Some Areas Would Receive Higher Pay

The group also recommended that the 3.9 percent average raise for GS employees that was approved as part of a temporary government spending measure that will carry through March 6 (P.L. 110-329) should be paid as 2.9 percent for all GS employees with the remainder parceled out as locality pay. The group did not project the precise size of the locality raises, but according to its data, the largest increases would go to the San Francisco, Washington-Baltimore, New York, Boston, Hartford and Los Angeles localities, while the smallest would go to the RUS, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Raleigh and Richmond localities. Last year, for example, one percentage point of salary divided as locality pay produced raises on top of the across-the-board amount ranging from about 0.5 to 1.5 percent. Final decisions won’t be made until late this year, when a higher level group makes its recommendations and President Bush issues an executive order on the 2009 raises. The salary council’s recommendations regarding locality pay typically are accepted without change.