Post-Employment Restrictions Widened

The new SES pay system, ordered by a recently enacted Defense Department budget measure, establishes a salary-based trigger for post-employment restrictions that bars certain contacts with their former agencies for two years after leaving. Any SES member whose basic pay is at least 86.5 percent of the rate for level II of the Executive Schedule will be subject to those restrictions. That will encompass nearly nine-tenths of senior execs, up from the roughly two-tenths covered under prior policy. Agencies will have to provide written notification to each executive who will be covered by the restrictions as a result of the change. The administration has said it will seek a change that would have the restriction apply to slightly fewer execs, but even if that is adopted, those currently at the ES-5 and ES-6 levels will continue to be subject to those restrictions.