The pay raises recently paid out to general schedule
federal employees will have the effect of changing several
pay thresholds applying under various ethics rules,
according to guidance from agency ethics offices.
The raise increases the 15 percent limitation on outside
earned income for noncareer SES employees to $24,315.
(See 5 C.F.R. 2636.304(a).)
Also, certain federal employees are required to file
public financial disclosure reports (SF 278) if their
rate of basic pay exceeds 120 percent of the basic rate
of pay of step 1 of a GS-15—a threshold that now works
out to $107,550–and they are not paid under the
General Schedule. (See 5 C.F.R. 2634.202(c).)
In addition, employees whose rate of basic pay is equal
to or greater than 86.5 percent of the rate of basic
pay for level II of the Executive Schedule will be
subject to the application of the post-government
service employment restrictions of 18 U.S.C. 207(c).
That provision requires a one-year cooling off period
before representation back to the employee’s former
agency. The applicable income level for 2005 is
$140,216.50.
