Report Cites Issues with Pay Law’s Calculations

The CRS report notes that the 1990 federal pay law, called FEPCA, “has never been implemented as originally enacted. Since 1995, locality payments have been much lower than FEPCA requires. Additionally, while the methodology for setting federal pay adjustments has been questioned since the enactment of FEPCA, it remains a particular concern because the Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys documenting non-federal rates of pay were not approved for use in determining the 2000, 2001 and 2002 locality payments and are not being recommended for use in determining 2003 locality pay.” CRS notes that figures from as long ago as 1994 were “aged” to calculate 2003 locality raises indicated under the law. Critics of the pay law believe that such manipulation of numbers-which they consider incomplete in the first place-make the calculations under FEPCA unreliable and offer little reason for complying with the law.