U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing interim regulations to implement a section of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 affecting the Federal Employees Retirement System. These regulations describe how individuals who performed certain Government service at a United States diplomatic mission, consular post, or other Foreign Service post abroad after December 31, 1988, and before May 24, 1998, can get retirement credit for that service under the Federal Employees' Retirement System.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Giuseppe, (202) 606-0299.
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SUMMARY: 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Quasette Crowner, Chief, Executive Resources Group, Center for Leadership and Executive Resources Policy, Division for Strategic Human Resources Policy, by phone, 202-606-8046.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing Final rules that 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 conform the tables to the previously published economic assumptions adopted by the Board of Actuaries.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Yeakle, (202) 606-0299.
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SUMMARY: 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 an information collection. SF 2817, Life Insurance Election, is used by Federal employees and assignees (those who have acquired control of an employee/annuitant's coverage through an assignment or "transfer" of the ownership of the life insurance). Clearance of this form for use by active Federal employees is not required according to the Paperwork Reduction Act (Pub. L. 98-615). The Public Burden Statement meets the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3). Therefore, only the use of this form by assignees, i.e. members of the public, is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cyrus S. Benson, Team Leader, Publications Team, Support Group. (202) 606-0623.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing a proposed rule that would remove Adams County, CO, from the Adams-Denver, CO, Federal Wage System (FWS) nonappropriated fund (NAF) wage area and redefine Arapahoe County, CO, from the area of application to the survey area. In addition, we propose to change the name of the Adams-Denver FWS NAF wage area to Arapahoe-Denver. These changes are necessary because the closure of Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Adams County left the Adams-Denver survey area without a host activity to conduct local NAF wage surveys.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madeline Gonzalez, (202) 606-2838; e- mail pay-performance-policy@opm.gov; or fax: (202) 606-4264
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SUMMARY: 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 the PMF Online Application and Resume Builder is necessary to facilitate the timely registration, nomination, selection, and placement of PMF finalists in Federal agencies. This also serves as the 60 Day Notice for review for full clearance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Mary Beth Smith-Toomey at (202) 606-8358, fax (202) 418-3251, or e-mail to mbtoomey@opm.gov. Please include your complete mailing address with your request.
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SUMMARY: The President adjusted the rates of basic pay and locality payments for certain categories of Federal employees effective in January 2005. This notice documents those pay adjustments for the public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carey Johnston, Center for Pay and Performance Policy, Division for Strategic Human Resources Policy, Office of Personnel Management; (202) 606-2858; FAX (202) 606-0824; or e-mail to pay-performance-policy@opm.gov.
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SUMMARY: 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. OPM 2809, Health Benefits Election Form, is used by annuitants and former spouses to elect, cancel, suspend or change health benefits enrollment during periods other than open season. There are approximately 30,000 changes to health benefits coverage per year. Of these, 20,000 are submitted on OPM Form 2809 and 10,000 verbally or in written correspondence. Each form takes approximately 45 minutes to complete; data collection by telephone or mail takes approximately 10 minutes. The annual burden for the form is 15,000 hours; the burden not using the form is 1,667 hours. The total burden is 16,667 hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, FAX (202) 418-3251 or via e-mail to mbtoomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to implement provisions contained in the E-Government Act of 2002. This law authorizes the temporary detail of employees in the field of information technology (IT) management from the Federal Government to private sector organizations. It also authorizes Federal agencies to accept private sector employees detailed under this program. This program is envisioned to promote the interchange of Federal and private sector workers to enhance skills and competencies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hakeem Basheerud-Deen at (202) 606- 1434 or by e-mail at hakeem.basheerud-deen@opm.gov. Hakeem Basheerud- Deen may also be contacted by TTY at (202) 418-3134, or by fax at (202) 606-2329.
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SUMMARY: According to the provisions of section 10 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), notice is hereby given that meetings of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee will be held on-- Thursday, August 25, 2005; Thursday, September 8, 2005; Thursday, September 22, 2005; Thursday, October 20, 2005; Thursday, November 3, 2005. The meetings will start at 10 a.m. and will be held in Room 5A06A, Office of Personnel Management Building, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC. The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee is composed of a Chair, five representatives from labor unions holding exclusive bargaining rights for Federal blue-collar employees, and five representatives from Federal agencies. Entitlement to membership on the Committee is provided for in 5 U.S.C. 5347.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published in the Federal Register of January 27, 2005, a final rule providing guidance on the requirements for submission of requests for Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) and waiver of repayment of incentive payments upon reemployment with the Federal Government. Inadvertently, an error occurred in referencing the Government Accountability Office. This document corrects the error.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon K. Ginley at (202) 606-0960, FAX at (202) 606-2329, TDD at (202) 418-3134, or e-mail at sharon.ginley@opm.gov.
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SUMMARY: This notice publishes revised shelter (rent) analyses relating to the "2002 Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Survey Report: Caribbean and Washington, DC, Areas" and the "2003 Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Survey Report: Alaska 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 notice explains the revised shelter analyses adopted by the Office of Personnel Management based on additional research undertaken after the publication of these two reports.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald L. Paquin, (202) 606-2838; fax: (202) 606-4264; or e-mail: cola@opm.gov.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing an interim regulation to amend 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 as a shortage category under the Services Acquisition Reform Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Linda Watson by telephone at (202) 606-0830; by fax at (202) 606-2329; by TTY at (202) 418-3134; or by e- mail at linda.watson@opm.gov.
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SUMMARY: This notice publishes the "2004 Nonforeign Area Cost-of- Living Allowance Survey Report: Pacific 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 Hawaii, Guam, and the Washington, DC, area during the spring and summer of 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald L. Paquin, (202) 606-2838; fax: (202) 606-4264; or e-mail: COLA@opm.gov.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is publishing a proposed regulation to change the cost-of-living allowance (COLA) rates received by certain white-collar Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The changes are the result of living-cost surveys conducted by OPM in 2002, 2003, and 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald L. Paquin, (202) 606-2838; fax: (202) 606-4264; or e-mail: COLA@opm.gov.
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SUMMARY: 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 the elimination of the optional form (OF) called Applying for a Federal Job (OF 510), the revision of the optional form called Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF 612), the specifications of the improved resume builder in the USAJOBS Web site (http://www.USAJOBS.gov), and screen shots of the web pages
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Beth Smith-Toomey by phone at (202) 606-8358, by FAX at (202) 418-3251, or via e-mail at MaryBeth.Smith-Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to implement the staffing provisions of the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP). This program will help agencies to recruit and to attract exceptional men and women who have a variety of experiences, academic disciplines, and competencies necessary for the effective analysis and execution of public programs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hakeem Basheerud-Deen, hakeem.basheerud-deen@opm.gov; on 202-606-1434 or FAX (202) 606-0390.
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