Due to differing criteria, a GS employee working at a given facility might receive higher locality adjustments than a wage grade employee at the same facility. Image: igordabari/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOPM has finalized rules changing the way boundary lines are drawn for wage grade employee locality pay rate purposes, among actions by that agency and the GSA to finish work on pending changes in the final days of the Biden administration.
The change regarding wage grade—formally, Federal Wage System—employees follows a recommendation from an advisory body to make the criteria for their locality areas more closely track those used in the GS pay system. That is a response to complaints from individual employees and unions representing them that due to the differing criteria, a GS employee working at a given facility might receive higher locality adjustments than a wage grade employee at the same facility.
“OPM expects these changes will impact approximately 17,000 FWS employees nationwide or about 10 percent of the appropriated fund FWS workforce,” says a notice set for publication in the January 21 Federal Register. “Most employees affected by this approach will receive increases in pay, but some will be placed on pay retention if moved to a lower wage schedule or experience a reduction in pay if not eligible for pay retention.”
“As such, about 85 percent of the affected employees (roughly 14,500 employees) will receive pay increases, about 11 percent (roughly 1,800 employees) will be placed on pay retention, around 3 percent (about 500 employees) will be placed at a lower wage level, and around 1 (less than 200 employees) percent will see no change in their wage level because their current wage rate is identical to the wage rate on a wage schedule they will be moved to,” it says.
The changes are to apply to wage grade raises starting October 1; unlike in the GS system, raises for those employees are effective at differing times of the year. However, deferring the Federal Register notice until after the start of the new Trump administration leaves open the possibility that it will prevent them from taking effect.
Meanwhile, OPM has issued interim final rules setting procedures for VA employees to appeal the recission of awards and bonuses as allowed under a 2017 law. That law requires the department to rescind a payment if it later finds that the individual had engaged in misconduct or poor performance prior to payment which would have disqualified the person from receiving it, if that had been known at the time.
The notice in the January Federal Register sets time frames, required information and other procedures for the OPM to review the VA’s decision. Review will be “limited to whether the procedures in VA’s policies on recoupment were followed or, in the absence of any such policies, the VA’s order was otherwise in compliance” with the law, it says.
In a notice of the same date, the GSA meanwhile finalized changes to policies on reimbursing federal employees for expenses when they are permanently relocated in the interests of the government or when being sent to and returning from a temporary assignment, in a way that would in general increase those payments somewhat.
The rules affect the “miscellaneous expense allowance” for costs such as such as fees for disconnecting and connecting appliances, utility fees or deposits that not eligible for refunds, changing automobile registration, and the like. Under traditional policy, employees may choose to submit actual expenses up to a cap, or take a lump sum payment of a set amount; the rules eliminate those amounts, with the GSA instead annually setting rates.
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