The American Federation of Government Employees and its Council of Prison Locals are backing new legislation that would provide a one-time pay adjustment for correctional officers and staff to help address the Bureau of Prisons’ severe staffing crisis.
The Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act, which will be introduced this week in the House and Senate, would establish a 35% increase in base pay for all BOP correctional staff – including those paid under the General Schedule (GS), the GS Law Enforcement Officer pay plan (GL) and the Wage Grade (WG) system.
This increase is not a pay raise – it is a long-overdue correction to a decades-old disparity in federal law enforcement compensation. While other federal law enforcement agencies have received modern pay structures, career ladders, and premium pay, the pay system for BOP employees has not been meaningfully updated since the 1970s.
Consequently, the Bureau of Prisons is experiencing a severe staffing crisis. Chronic underfunding, an outdated pay system, and accelerating retirements have left institutions dangerously understaffed. Officers are routinely mandated to work 16-hour shifts and repeated forced overtime, placing extreme strain on morale, mental health, and institutional safety.
BOP correctional officers work unarmed and in constant contact with violent offenders, including gang members and organized criminal groups. Officers frequently work posts alone, without adequate staffing or immediate backup. Despite these conditions, BOP correctional officers remain the lowest-paid federal law enforcement workforce.
“This reform is critical. It will align BOP compensation with federal law enforcement standards, stem the loss of experienced officers, and attract qualified applicants in an increasingly competitive hiring market,” AFGE Council of Prison Locals National President Brandy Moore White said. “Most importantly, it will help restore safe staffing levels across federal institutions, reduce violence, protect staff, and ensure mission readiness.”
While AFGE appreciates the Trump administration’s approval of 3.8 percent pay raises in 2026 for BOP officers and federal law enforcement officers at other agencies, the one-time pay bump simply isn’t enough to make up for decades of pay disparity.
Fair pay is about more than money – it is about safety, retention, and mission readiness. When institutions are understaffed and officers are overworked, everyone is at risk: staff, inmates, and the public.
What you can do: Write to your members of Congress and ask them to cosponsor the Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act. Click here to write your lawmakers.
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