Pay Raise Measure Signed

President Bush has signed into law (PL 109-115) a spending bill for fiscal 2006 providing for a 3.1 percent average general schedule raise; the next step is issuance of an executive order specifying how that total is to be divided between across-the-board and locality components. A salary advisory council previously recommended paying 2.1 percent across-the-board and dividing the money for the other percentage point as locality pay, which would yield raises ranging from 2.25 to 5.62 percent. The raises would be effective with the first biweekly pay period of the new year, which for most federal employees starts January 8 (the raise will show up in paychecks late in January or early February; pay dates vary). Under terms of the measure, wage grade employees, who get raises at differing times of the year depending on their locality, will have their raises capped at the local GS amount.