Under section 5341 of title 5, United
States Code, the pay of Federal trade, craft, and laboring
employees is to be maintained in line with prevailing private
sector levels for comparable work within a local wage area. The pay
system for these employees is known as the Federal Wage System
(FWS). The pay of FWS employees is fixed and adjusted on an annual
basis. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has designated
the Department of Defense (DOD) as the lead agency which sponsors
and conducts annual wage surveys in numerous geographic areas to
determine local prevailing rates and set pay for FWS employees. FWS
wage surveys are conducted by DOD under regulatory guidelines
established by OPM in part 532 of title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations. The forms developed by OPM for FWS wage surveys are
the Establishment Information Form, the Wage Data Collection Form,
and the Wage Data Collection Continuation Form. The information
collected on these forms enables DOD to establish the rates of pay
for FWS employees based on prevailing rates of pay in the private
sector for similar levels of work. OPM developed the data elements
to be collected by DOD. DOD is authorized to vary the layout of the
forms if necessary to meet its needs. The forms are printed by DOD.
The forms are used as interview guidelines by Federal employees who
collect data necessary to determine local prevailing rates. Federal
employees complete the forms rather than private sector
establishment officials.
US Code:
5 USC
5341 Name of Law: Government Organization and Employees
The response burden may vary
depending on the size of the establishment. Some establishments
have only a limited number of the jobs surveyed, while others have
nearly all jobs surveyed.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.