OPM has taken the first of a planned series of steps to create an occupation-specific classification and pay system, beginning with the field of economics and with three to five more to follow over the next year.
The action is to be taken under an authority under which the President’s Pay Agent—the heads of OPM, OMB and Labor—“can establish alternative systems in cases where the GS pay and classification system doesn’t function as well for a position or group of positions,” according to an OPM fact sheet.
It says the authority has been on the books for nearly 30 years but hasn’t been used up to now. The process will involve a series of notifications to the public and to Congress, hearings and other forms of input; OPM has said it hopes to have the new system in effect in the spring.
Economists were chosen as the first because they are “one of several occupations identified as a government-wide, high-risk, mission-critical occupation, and work has been underway for several years to identify and implement strategies to improve recruitment, retention and development of economists.”
Other fields where similar concerns have been raised include many of the so-called STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and math—plus IT in general and cybersecurity in particular. The announcement was made at the same time OPM authorized agencies to use shortcut “direct-hire” authority in a number of those occupations.
