[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3771 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3771

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide increased locality pay 
 rates to certain Bureau of Prisons employees whose duty stations are 
  located in the pay locality designated as ``Rest of U.S.'', and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 8 (legislative day, February 7), 2024

Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Casey) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide increased locality pay 
 rates to certain Bureau of Prisons employees whose duty stations are 
  located in the pay locality designated as ``Rest of U.S.'', and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING NEAREST OTHER LOCALITY PAY RATE FOR CERTAIN BUREAU OF 
              PRISONS EMPLOYEES RECEIVING REST OF U.S. LOCALITY RATE.

    Section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (j) and by inserting after 
subsection (h) the following:
    ``(i)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and 
consistent with paragraph (2), the official worksite of an employee of 
the Bureau of Prisons that is otherwise located in the pay locality 
designated as `Rest of U.S.' shall be considered to be located in the 
nearest other pay locality established pursuant to this section.
    ``(2) For purposes of carrying out paragraph (1)--
            ``(A) if more than one pay locality is within 200 miles of 
        the official worksite of such an employee, such worksite shall 
        be considered to be located in the pay locality with the 
        highest comparability payment; and
            ``(B) an employee of the Bureau of Prisons shall not be 
        subject to paragraph (1) if the official worksite of such 
        employee is not within 200 miles of the nearest boundary of any 
        pay locality other than `Rest of U.S.'.''.

SEC. 3. PROVIDING HIGHER WAGE AREA PAY FOR CERTAIN BUREAU OF PRISONS 
              EMPLOYEES.

    Section 5343 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(g)(1) In this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `covered pay locality'--
                    ``(i) means a pay locality established under 
                section 5304 that includes the boundaries of 2 or more 
                wage areas established under this section; and
                    ``(ii) does not include the pay locality designated 
                as `Rest of the U.S.';
            ``(B) the term `covered wage area' means a wage area 
        established under this section, the boundary of which is 
        located within the boundaries of a covered pay locality;
            ``(C) the term `nearest other wage area' means a wage area, 
        a boundary of which is located within the boundaries of a 
        nearest other pay locality established under section 5304(i); 
        and
            ``(D) the term `Rest of U.S. wage area' means a wage area 
        located in the pay locality designated as `Rest of the U.S.'.
    ``(2)(A) A prevailing rate employee of the Bureau of Prisons 
employed in a Rest of U.S. wage area shall be paid at the higher wage 
schedule and rate of the nearest other wage area established under this 
paragraph and the wage area of the employee.
    ``(B) For purposes of carrying out subparagraph (A), if the nearest 
other pay locality established under section 5304(i) contains the 
boundaries of 2 or more wage areas established under this section--
            ``(i) the employee shall be paid at the wage schedule and 
        rate for employees at the nearest other Bureau of Prisons 
        facility within 200 miles of the nearest boundary of the 
        nearest other pay locality established under section 5304(i); 
        and
            ``(ii) if there is no Bureau of Prisons facility in the 
        nearest other pay locality established under section 5304(i), 
        the employee shall be paid at the wage schedule and rate for 
        the nearest other wage area that the Bureau of Prisons 
        determines is most similar in population, employment, manpower, 
        and industry to the wage area of the employee, as in effect on 
        the day before the date of enactment of this subsection.
    ``(3) A prevailing rate employee of the Bureau of Prisons employed 
in a covered wage area shall be paid at the highest applicable wage 
schedule and rate for any wage area located in the covered pay 
locality.''.

SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any pay period 
beginning on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
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