[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 116 (Monday, June 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28106-28107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12668]
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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
January 2019 Pay Schedules
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The President adjusted the rates of basic pay and locality
payments for certain Federal civilian employees effective in January
2019. This notice serves as documentation for the public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Foy, Pay and Leave, Employee
Services, Office of Personnel Management; (202) 606-4194 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 28, 2018, the President signed
Executive Order (E.O.) 13856 (84 FR 65), which provided that the 2019
pay rates for civilian employee pay schedules covered by the order
remain at 2018 levels. On March 28, 2019, the President signed E.O.
13866 (84 FR 12853), which implemented a retroactive pay adjustment
required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Pub. L. 116-6,
February 15, 2019). E.O. 13866 provides an overall average pay increase
of 1.9 percent for the statutory pay systems. The pay rates in E.O.
13856 have been superseded.
The publication of this notice satisfies the requirement in Section
5(b) of E.O. 13866 that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
publish appropriate notice of the 2019 locality payments in the Federal
Register.
Schedule 1 of E.O. 13866 provides the rates for the 2019 General
Schedule (GS) and reflects a 1.4 percent increase from 2018. Executive
Order 13866 also includes the percentage amounts of the 2019 locality
payments. (See Section 5 and Schedule 9 of Executive Order 13866.)
General Schedule employees receive locality payments under 5 U.S.C.
5304. Locality payments apply in the United States (as defined in 5
U.S.C. 5921(4)) and its territories and possessions. In 2019, locality
payments ranging from 15.67 percent to 40.35 percent apply to GS
employees in the 53 locality pay areas. The 2019 locality pay area
definitions can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2019/locality-pay-area-definitions/.
The 2019 locality pay percentages became effective the first day of
the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2019 (January 6,
2019). An employee's locality rate of pay is computed by increasing his
or her scheduled annual rate of pay (as defined in 5 CFR 531.602) by
the applicable locality pay percentage. (See 5 CFR 531.604 and
531.609.)
Executive Order 13866 establishes the new Executive Schedule (EX),
which incorporates a 1.4 percent increase required under 5 U.S.C. 5318
(rounded to the nearest $100). By law, Executive Schedule officials are
not authorized to receive locality payments.
Executive Order 13866 establishes the 2019 range of rates of basic
pay for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) under 5 U.S.C.
5382. The minimum rate of basic pay for the SES is $127,914 in 2019.
The maximum rate of the SES rate range is $192,300 (level II of the
Executive Schedule) for SES members who are covered by a certified SES
performance appraisal system and $176,900 (level III of the Executive
Schedule) for SES members who are not covered by a certified SES
performance appraisal system.
The minimum rate of basic pay for the senior-level (SL) and
scientific and professional (ST) rate range was increased by 1.4
percent ($127,914 in 2019), which is the amount of the across-the-board
GS increase. The applicable maximum rate of the SL/ST rate range is
$192,300 (level II of the Executive Schedule) for SL or ST employees
who are covered by a certified SL/ST performance appraisal system and
$176,900 (level III of the Executive Schedule) for SL or ST employees
who are not covered by a certified SL/ST performance appraisal system.
Agencies with certified performance appraisal systems for SES members
and employees in SL and ST positions must also apply a higher aggregate
limitation on pay--up to the Vice President's salary ($246,900 in
2019.)
Note that Section 749 of division D of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2019, continues a pay freeze for certain senior
political officials, except that it allows for an increase of up to 1.9
percent in the preexisting payable (frozen) rate for covered officials.
The section 749 pay freeze extends through the last day of the last pay
period that begins in calendar year 2019 (i.e., January 4, 2020, for
those on the standard biweekly payroll cycle). Future
[[Page 28107]]
Congressional action will determine whether the pay freeze continues
beyond that date. OPM guidance on the 2019 modified pay freeze for
certain senior political officials can be found in CPM 2019-14 at
https://chcoc.gov/content/modified-pay-freeze-certain-senior-political-officials.
Executive Order 13866 provides that the rates of basic pay for
administrative law judges (ALJs) under 5 U.S.C. 5372 are increased by
1.4 percent (rounded to the nearest $100) in 2019. The rate of basic
pay for AL-1 is $166,500 (equivalent to the rate for level IV of the
Executive Schedule). The rate of basic pay for AL-2 is $162,300. The
rates of basic pay for AL-3/A through 3/F range from $111,100 to
$153,800.
The rates of basic pay for members of Contract Appeals Boards are
calculated as a percentage of the rate for level IV of the Executive
Schedule. (See 5 U.S.C. 5372a.) Therefore, these rates of basic pay are
increased by 1.4 percent in 2019.
On November 9, 2018, OPM issued a memorandum on behalf of the
President's Pay Agent (the Secretary of Labor and the Directors of the
Office of Management and Budget and OPM) that continues GS locality
payments for ALJs and certain other non-GS employee categories in 2019.
By law, EX officials, SES members, employees in SL/ST positions, and
employees in certain other equivalent pay systems are not authorized to
receive locality payments. (Note: An exception applies to certain
grandfathered SES, SL, and ST employees stationed in a nonforeign area
on January 2, 2010. See CPM 2009-27 at https://www.chcoc.gov/content/nonforeign-area-retirement-equity-assurance-act.) The memo is available
at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2018/continuation-of-locality-payments-for-non-general-schedule-employees-november-9-2018.pdf.
On March 28, 2019, OPM issued a memorandum (CPM 2019-11) on the
retroactive 2019 pay adjustments. (See https://chcoc.gov/content/retroactive-2019-pay-adjustment.) The memorandum transmitted Executive
Order 13866 and provided the 2019 salary tables, locality pay areas and
percentages, and information on general pay administration matters and
other related guidance. The ``2019 Salary Tables'' posted on OPM's
website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/ are the official rates of pay for affected employees and are
hereby incorporated as part of this notice.
Office of Personnel Management.
Alexys Stanley,
Regulatory Affairs Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2019-12668 Filed 6-14-19; 8:45 am]
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