[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1821-1823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00372]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket Number FSIS-2013-0051]
RIN 0583-AD40
2014 Rate Changes for the Basetime, Overtime, Holiday, and
Laboratory Services Rates
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing
the 2014 rates it will charge meat and poultry establishments, egg
products plants, and importers and exporters for providing voluntary,
overtime, and holiday inspection and identification, certification, and
laboratory services. The 2014 basetime, overtime, holiday, and
laboratory services rates will be applied on the first FSIS pay period
approximately 30 days after the publication of this notice, which
begins on February 9, 2014.
DATES: FSIS will charge the rates announced in this notice beginning
February 9, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact
Michael Toner, Director, Budget Division, Office of Management, FSIS,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 2159, South Building, 1400
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700; Telephone: (202)
690-8398, Fax: (202) 690-4155.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On April 12, 2011, FSIS published a final rule amending its
regulations to establish formulas for calculating the rates it charges
meat and poultry establishments, egg products plants, and importers and
exporters for providing voluntary, overtime, and holiday inspection and
identification, certification, and laboratory services (76 FR 20220).
In the final rule, FSIS stated that it would use the formulas to
calculate the annual rates, publish the rates in Federal Register
notices prior to the start of each calendar year, and apply the rates
on the first FSIS pay period at the beginning of the calendar year.
This notice provides the 2014 rates, which will be applied starting
on February 9, 2014.
2014 Rates and Calculations
The following table lists the 2014 Rates per hour, per employee, by
type of service:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014 Rate (estimates
Service rounded to reflect
billable quarters)
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Basetime....................................... $55.16
Overtime....................................... 69.56
Holiday........................................ 84.00
Laboratory..................................... 68.79
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The regulations state that FSIS will calculate the rates using
formulas that include the Office of Field Operations (OFO) and Office
of International Affairs (OIA) inspection program personnel's previous
fiscal year's regular direct pay and regular hours (9 CFR 391.2, 391.3,
391.4, 590.126, 590.128, 592.510, 592.520, and 592.530). In 2013, an
Agency reorganization eliminated the OIA program office and transferred
all of its inspection program personnel to OFO. The calculations below
include the portion of the previous fiscal year's OIA inspection
program personnel's pay and hours but are identified in the
calculations as ``OFO inspection program personnel's'' pay and hours.
FSIS determined the 2014 rates using the following calculations:
Basetime Rate = The quotient of dividing the Office of Field
Operations (OFO) inspection program personnel's previous fiscal year's
regular direct pay by the previous fiscal year's regular hours, plus
the quotient multiplied by the calendar year's percentage of cost of
living increase, plus the benefits rate, plus the travel and operating
rate, plus the overhead rate, plus the allowance for bad debt rate.
The calculation for the 2014 basetime rate per hour per program
employee is:
[FY 2013 OFO Regular Direct Pay divided by the previous fiscal year's
Regular Hours ($463,542,338/16,407,854)] = $28.25 + ($28.25 * 2.0%
(calendar year 2014 Cost of Living Increase)) = $28.82 + $9.08
(benefits rate) + $.66 (travel and operating rate) + $16.61 (overhead
rate) + $.02 (bad debt allowance rate) = $55.18(rounded to $55.16).\1\
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\1\ FSIS can bill basetime, overtime, and holiday rates on the
quarter hour. Accordingly, the 2014 basetime and overtime rates were
rounded down so that the rates can equally be divided by 4 (to 2
decimal places).
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Overtime Rate = The quotient of dividing the Office of Field
Operations (OFO) inspection program personnel's previous fiscal year's
regular direct pay by the previous fiscal year's regular hours, plus
that quotient multiplied by the calendar year's percentage of cost of
living increase, multiplied by 1.5 (for overtime), plus the benefits
rate, plus the travel and operating rate, plus the overhead rate, plus
the allowance for bad debt rate.
[[Page 1822]]
The calculation for the 2014 overtime rate per hour per program
employee is:
[FY 2013 OFO Regular Direct Pay divided by previous fiscal year's
Regular Hours ($463,542,338/16,407,854)] = $28.25 + ($28.25 * 2.0%
(calendar year 2014 Cost of Living Increase)) = $28.82 * 1.5 = $43.22 +
$9.08 (benefits rate) + $.66 (travel and operating rate) + $16.61
(overhead rate) + $.02 (bad debt allowance rate) = $69.59 (rounded to
$69.56).\2\
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\2\ Ibid.
Holiday Rate = The quotient of dividing the Office of Field
Operations (OFO) inspection program personnel's previous fiscal year's
regular direct pay by the previous fiscal year's regular hours, plus
that quotient multiplied by the calendar year's percentage of cost of
living increase, multiplied by 2 (for holiday pay), plus the benefits
rate, plus the travel and operating rate, plus the overhead rate, plus
the allowance for bad debt rate.
The calculation for the 2014 holiday rate per hour per program
employee calculation is:
[FY 2013 OFO Regular Direct Pay divided by Regular Hours ($463,542,338/
16,407,854)] = $28.25 + ($28.25 * 2.0% (calendar year 2014 Cost of
Living Increase)) = $28.82 * 2 = $57.64 + $9.08 (benefits rate) + $.66
(travel and operating rate) + $16.61 (overhead rate) + $.02 (bad debt
allowance rate) = $84.00.
Laboratory Services Rate = The quotient of dividing the Office of
Public Health Science (OPHS) previous fiscal year's regular direct pay
by the OPHS previous fiscal year's regular hours, plus the quotient
multiplied by the calendar year's percentage cost of living increase,
plus the benefits rate, plus the travel and operating rate, plus the
overhead rate, plus the allowance for bad debt rate.
The calculation for the 2014 laboratory services rate per hour per
program employee is:
[FY 2013 OPHS Regular Direct Pay/OPHS Regular hours ($22,997,979/
552,947)] = $41.59 + ($41.59 * 2.0% (calendar year 2014 Cost of Living
Increase)) = $42.42 + $9.08 (benefits rate) + $.66 (travel and
operating rate) + $16.61 (overhead rate) + $.02 (bad debt allowance
rate) = $68.79.
Calculations for the Benefits, Travel and Operating, Overhead, and
Allowance for Bad Debt Rates
These rates are components of the basetime, overtime, holiday, and
laboratory services rates formulas.
Benefits Rate: The quotient of dividing the previous fiscal year's
direct benefits costs by the previous fiscal year's total hours
(regular, overtime, and holiday), plus that quotient multiplied by the
calendar year's percentage cost of living increase. Some examples of
direct benefits are health insurance, retirement, life insurance, and
Thrift Savings Plan basic and matching contributions.
The calculation for the 2014 benefits rate per hour per program
employee is:
[FY 2013 Direct Benefits/ (Total Regular hours + Total Overtime hours +
Total Holiday hours) ($172,028,218/19,333,483)] = $8.90 + ($8.90 * 2.0%
(calendar year 2014 Cost of Living Increase) = $9.08.
Travel and Operating Rate: The quotient of dividing the previous
fiscal year's total direct travel and operating costs by the previous
fiscal year's total hours (regular, overtime, and holiday), plus that
quotient multiplied by the calendar year's percentage of inflation.
The calculation for the 2014 travel and operating rate per hour per
program employee is:
[FY 2013 Total Direct Travel and Operating Costs/(Total Regular hours +
Total Overtime hours + Total Holiday hours) ($12,600,122/19,333,483)] =
$.65 + ($.65 * 1.7% (2014 Inflation) = $.66.
Overhead Rate: The quotient of dividing the previous fiscal year's
indirect costs plus the previous fiscal year's information technology
(IT) costs in the Public Health Data Communication Infrastructure
System Fund plus the previous fiscal year's Office of Management
Program cost in the Reimbursable and Voluntary Funds plus the provision
for the operating balance less any Greenbook costs (i.e., costs of USDA
support services prorated to the service component for which fees are
charged) that are not related to food inspection by the previous fiscal
year's total hours (regular, overtime, and holiday) worked across all
funds, plus the quotient multiplied by the calendar year's percentage
of inflation.
The calculation for the 2014 overhead rate per hour per program
employee is:
[FY 2013 Total Overhead/(Total Regular hours + Total Overtime hours +
Total Holiday hours) ($315,684,199.17/19,333,483)] = $16.33 + ($16.33 *
1.7% (2014 Inflation) = $16.61.
Allowance for Bad Debt Rate = Previous fiscal year's total
allowance for bad debt (for example, debt owed that is not paid in full
by plants and establishments that declare bankruptcy) divided by
previous fiscal year's total hours (regular, overtime, and holiday)
worked.
The 2014 calculation for bad debt rate per hour per program
employee is:
[FY 2013 Total Bad Debt/(Total Regular hours + Total Overtime hours +
Total Holiday hours) = ($288,994/19,333,483)] = $.02.
Additional Public Notification
FSIS will announce this notice online through the FSIS Web page
located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulations/federal-register/federal-register-notices. FSIS will also make copies
of this Federal Register publication available through the FSIS
Constituent Update, which is used to provide information regarding FSIS
policies, procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS
public meetings, and other types of information that could affect or
would be of interest to constituents and stakeholders. The Constituent
Update is communicated via Listserv, a free electronic mail
subscription service for industry, trade groups, consumer interest
groups, health professionals, and other individuals who have asked to
be included. The Update is also available on the FSIS Web page. In
addition, FSIS offers an electronic mail subscription service which
provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news
and information. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/programs-and-services/email-subscription-service.
Options range from recalls to export information to regulations,
directives and notices. Customers can add or delete subscriptions
themselves, and have the option to password protect their accounts.
USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination
in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,
national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs,
sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited
bases apply to all programs.)
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape,
etc.) should contact USDA's Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TTY).
[[Page 1823]]
To file a written complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TTY).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Dated: January 3, 2014.
Alfred V. Almanza,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-00372 Filed 1-8-14; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P