92D CONGRESS 18T SESSION

S. 231

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 26, 1971

Mr. Moss introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

A BILL

To provide an equitable system for fixing and adjusting the rates

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of pay for prevailing rate employees of the Government, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That (a) subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 5, United

4 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

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"Subchapter IV-Prevailing Rate Systems

2 "§ 5341. Policy

3 "It is the policy of Congress that rates of pay of pre4 vailing rate employees be uniformly fixed and adjusted 5 and be based on principles that—

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"(1) there will be equal pay for substantially equal work for all employees who are working under similar conditions of employment in all agencies within the same wage area;

"(2) there will be relative differences in pay

within a wage area when there are substantial or

recognizable differences in duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements among positions;

"(3) the level of rates of pay will be maintained

15 in line with prevailing levels of comparable work within

a wage area;

"(4) the level of rates of pay will be maintained so as to attract and retain qualified employees; and "(5) Federal agencies and instrumentalities entering into contracts with private enterprises for the procurement of goods and services will incorporate the requirement that the private enterprise shall furnish to the Federal authorities all data on rates of private pay

requested to accomplish the purposes of this Act.

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1 ❝8 5342. Definitions; application

"(a) For the purpose of this subchapter

"(1) ‘agency' has the meaning given it by section

5102 of this title;

"(2) 'prevailing rate employee' means—

"(A) an individual employed in or under an agency in a recognized trade or craft, or other skilled mechanical craft, or in an unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled manual labor occupation, and any other individual, including a foreman and a supervisor, in a position having trade, craft, or laboring experience or knowledge as the paramount requirement;

"(B) an employee in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing whose duties are to perform or direct manual or machine operations requiring special skill or experience, or to perform or direct the counting, examining, sorting, or other verification of the product or manual or machine operations;

"(C) an employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality described by section 2105 (c) of this title who is employed in a recognized trade or craft, or other skilled mechanical craft, or in an unskilled,

semiskilled, or skilled manual labor occupation, and

any other individual, including a foreman and a

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supervisor, in a position having trade, craft, or laboring experience and knowledge as the paramount

requirement; and

"(D) an employee of the Veterans' Canteen Service, Veterans' Administration, excepted from

chapter 51 of this title by section 5102 (c) (14) of this title who is employed in a recognized trade or craft, or other skilled mechanical craft, or in an unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled manual labor occupation, and any other individual, including a foreman and a supervisor, in a position having trade,

craft, or labor experience and knowledge as the paramount requirement; and

"(3) 'position' means the work, consisting of duties and responsibilities, assignable to a prevailing rate employee.

"(b) This subchapter applies to all prevailing rate employees and positions in or under an agency. All such 19 employees employed within the United States shall be bona fide residents of the United States, unless the Secretary of

Labor certifies that no bona fide resident of the United States is available to fill the particular position. This subchapter

does not apply to employees and positions described by section 5102 (c) of this title other than by paragraphs (7), (8), and (14) of that section.

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1 "§ 5343. Prevailing rate determinations; wage schedules

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"(a) The pay of prevailing rate employees shall be 3 fixed and adjusted from time to time as nearly as is consistent 4 with the public interest in accordance with prevailing rates. 5 Subject to section 213 (f) of title 29, the rates may not be 6 less than the appropriate rates provided by section 206 (a) 7 (1) of title 29. To carry out this subsection

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"(1) the Civil Service Commission shall define the boundaries of individual local wage areas and designate agency for each local wage area;'

a lead

"(2) a lead agency, on order of the Commission, shall conduct a wage survey within the local wage area, collect and analyze wage survey data, and develop and

establish wage schedules; and

"(3) the head of each agency having prevailing rate employees in a local wage area shall fix and adjust the rates of such employees in that area in accordance

with the wage schedules established by the lead agency

in that area.

"(b) The Commission shall order full-scale wage surveys

every second year with interim surveys in alternating years. 22 The Commision may order more frequent surveys when con

23 ditions so suggest.

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"(c) The Commission, by regulation, shall prescribe

practices and procedures for conducting wage surveys,