Of counties that would be affected by the latest proposal, the one with the largest number of employees is Bell County in Texas with some 6,500. Image: simez78/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe Federal Salary Council has recommended against creating any new locality zones for 2025 but it has recommended expanding the boundaries of 22 existing localities by bringing in outlying counties.
Moving employees who work in those counties into a locality zone with its own rate of pay from the “rest of the U.S.” locality—which is the lowest-paid—would result in a pay boost for nearly 15,000, says the report. That would be the result of applying certain new policies and new definitions of metropolitan areas as previously approved.
If approved by the higher-level President’s Pay Agent—the heads of OPM, OMB and Labor—the expansion of existing localities would follow a similar action that took effect at the start of this year that benefitted some 16,000 employees by moving them out of the “RUS” locality into city-area zones with their own, higher pay rates.
Separately at the start of this year the creation of four new localities—Fresno, Calif.; Reno, Nev.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Spokane, Wash.—similarly benefitted about an equal number of employees by moving them out of the “RUS” locality. That was the largest expansion of city-area localities since 2016, bringing the total to 58.
Of counties that would be affected by the latest proposal, the one with the largest number of employees is Bell County in Texas with some 6,500, which would be added to the Austin area. More than 2,600 in Yuma County, Ariz., would be added to the Phoenix area, nearly 1,000 in Saginaw County, Mich., would be added to the Detroit area, and more than 800 in Monongalia County, W.Va., would be added to the Pittsburgh area.
The full list (PDF) is in an attachment to the report, which is dated in February but only recently posted.
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