More GS Localities Projected for 2016

A long-standing proposal to add more GS locality areas would take effect in January, boosting pay there above what employees currently are receiving as part of the catchall “rest of the U.S.” locality, under rules proposed Monday (June 1) by OPM. An advisory body of federal unions and compensation experts called the Federal Salary Council has recommended for years adding a dozen city areas—last year it upped the number to 13—to the current list of areas with their own pay rates because over an extended period the average federal salaries there lag those of comparable private sector jobs by at least 10 percentage points more than the pay gap in the “RUS” locality outside designated locality zones. They are Albany, Albuquerque, Austin, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Davenport, Harrisburg, Kansas City, Laredo, Las Vegas, Palm Bay, St. Louis and Tucson. A higher-level group, the President’s Pay Agent (consisting of OPM, OMB and Labor), up to now has never moved to carry out that plan. However, the regs say the time has arrived to move forward, in light of new metropolitan area definitions and new information on commuting rates used in drawing locality zones. Localities have changed from time to time over the years, but this would be by far the largest addition of localities since the program was created two decades ago.