is providing notice of adjusted present value factors applicable to retirees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) who elect to provide survivor annuity benefits to a spouse based on post-retirement marriage; to retiring employees who elect the alternative form of annuity, owe certain redeposits based on refunds of contributions for service ending before March 1, 1991, or elect to credit certain service with nonappropriated fund instrumentalities; or, for individuals with certain types of retirement coverage errors who can elect to receive credit for service by taking an actuarial reduction under the provisions of the Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Correction Act. This notice is necessary to conform the present value factors to changes in the economic and demographic assumptions adopted by the Board of Actuaries of the Civil Service Retirement System.

Retirement Services, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a reinstatement with change of an expired information collection RI 20-126, Certification of Qualifying District of Columbia Service under Section 1905 of Public Law 111-84.

OPM wishes to publicly respond to inquiries regarding the available range of staffing options for federally-funded and state- administered low-income programs that are required to comply with the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (IPA) and its implementing regulations.

The Retirement Services, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on an extension, without change, of a currently approved information collection request (ICR), Annuitant's Report of Earned Income, RI 30-2.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final regulation to implement changes to part 337 of OPM's regulations, which govern direct hire authority. Executive Order (E.O.) 13833, ``Enhancing the Effectiveness of Agency Chief Information Officers'' requires OPM to issue proposed regulations delegating to the head of a covered agency authority necessary to determine whether there is a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for information technology (IT) positions, under criteria established by OPM. OPM published the proposed regulations, has considered proposed comments, and has now determined to adopt a final rule making this change. The intended effect of this change is to enable Chief Information Officers to hire urgently needed IT professionals more quickly.

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is issuing this notice to cancel the April 18, 2019, public meeting scheduled to be held in Room 5A06A, Office of Personnel Management Building, 1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC. The original Federal Register notice announcing this meeting was published Friday, November 16, 2018, at 83 FR 57754.

The Healthcare & Insurance/Federal Employee Insurance Operations (FEIO), Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offers the general public and other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a revised information collection, Health Benefits Election Form, Standard Form 2809.

Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer Matching Privacy Protections Amendment of 1990 (Privacy Act), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of matching programs, notice is hereby given of the reestablishment of a matching program between the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) (Computer Matching Agreement 1045).

This notice identifies Schedule A, B, and C appointing authorities applicable to a single agency that were established or revoked from September 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018.

This notice identifies Schedule A, B, and C appointing authorities applicable to a single agency that were established or revoked from July 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018.