Improving the Recruitment, Retention, and Utilization of Federal Scientists and Engineers (1993) / Chapter Skim
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4 FEDERAL PAY REFORM
4 FEDERAL PAY REFORM
Pages 57-68
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From page 57... ...
These new or expanded flexibilities should help government agencies to fell important positions with leading experts who otherwise would be difficult to recruit and retain. Finally, FEPCA established a more flexible personnel system for senior scientists in one agency (the Senior Biomedical Research Service in the Public Health Service)
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From page 58... ...
Simplification of position classification would greatly increase the flexibility of the pay-related features of FEPCA, as the Navy and other personnel management demonstration projects demonstrate. FEPCA does not change recruitment procedures per se or address employee development, issues that merit attention.
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From page 59... ...
Nationwide Salary Adjustments GS pay increases will be effective January ~ of each year. They will be based on Me change in the Employment Cost Index (ECT)
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From page 60... ...
Beginning in 1994, GS employees in localities determined to have a pay disparity 2 The 1989 Ethics Reform Act mandated use of the same ECI to determine annual increases for congressional and executive-level salaries. However, the base period is different (December to December rather than October to October for the year ending a year before the adjustment)
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From page 61... ...
Presidential Discretion to Reduce Increases As discussed in Chapter 3, before FEPCA, presidents had discretion to reduce or eliminate pay increases under the Federal Pay Comparability Act of 1970 for reasons of economic conditions or national emergency. Although such an action was originally intended to be a last resort, presidents used their authority to issue an alternative pay plan every year beginning in 1978 (the actual adjustments and cumulative gap in comparability were shown in Table 3-!
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From page 62... ...
It is too soon to tell whether or not the FEPCA procedures for making federal pay nearly comparable to nonfederal pay will be more successful than the 1970 comparability act procedures.4 Because current economic conditions were poor in the first several years of FEPCA, the President could have reduced the 1992 pay raise on the basis of consecutive quarters of negative GNP growth, but did not. President Bush suggested postponing the 1993 pay increase for one quarter in order to reduce the fiscal year 1993 budget by $460 million, but there was no support for this in Congress, which would have had to pass legislation.
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From page 63... ...
Critical Positions The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) , in consultation with OPM, may authorize agency heads to fix pay rates for up to 800 positions governmentwide deemed "critical" for accomplishing an important government mission.
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From page 64... ...
Critical Positions Senior-Leve! Pay Band Recruitment Bonuses Relocation Bonuses Retention Allowances Advances of Pay to New Hires Travel and Transportation Expenses Time Off as Incentive Award Performance-Based Cash Awards Reemployment of Retirees Application of Title 38 Provisions to All Patient Care Positions Senior Biomedical Research Service Special Occupational Pay Systems
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From page 65... ...
Pay Band The approximately 270 employees still in GS-16, -17, and -~8 positions and another 250 in so-called ST positions for specially qualified R&D scientists and professionals will now be paid within a single, ungraded pay band extending from 120 percent of the top GS-15 rate to the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule. Since ST positions were limited to 517, OPM was going to limit the senior-level to 517, but that limitation was removed by technical amendments to FEPCA in 1992 (em.
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From page 66... ...
. Reemployment of Retirees The director of OPM may, on a case-by-case basis, waive the law prohibiting double payments salary and pension for civilian and military retirees if they take positions for which there is "exceptional difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee," and agency heads may exercise the same authority temporarily "due to an emergency
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From page 67... ...
Additional Pay Systems FEPCA mandated creation of two new pay systems, one of Hem for biomedical researchers (the other is for law enforcement personnel) , and it authorized creation of additional "special occupational pay systems" for which the classification and pay level systems of Title 5 "do not function adequately." Senior Biomedical Research Service The Senior Biomedical Research Service (SBRS)
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From page 68... ...
OPM is currently conducting studies of two potential occupational pay systems, one of them covering health care professionals.7 OPM does not have plans to look at other occupations at this time, although other groups have been suggested for study in the past, including scientists and engineers in research and development, attorneys, and teachers (OPM, 1989c:6-7~. ~ The other study is to develop a plan for a protective services pay system, which would include the congressionally mandated law enforcement pay system.
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