2013 Federal Employees Almanac

573 Pages·2013·2.14 MB·English

by  FederalDAILY

Chapter 1
Pay
Section 1
Main Federal Pay Schedules and Systems
General Schedule
The General Schedule is the federal government’s main pay system that sets the pay rates
for employees in most white-collar positions not at the senior executive or other senior
levels. The General Schedule is composed of 15 grades, or salary levels. Each grade includes
10 steps through which employees advance based on satisfactory job performance and
length of service. For all GS grades, the waiting periods to be advanced to each higher step
(that is, qualifying for a “within-grade increase”) are as follows: 52 calendar weeks to be
advanced to steps 2, 3, and 4; 104 calendar weeks to be advanced to steps 5, 6, and 7; and
156 calendar weeks to be advanced to steps 8, 9, and 10 (see 5 CFR 531.405). Performance-
based “quality step increases” also are allowed. See Section 4 of this chapter.
Position classification standards, developed by the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM), are the legal basis for determining the series and grade—and consequently the
pay—for the majority of GS positions. In most cases, a GS employee’s basic pay reflects the
pay rate specified for the position’s grade and step in the locality where the worker is
employed. Disputes over the classification of a GS position that cannot be resolved within
the agency can be referred to OPM by either the employee or the agency. OPM is respon-
sible for making the final decision on such an appeal, and its decision is final. See Position
Classification Appeals in Chapter 10, Section 1.
General Schedule jobs commonly are referred to according to one of the “PATCO” (for
professional, administrative, technical, clerical, and other) occupational categories:
Professional—Requires knowledge in a field of science or learning characteristically
acquired through education or training pertinent to the specialized field, as distinguished
from general education. The work of a professional occupation requires the exercise of
discretion, judgment, and personal responsibility for the application of an organized body
of knowledge that is constantly studied to make new discoveries and interpretations, and to
improve the data, materials and methods.
Administrative—Involves the exercise of analytical ability, judgment, discretion, and
personal responsibility, and application of a substantial body of knowledge, principles, con-
cepts, and practices applicable to one or more fields of administration or management.
While these positions do not require specialized education majors, they do involve the types
of skills (analytical, research, writing, judgment) typically gained through a college level
general education or through progressively responsible experience.
Technical—Involves work that is non-routine in nature and is typically associated with,
and in support of, a professional or administrative field. Such occupations involve extensive
practical knowledge gained through on-the-job experience or specific training less than by
college graduation. Work in these occupations may involve substantial elements of the pro-
fessional or administrative field but require less competence in the field involved.
Clerical—Involves structured work in support of office, business, field, or fiscal opera-
tions; duties are performed in accordance with established policies, experience or working
knowledge related to the tasks to be performed.
Other—Occupations that do not fall into the above categories.
Supervisors of other GS employees ordinarily are classified at least one grade higher than
those employees. However, this does not necessarily mean that supervisors will be paid
more than each of their subordinates. Supervisory differentials are paid in some cases to
keep the supervisor’s pay ahead (see Supervisory Differentials in Section 4 of this chapter).
Some white-collar employees below the senior levels are under pay banding—also called
broad banding—systems. In such systems, several GS grades are combined into one, and the
agency has greater leeway in setting starting salaries and increasing pay for various reasons,
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including for performance (see Section 5 of this chapter). Pay banding systems are common in
“demonstration projects” and other settings where exceptions to standard civil service rules
apply (see Chapter 8, Section 7).
Federal Wage System
Blue-collar occupations comprise the trades, crafts, and manual labor (unskilled, semi-
skilled, or skilled), including foreman and supervisory positions entailing trade, craft, or
laboring experience and knowledge as the paramount requirement.
The pay of the federal government’s blue-collar employees is set as an hourly rate in
accordance with procedures established under 5 U.S.C. 5343. The law requires that hourly
rates for these federal wage system employees—also commonly called wage grade or pre-
vailing rate—be adjusted in accordance with pay rates in local markets. The most common
wage system schedule—that is, the wage grade schedule used for most non-supervisory
workers—contains 15 grades. Each of the grades includes five steps, which are set at 4 per-
cent increments.
If the employee’s performance is above unacceptable, advancement to the second
step occurs after six months of employment, advancement to the third after an addi-
tional 18 months, to the fourth after an additional two years, and to the fifth after an
additional two years.
Occupations often cover more than one grade level, and many occupations typically are
represented at each grade. Differences in rates of pay among wage areas reflect the fact that
the prevailing cost of labor varies by region across the United States.
The wage system’s prevailing rate determinations are made on the basis of surveys by a
“lead agency”—the agency with the most blue-collar employees in an area, most com-
monly the Defense Department—of rates paid by private employers in each local wage area
for work similar to that performed by federal wage employees. Wage schedule adjustments
have been capped for many years through the budget process. Because of the pay cap,
wage grade adjustments in an area cannot exceed the local General Schedule pay increase
(including both base GS and locality pay adjustments); in many years prior to 2004, federal
wage system raises were capped at the GS national average. Wage schedules are adjusted
at different times of the year according to when the local lead agency conducts the annual
wage survey in each individual wage area.
U.S. Postal Service
As an independent establishment, the U.S. Postal Service operates its own pay system
that has two general types of salary structures, as well as a specialized structure for rural
letter carriers. The two general pay structures are: the PS (Postal Service) salary structure,
which covers bargaining unit personnel, such as most clerks and carriers, mail handlers,
nurses, and security personnel; and the EAS (Executive and Administrative Schedule)
structure, which covers executives, professionals, supervisors, postmasters, technical
and administrative employees, and other workers not covered by bargaining agree-
ments. See Chapter 12, Section 3.
Executive Schedule, Congressional, and Judicial Pay
Salary levels of certain top officials of all three branches of government are linked. The
Executive Schedule, which governs the pay of Cabinet officers and other top federal
executives—almost all of them political appointees—is the basic underlying structure. It
includes five levels which are, in descending order:
• Level I, Cabinet-Level officials;
• Level II, deputy secretaries of departments, secretaries of military departments, and
heads of major agencies;
• Level III, undersecretaries of departments and heads of middle-level agencies;
• Level IV, assistant well and general counsels of departments, heads of smaller agen-
cies, members of certain boards and commissions; and
• Level V, administrators, commissioners, directors, and members of boards, commis-
sions, or units of agencies.
Under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, P.L. 101-194, the salaries of the Vice President,
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the Chief Justice and the Speaker of the House are to be equivalent. Similarly, the salaries
of Cabinet officials (Level I) and certain congressional leaders are to be equivalent, as are
the salaries of those at Level II, most members of the House and Senate, and most fed-
eral judges. However, the actual figures differ somewhat because in some years salaries
for Congress were frozen while raises were paid to Executive Schedule employees,
judges, or both.
Various Executive Schedule rates also are used to establish certain salary limits for
General Schedule employees, the Senior Executive Service, employees in senior-level and
senior scientific and technical jobs, administrative law judges, and certain other highly paid
positions. See the pertinent topics in this section.
The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 provided for an annual salary adjustment for leaders and
members of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Vice President, individuals in
positions on the Executive Schedule, and federal justices and judges. The adjustment is
based on the percentage change in the wages and salaries (not seasonally adjusted) for the
private industry workers element of the employment cost index (ECI), minus 0.5 percent,
using the December indicator. It becomes effective at the same time as, and at a rate no
greater than, the annual basic pay rate adjustment (that is, the across-the-board component
only and not counting the locality pay component) for federal employees under the
General Schedule. The adjustment cannot, however, be less than zero or greater than 5
percent. While the Ethics Reform Act sets the rate of the judicial pay adjustment, salary
increases for justices and judges must be enacted separately.
While judicial raises require an annual authorization, the congressional and Executive
Schedule pay raises are automatic unless Congress acts to prevent them—which has hap-
pened in some years. Although refusals to accept the raise primarily occur because of
sensitivity over congressional pay, the linkage often causes salaries of judges and Executive
Schedule officials to be frozen as well.
The President’s salary is set by law, 3 U.S.C. §102, at $400,000 and cannot be changed
during an incumbent’s term.
Senior Executive Service
The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a cadre of high-level supervisors, most of them
career employees although some are politically appointed. The SES pay system (see 5
U.S.C. Chapter 53, Subchapter VIII) features a pay range with a minimum rate of basic pay
starting at 120 percent of the rate for grade 15, step 1, of the base General Schedule (not
including locality pay). Agencies that demonstrate that their executive appraisal systems
make “meaningful distinctions based on relative performance,” as certified by the Office of
Personnel Management with concurrence by the Office of Management and Budget, may
pay up to Level II of the Executive Schedule. Most agencies have that certification; for those
that don’t, the cap is Level III of the Executive Schedule.
SES members in an agency with a certified executive performance appraisal system also
are subject to a higher aggregate compensation limit (that is, basic salary, plus performance
bonus for career SES members, and other allowances and incentives) equivalent to the pay
of the Vice President. Absent certification, the maximum annual aggregate compensation
is the rate for Level I of the Executive Schedule. See Aggregate Limit on Compensation in
Section 2 of this chapter for details of the certification procedure and what forms of com-
pensation are counted toward the total compensation cap.
SES members do not receive annual across-the-board or locality pay adjustments. Pay
adjustments for SES members must be based on the employee’s individual performance
and/or contribution to the agency’s performance. See Section 9 in Chapter 8.
SES members paid at a rate of basic pay equal to or greater than 86.5 percent of the
rate for Level II are subject to certain additional post-employment restrictions. See Post-
employment Restrictions in Chapter 10, Section 5.
The SES pay system took its current form in 2004 under Public Law 108-136, which
replaced a system that had six pay levels.
Other High-Level Systems
Administrative Law Judges—ALJs are hearing officers who hear cases brought by par-
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ties whose affairs are controlled or regulated by agencies of the federal government. They
operate under a merit system designed to protect the judge’s decisional independence
from undue agency influence and they have greater tenure protection than federal employ-
ees in general. They hear cases involving economic regulations, adjudication of claims to
benefits, and enforcement of actions brought by federal agencies against individuals or
organizations. Most work at the Social Security Administration.
The ALJ pay system consists of three levels, in descending order AL-1, -2 and -3; level
3 in turn is divided into six rates, A-F. ALJ positions are placed at levels AL-2 and AL-1 when
they involve significant administrative and managerial responsibilities. The minimum rate
for ALJ positions is 65 percent of Level IV of the Executive Schedule, and the maximum,
including locality adjustments, is Level III.
An ALJ who is appointed and placed in level AL-3 must be paid at the minimum rate A,
unless the ALJ is eligible for a higher rate, not to exceed the maximum rate F, because of
prior service, superior qualifications or reinstatement eligibility.
Administrative law judges must serve at least one year in each AL pay level, or in an
equivalent or higher level in positions in the federal service, before advancing to the next
higher level. Administrative law judges may advance only one level at a time. An ALJ in level
AL-3 is advanced automatically to the next higher rate upon completion of the required wait-
ing period—52 weeks each up to level D, and 104 weeks to advance to E and to F.
Time previously served in the next lower rate will be creditable service towards com-
pleting the waiting period when an ALJ returns after a break in service to the same rate.
However, time under the administrative appeals judge pay system is not creditable service
in computing the required waiting period. Time in non-pay status is generally creditable
service in computation of a waiting period as long as it does not exceed, in the aggregate,
two weeks per 52 weeks of service. Absence due to uniformed service or compensable
injury is fully creditable upon re-employment.
On a one-time basis and with prior OPM approval, an agency may advance an ALJ in
an AL-3 position with added administrative and managerial duties and responsibilities to
the next higher rate, up to the maximum rate F.
ALJs may earn premium pay, subject to the applicable premium pay cap, but are not
eligible for recruitment, relocation, or retention incentives or for the student loan repay-
ment program.
ALJs typically receive, by annual presidential directives, the same across-the-board and
pertinent locality pay raises as General Schedule employees.
Administrative Appeals Judges—The duties of an AAJ primarily involve reviewing deci-
sions of administrative law judges and rendering final administrative decisions. The AAJ pay
system has six rates of basic pay: AA-1-6. These rates correspond to the rates of basic pay for
AL-3/A-F of the administrative law judge pay system.
Upon initial appointment, an agency must set the rate of basic pay of an AAJ at the mini-
mum rate AA-1, unless the AAJ is appointed without a break in service from a General
Schedule position, or the employee is eligible for a higher rate because of prior service or
superior qualifications.
An AAJ is advanced automatically to the next higher rate upon completion of the
required waiting period—52 weeks to advance each level up to AA-4, and 104 weeks to
advance to levels 5 and 6. Time under the administrative law judge pay system is credit-
able service in computing the required waiting period when an individual moves from
that system to the AAJ pay system without a break in service. Time previously served in
the next lower rate will be creditable service towards completing the waiting period
when an AAJ returns after a break in service to the same rate. Policies regarding time in
non-pay status mirror those for ALJs, and AAJs are similarly eligible for premium pay.
The rates of basic pay of the AAJ pay system are adjusted at the same time and in the
same manner as adjustments are made in the corresponding rates of basic pay for the ALJ
system, including locality payments, subject to a cap of Level III of the Executive Schedule.
Department of Defense Doctors—The Physician and Dentist Pay Plan (PDPP) estab-
lishes pay-setting policies, rules, and tables for physicians and dentists at the Department
of Defense. It formally began in 2011 after resolution of issues including the transition of
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many affected positions into and then out of the National Security Personnel System (see
Chapter 8, Section 7).
Under the PDPP, total salary includes two components: basic pay and market pay, both
of which count for purposes including retirement calculations and benefits such as life insur-
ance and lump-sum payments for unused annual leave on separation. Basic pay grades under
the PDPP are determined by the General Schedule. A market pay component is added to
reflect the recruitment and retention needs for the specialty or assignment of the position.
Employees continue to receive any increase they may have received under the GS system,
including within-grade increases, quality step increases, and general pay increases.
In determining ranges of annual pay for the PDPP, DoD mirrors the pay table and tier
structure established by the Veterans Affairs Department (see below). The ranges used by the
PDPP are based on data gathered from national surveys of pay for physicians and dentists.
PDPP pay tiers set the minimum and maximum amounts of annual pay by specialty
groups. Based on recruitment and retention considerations and labor market characteristics,
a pay table is a set of tiers for clinical specialties that are grouped together. A tier is a pay range
within a pay table that reflects the scope of work within a specialty. Employees are assigned
to a pay table based on their clinical specialties.
Factors considered when setting market pay include level of experience, agency need,
labor market forces, board certifications, accomplishments, and other qualifications or cre-
dentials. Compensation panels are designed to ensure consistency and propriety of market
pay decisions.
Department of Veterans Affairs Doctors—The Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act
of 2004 (Public Law 108-455) replaced the prior pay system for physicians and dentists in the
VA’s Veterans Health Administration with market-based, individually determined pay effec-
tive in 2006. Compensation consists of: a uniform nationwide base pay range with 15 steps
based on length of service with VA, increased annually by the General Schedule average
increase, plus an automatic step increase for longevity every two years; market pay deter-
mined according to the recruitment and retention needs for the specialty or assignment at a
particular facility, along with experience, board certifications, and other qualifications of the
individual physicians and dentists; and performance pay paid on the basis of the achievement
of specific goals and performance objectives.
Pay rates and ranges are set for five groupings of clinical specialties and two groupings
of administrative assignments (one for chiefs of staff, the other for positions such as chief
officer or network director). Within each specialty or assignment, there are between two
and four tiers, each with its own rate range and within which each individual has an
annual pay amount set.
Senior-Level/Senior Scientific and Technical Positions—These categories cover many
positions classified above GS-15 that are not eligible for the Senior Executive Service due to
the lack of supervisory duties; they sometimes are called “senior professional” positions.
Qualifications for the positions are determined by individual agencies and hiring often is done
without competitive examination on the basis of meeting qualification standards.
The senior scientific and technical (ST) system covers nonexecutive positions that
involve performance of high-level research and development in the physical, biological,
medical, or engineering sciences, or a closely-related field. ST positions may include
some supervisory and related managerial duties, provided that these duties occupy less
than 25 percent of the incumbent's time. The senior level (SL) system is for nonexecutive
positions that do not involve the fundamental research and development responsibilities
that are characteristic of the ST system, such as a high-level special assistant or a senior
attorney in a highly-specialized field who is not a manager, supervisor, or policy advisor.
All ST positions are in the competitive service. So are most SL positions, with some in the
excepted service.
Public Law 110-372, effective April 12, 2009, raised the basic salary cap and ended
eligibility for locality pay in order to bring policies for senior professionals in line with
policies applying to senior executives. Previously they typically received, by annual
Presidential order, the same across-the-board and pertinent locality pay raises as General
Schedule employees. On conversion, SL and ST employees retained their then-current
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pay, including any applicable locality pay. The converted rate became the employee’s
rate of basic pay for all pay computation purposes.
Salaries are set according to national minimum and maximum rates determined annually.
The minimum rate for these positions is 120 percent of the rate for grade 15, step 1 of the
base General Schedule (not including locality pay) and the maximum is Level II of the
Executive Schedule if the agency’s performance evaluation system is certified by OPM as
making “meaningful distinctions based on relative performance,” and Level III if there is no
such certification. Employees are guaranteed not to suffer a reduction in pay if they transfer
from an agency where salaries are capped at the higher amount to one where salaries are
capped at the lower amount.
The aggregate compensation limit (basic salary plus performance bonus and other allow-
ances and incentives) is equivalent to the pay of the Vice President if the agency’s appraisal
system is certified, and Level I of the Executive Schedule if it is not. See Aggregate Limit on
Compensation in Section 2 of this chapter for details of the certification procedure and what
forms of compensation are counted toward the total compensation cap.
SL and ST employees paid at a rate of basic pay equal to or greater than 86.5 percent of
the rate for Executive Schedule Level II are subject to certain additional post-employment
restrictions. See Post-Employment Restrictions in Chapter 10, Section 5.
Special Salary Rates
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may establish higher rates of basic pay—spe-
cial salary rates, more commonly simply called special rates—for a group or category of
General Schedule positions in one or more geographic areas to address existing or likely
significant difficulties in recruiting or retaining well-qualified employees. OPM may establish
special rates for nearly any category of employee—that is, by series, specialty, grade-level,
and/or geographic area. The statutory authority for special rates is found in 5 U.S.C. 5305.
Executive Order 12748 delegates to OPM the President’s authority to establish special rates.
Rules on establishing and adjusting special rates are at 5 CFR 530.304.
Special rates may be authorized whenever OPM finds that the government’s recruitment
or retention efforts are or are likely to be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including
significantly higher rates of pay offered by nonfederal employers, the remoteness of the job’s
area or location, undesirable working conditions or duties (including exposure to toxic sub-
stances or other occupational hazards), or other circumstance that OPM considers appropri-
ate. Once established, each special rate is reviewed at least annually and adjustments made
as warranted according to existing labor market conditions and agency staffing needs.
Agencies may request OPM to establish special rates for their employees. Such requests must
be submitted to OPM by department headquarters and must be coordinated with other
federal agencies with employees in the same occupational group and geographic area.
An employee’s entitlement to a special rate is eliminated if the employee is entitled to a
higher rate of basic pay, such as a locality rate under 5 U.S.C. 5304 (see 5 U.S.C. 5305(h) and
5 CFR 530.303(d)). This action does not reduce the salaries of the affected employees, since
they already are receiving locality rates higher than the special rate.
There are about 250 special rate authorities established by OPM that cover some 41,000
employees. Certain categories of employees receive special rate pay under other authorities,
such as law enforcement officers (see below) and certain hospital workers in the Department
of Veterans Affairs under 38 U.S.C. 7455.
The minimum rate of a special rate range may exceed the maximum rate of the corre-
sponding grade by as much as 30 percent. However, no special rate may exceed the rate for
Executive Level IV.
Special rates generally are basic pay for the same purposes as locality rates. Like a locality
rate, a special rate consists of a basic rate and a supplement. An agency may choose to
exclude its employees from coverage under a proposed or existing special rate schedule after
notifying OPM. Each year, OPM and agencies employing special rate employees conduct a
review to determine the amount by which special rates will be adjusted at the time of a
general increase in General Schedule rates. Agencies do not have to submit a certification
form for each special rate schedule. Instead, they must submit information to OPM only if
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they are requesting a special rate adjustment greater than or less than the GS annual pay
adjustment. OPM reviews such agency submissions and makes a determination regarding the
appropriate adjustment in the affected special rate schedules. All other special rate schedules
are adjusted by the same percentage as the GS pay adjustment.
The special rate authority allows a lead agency, with the approval of OPM, to establish
rates above the regular federal wage system wage schedule rates for an occupation or group
of occupations experiencing or potentially experiencing recruitment or retention difficulties.
Special rates are established by occupation, grade, agency, and/or geographic location. These
rates will be paid by all agencies having positions for which the rates are authorized. The
special rate payable may not, at any time, be less than the unrestricted rate otherwise payable
for such positions under the applicable regular pay schedule.
Special rate employees are eligible for within-grade raises, raises related to a promotion,
and similar types of increases.
A listing of special rate tables for the General Schedule is at http://apps.opm.gov/special-
rates. A listing for wage grade employees is at www.cpms.osd.mil/wage/wage_schedules.aspx.
Firefighters
‘Structural’ Firefighters—“Structural” firefighters are classified in the GS-081 series and
provide around-the-clock protection at certain federal facilities, mainly Defense Department
installations. In addition, they generally provide paramedic support and hazardous mate-
rial controls. They typically work 24-hour shifts that include sleep, meals and other per-
sonal standby time. Most have a 72-hour workweek consisting of three 24-hour shifts.
Because sleep and personal time is included in their duty shift, firefighters whose regularly
established workweeks average at least 53 hours receive a lower hourly rate of basic pay
than other employees. The applicable GS annual rate is divided by a 2,756-hour factor (53
hours per week times 52 weeks) to derive their hourly rate.
GS-081 firefighters have no overtime pay entitlement until they have worked 53 hours
in a week or 106 hours in a biweekly pay period. For those who are exempt from the Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA), overtime pay is capped at one and one-half times the rate for
GS-10, step 1, or the employee’s regular rate of basic pay, whichever is higher. The over-
time rate for GS-081 firefighters eligible for FLSA overtime is not similarly capped.
GS-081 firefighters are barred from receiving payment of any other premium pay,
including night pay, Sunday pay, holiday pay, and hazardous duty pay. Special computa-
tions are provided for firefighters whose regular tour of duty includes a basic 40-hour week.
Wildland Firefighters—Wildland firefighters are employed, primarily by the Forest
Service and Department of the Interior, to control, extinguish, prevent and manage wild-
land fires. While some wildland firefighters are employed year-round, most are employed
on a seasonal basis, and classified as GS-462 forestry technicians or GS-455 range techni-
cians. While actively fighting fires, they must serve at the site of the fire and work shifts that
extend well beyond the eight-hour work day and must stay at a base camp during off-duty
hours for sleep and meals and other personal activities.
Wildland firefighters, whether FLSA-exempt or not, receive overtime pay after eight
hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. They are not subject to any cap on the hourly rate
of overtime pay while engaged in emergency wildland fire suppression activities. They are
eligible for hazard pay at the rate of 25 percent for all time in a pay status on any day when
they are exposed to a hazard.
Unlike other temporary employees, temporary wildland firefighters and fire protection
personnel qualify for Federal Employees Health Benefits program coverage (see Chapter 2,
Section 1) regardless of their work schedules. During their active employment they receive
the standard government contribution toward premiums; when not employed by the gov-
ernment, coverage is entirely at their own cost.
Wildland firefighters also are covered by federal injury compensation policies. See
Chapter 5, Section 5.
Rules for firefighter pay are in 5 CFR Parts 410, 550, 551, and 630.
Law Enforcement Officers
Federal law enforcement officers (LEOs) are primarily involved in criminal and noncriminal
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investigation, policing, corrections, court operations, security and protection. Most LEO
employees with arrest authority are covered by standard basic pay systems, primarily the
General Schedule.
LEOs within the GS system are entitled to higher rates of basic pay at grades GS-3 through
GS-10, which increase pay by 3 to 23 percent depending on grade level. These LEO special
rates, established by Section 529 of Public Law 101-509, are used as basic rates in computing
locality payments. The GS system also allows law enforcement officers to receive various forms
of premium pay including hazardous duty pay, administratively uncontrollable overtime, night
pay, Sunday pay, and holiday pay (see Section 7 of this chapter).
A small percentage of LEOs receive other OPM-established special rate pay; most of
these are medical personnel working at correctional institutions. Further, while
Department of Veterans Affairs police officers are covered by the GS system, they may
receive higher special rates of basic pay established by VA under its Title 38 special rate
authority, subject to OPM’s concurrence.
Departments and agencies operating their own LEO salary systems include the U.S. Postal
Service, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the U.S. Mint, the National Security Agency, the
Department of Defense, the State Department (Bureau of Diplomatic Security) and the
Department of Homeland Security. The Judicial and Legislative Branches also operate separate
systems. The provisions of these systems may be established directly in law, by administrative
action, or in some cases by collective bargaining. There are significant variations in pay and
benefits entitlements among them.
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), part of the Department of
Homeland Security, operates a pay system separate from the General Schedule under
its authorizing law, P.L. 107-71. TSA uses a
pay banding system with minimum and
maximum rates that may be higher or TSA Grade Level Rough GS
Equivalent
lower than the closest GS grade equiva-
lent. The accompanying table shows rough SV-D GS-4,5,6
equivalencies.
SV-E GS-7
Assignment to a band is determined by
qualifications. Unless otherwise deter- SV-F GS-8,9
mined by the hiring official, employees SV-G GS-10,11
newly hired to the TSA are paid at the
SV-H GS-12
minimum rate of the pay band for the
position. Former or current federal SV-I GS-13
employees are not automatically entitled
SV-J GS-14
to receive their highest previous rate of
pay upon hiring. Management may match SV-K GS-15
or exceed that rate on a determination
that applicants have specialized experi-
ence that demonstrates they possess superior skills and abilities to perform the duties
of the position. To be considered for setting pay at a rate above the minimum of the
pay band, the specialized experience must be in, or related to, the work of the position
to be filled.
Increases to basic pay can be made under several circumstances:
• Increases for a promotion may range up to 15 percent, or to the minimum rate for
the new band, regardless of the percentage.
• An employee who has been on TSA rolls for at least 90 days may receive a reassign-
ment increase of from 1 to 7 percent of basic pay when permanently assigned to a new
position within the same pay band as the current position.
• In-position increases of between 1 and 7 percent can be awarded to acknowledge
special circumstances such as an employee’s significant professional growth or increased
complexity of an employee’s current job.
• Salary increases and/or bonuses are paid under a pay for performance program (see
Other Major Alternative Personnel Authorities in Chapter 8, Section 7).
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Chapter 1—Pay
Other Pay Systems
In addition to the pay schedules or systems described above, the federal government
operates numerous other pay systems, many of them unique to agencies or sub-agencies,
and many of them occupation-specific. Separate pay systems, for example, are used to set
salary levels for Foreign Service employees, air traffic controllers, and employees of “non-
appropriated fund instrumentalities,” which are self-funding facilities, such as post exchanges
or commissaries. These systems go by a variety of names, use differing nomenclature for
classification levels, and vary in how they set and increase salaries. If you are under one of
them, check with your personnel office regarding the terms of the system.
Also, many agencies are operating under alternative pay structures that involve pay
banding and other non-standard practices (see Chapter 8, Section 7) and agencies have
various special pay-setting authorities available to them, some at their own discretion and
some upon approval from the Office of Management and Budget and/or OPM (see
Section 5 of this chapter).
Section 2
General Pay Computation Procedures
Most federal employees work schedules consisting of an eight-hour day, five-day,
40-hour workweek. Hourly rates of pay for General Schedule employees (which are used,
for example, for overtime-calculation purposes) are computed by dividing a worker’s
annual rate of pay by 2,087 and rounding to the nearest cent. To compute an employee’s
biweekly pay, the hourly rate must be multiplied by 80. If computing compensation for
fractional pay periods (that is, partially paid periods resulting from separations, retirements,
use of leave without pay, etc.), the amount of pay is determined by multiplying the employ-
ee’s hourly rate by the number of hours or fractions of hours.
The standard federal workday is eight hours. The law provides overtime for certain
employees for work in excess of eight hours in a day, or in excess of 40 hours in the work-
week (see Section 6 of this chapter); special rules apply to employees who work under
alternative work schedules (see Chapter 8, Section 2). There are also pay differentials for
working at night, on Sundays, on holidays and for various other reasons (see Section 7 of
this chapter).
An employee must receive the greatest of the following rates of pay, as applicable:
• the scheduled annual rate of pay payable to the employee;
• a special rate under 5 CFR Part 530, subpart C, or a similar rate under other legal
authority (for example, 38 U.S.C. 7455);
• a locality rate under 5 CFR Part 531, subpart F, or a similar rate under other legal
authority; or
• a retained rate under 5 CFR Part 536 or saved rate under 5 CFR Part 359, subpart
G, or a similar rate under other legal authority.
A GS pay computation example is at www.opm.gov/oca/pay/html/computerates.asp.
Fact sheets on pay and hours of work are at www.opm.gov/oca/pay/html/factindx.asp.
Worksite for Location-Based Pay Purposes
Certain location-based pay entitlements (such as locality payments, special rate sup-
plements, travel, transportation, and relocation benefits, and non-foreign area cost-of-
living allowances) are based on the location of the employee’s official worksite for his or
her position of record. Generally, the official worksite is the location of an employee’s
position of record where the employee regularly performs his or her duties or, if the
employee’s work involves regular travel or the employee’s work location varies on a daily
basis, where his or her work activities are based, as determined by the employing agen-
cy. An agency must document an employee’s official worksite on the employee’s
Notification of Personnel Action (Standard Form 50 or equivalent).
If an employee is in temporary duty travel status away from the official worksite for
the employee’s position of record and is eligible for temporary duty travel allowances
such as per diem, the employee’s pay entitlements based on that official worksite are not
affected.
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2013 Federal Employees Almanac
If an employee is temporarily detailed to a position in a different geographic area and
is eligible for temporary duty travel allowances, the employee’s official worksite for his
or her position of record and associated pay entitlements are not affected.
If an employee is authorized to receive relocation allowances under 5 U.S.C. 5737
and 41 CFR Part 302-3, subpart E, in connection with long-term assignment (six to 30
months), the work location for the long-term assignment is considered the employee’s
official worksite for pay purposes.
If an employee is temporarily reassigned or promoted to a position in a different geo-
graphic area, the work location for the position to which temporarily reassigned or pro-
moted is considered the employee’s official worksite for pay purposes.
For telecommuters, an agency determines the official worksite on a case-by-case basis.
Also see Official Duty Station in Chapter 8, Section 1, and www.opm.gov/oca/pay/html/
Official_Duty_Station.asp.
Pay Caps
There are various limitations on the pay that employees may receive, including special
rules for special rates, locality pay and premium pay. See the accompanying Maximum Pay
Limitations table for General Schedule positions, the pertinent sections of Section 1 of this
chapter for other major salary systems, and Aggregate Limit on Compensation, below, for
special rules for certain high-level salary systems.
Biweekly and Annual Limits on Premium Pay—Under 5 U.S.C. 5547(a) and 5 CFR
550.105, General Schedule employees and other covered employees may receive certain
types of premium pay for a biweekly pay period only to the extent that the sum of basic
pay and premium pay for the pay period does not exceed the greater of the biweekly rate
payable for GS-15, step 10 (including any applicable locality payment or special rate sup-
plement), or the rate payable for Level V of the Executive Schedule. The biweekly rate is
computed by dividing the applicable annual rate by 2,087 hours, rounding the resulting
hourly rate to the nearest cent, and multiplying the hourly rate by 80 hours.
For information on the annual limits on pay, see Aggregate Limit on Compensation,
below.
Under 5 U.S.C. 5547(a), an employee, including a law enforcement officer, may
receive premium pay in a pay period only to the extent that the aggregate of basic pay
and premium pay for the pay period does not exceed the greater of the biweekly rate for
(1) GS-15, step 10 (including any applicable special salary rate or locality rate of pay), or
(2) Level V of the Executive Schedule. (See 5 U.S.C. 5547(a), as amended, and 5 CFR
550.105.)
Under 5 U.S.C. 5547(b), the biweekly premium pay cap in section 5547(a) does not
apply in any pay period during which an employee, including a law enforcement officer,
receives premium pay for work in connection with an emergency (including a wildfire
emergency) that involves a direct threat to life or property. Work in connection with an
emergency includes work performed in the aftermath of the emergency. Such employees
may receive premium pay to the extent that the aggregate of basic pay and premium pay
for the calendar year does not exceed the greater of the annual rate for (1) GS-15, step
10 (including any applicable special salary rate or locality rate of pay), or (2) Level V of the
Executive Schedule.
Under 5 U.S.C. 5547(b), the head of an agency with discretionary authority may waive
the biweekly premium pay limitation in § 5547(a) for an employee, including a law
enforcement officer, who receives premium pay to perform work critical to the mission of
the agency. Such employees may receive premium pay to the extent that the aggregate of
basic pay and premium pay for the calendar year does not exceed the greater of the
annual rate for (1) GS-15, step 10 (including any applicable special salary rate or locality
rate of pay), or (2) Level V of the Executive Schedule.
The biweekly pay limitation in 5 U.S.C. 5547 is also a ceiling on compensatory time
off, which is an alternative form of payment for overtime work. Thus, the number of hours
for which an employee may receive monetary overtime pay is also the number of hours
of compensatory time off that may be credited in a pay period. An employee may not
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