Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-639-6405/202-374-6491
[email protected]
WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees is applauding a proposed regulation to be published by the Biden administration that would align the rules for drawing local pay area boundaries for the federal government’s two major pay systems.
“AFGE has been working for years to fix the inequities in how local pay boundaries are determined for the General Schedule versus the Wage Grade systems. In far too many locations, employees working side by side in the exact same building are, for purposes of pay, treated as though they are in different places,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. “This regulation, once finalized, will correct these inconsistencies and ensure all employees are treated equally regardless of which pay system they fall under.”
The Office of Personnel Management released the proposed regulation for public inspection today and is scheduled to publish it as a proposed rule this Friday, allowing for two months of public comment.
Publication of the proposed rule fulfills a December 2023 recommendation first proposed by AFGE to OPM through the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), on which AFGE serves, to align the criteria for drawing local pay area boundaries for salaried and hourly federal employees. Most affected employees work for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Bureau of Prisons.
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