No New Localities, Again

For GS employees (and by extension, for wage grade employees) the raise will be paid across the board with no differences by locality, although variances by locality in the past mean that pay rates are substantially higher in some areas and thus the boost will be worth more there. For example, a GS-11, step 1 position will pay $69,329 in the San Francisco locality, $63,656 in the Detroit area and $58,562 in the “rest of the U.S.” outside the designated metropolitan zones (Alaska and Hawaii also have separate locality schedules). An advisory body, the Federal Salary Council has recommended for several years running that a dozen additional metro area localities be created, saying the reported pay gaps with the private sector in those areas merit higher federal salaries there. Those are Albany, Albuquerque, Austin, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Davenport, Harrisburg, Laredo, Las Vegas, Palm Bay, St. Louis and Tucson; several months ago it boosted that proposed number to 13 by adding Kansas City to the list. A higher-level group, the President’s Pay Agent, consisting of the heads of OPM, OMB and Labor, has agreed in principle but never has started the rule-making needed. That has become a sore point between the administration and federal unions, who make up the bulk of members on the salary council.