Word on 2003 Raise Still Pending

The Bush administration still has not issued guidance on how it will carry out the retroactive increase in the 2003 federal pay raise enacted into law last month. A wrap-up budget measure for the current fiscal year requires that the general schedule raise be set at an average 4.1 percent-rather than the 3.1 percent that was paid-retroactive to the first full pay period of the calendar year. However, the administration still has not issued a decision regarding whether the extra percentage point will be paid across the board or divided up as locality pay, nor indicated when employees will start seeing the increase in their pay and when they will get the retroactive amount due. The raise also will have the effect of boosting raises for many wage grade employees, whose annual raises are set according to the higher of the GS average amount or the amounts indicated for them by pay comparison studies in their own, separate, locality system.