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December 7, 1998
MEMORANDUM FOR DIRECTORS OF PERSONNEL (CPM 98-7)
| FROM: |
HENRY ROMERO
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
FOR WORKFORCE COMPENSATION
AND PERFORMANCE
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| SUBJECT: |
January 1999 Pay
Adjustments |
On December 7, 1998, the President signed an Executive order on the January
1999 pay adjustments. (See Attachment 1.)
This memorandum reviews relevant portions of the Executive order and provides
general information on the 1999 pay adjustments.
1999 Rates under the
General Schedule and Other Statutory Pay
Systems
The Executive order provides for an across-the-board increase of
3.1 percent in the rates of basic pay for the statutory pay
systems--the General Schedule (GS), the Foreign Service Schedule,
and certain schedules for the Veterans Health Administration of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, in accordance with section
647 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act,
1999, as incorporated in section 101(h) of the Omnibus
Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999
(Public Law 105-277, October 21, 1998).
1999 Rates for
the Senior Executive Service
The Executive order reflects a decision by the President to
increase the rates of basic pay for members of the Senior
Executive Service (SES) by 3.1 percent (rounded to the nearest
$100) at SES levels ES-1 through ES-4. Since the maximum rate of
basic pay for SES members is limited by law to the rate for level
IV of the Executive Schedule ($118,400), which is not being
increased, the rates of basic pay for ES-5 and ES-6 will not be
increased. Section 621 of the Treasury and General Government
Appropriations Act, 1999, and the Executive Schedule provides
that there will be no increase in the rates of basic pay for the
Executive Schedule in fiscal year 1999.
1999 Rates for
Other Executive-Level Positions
Pay rates for certain other employees are linked to the Executive
Schedule. The rates of basic pay for administrative law judges
(ALJs) and Board of Contract Appeals (BCA) members are calculated
as a percentage of the rate for level IV of the Executive
Schedule. (See 5 U.S.C. 5372 and 5372a.) Therefore, ALJ and BCA
rates of basic pay will not be increased. Also, the maximum rate
of basic pay for senior-level (SL) and scientific or professional
(ST) positions will not be increased because it is tied to the
rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule ($118,400). The
minimum rate of basic pay for SL/ST positions is equal to 120
percent of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-15 and thus will
be increased by 3.1 percent (to $89,728). Subject to these
minimum and maximum rates, pay adjustments for SL/ST employees
are determined by the employing agency. (See 5 U.S.C. 5376.)
Effective Date
The new basic pay schedules for General Schedule, SES, and SL/ST
positions will become effective on the first day of the first
applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 1999.
Increases in locality payments (discussed below) are effective at
the same time.
1999 Locality Payments
The President's Executive order establishes the amounts of the
1999 locality payments for General Schedule employees.
The President's Pay Agent (the Secretary of Labor, the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management) has decided to extend the 1999
locality payments to the same Governmentwide and single-agency
categories that were authorized to receive the 1998 locality
payments. The Governmentwide categories include the SES,
employees in SL/ST positions, ALJs, BCA members, the Foreign
Service, and the Senior Foreign Service. The maximum locality
rate of pay for these employees is the rate for level III of the
Executive Schedule ($125,900).
The locality pay areas for 1999 are unchanged from 1998. There
are 32 locality pay areas (including the "Rest of U.S."
area).
With this memorandum, we are providing a list of the 1999 locality pay percentages
for the 32 locality pay areas, as well as the net percentage increase in each
area (reflecting the combined effect of the 3.1 percent across-the-board increase
and the applicable increase in the locality pay percentage rate). (See Attachment
2.) Also provided is a chart showing an example of how the 1999
locality rate and net increase is computed for an employee in the Washington-Baltimore
locality pay area. (See Attachment 3.)
Pay Adjustments for Employees Receiving Special Rates
We have not yet completed the annual review of special rates.
However, based on agency submissions received to date, we expect
that virtually all special rate schedules will be adjusted by 3.1
percent. We will issue additional guidance to agencies as soon as
the annual review has been completed.
IGA Continued Rates
Certain employees in the former interim geographic adjustment
(IGA) areas are entitled to a "continued rate" under 5
CFR part 531, subpart G. These continued rates were established
in January 1994, when our regulations were revised to discontinue
the practice of paying IGAs on top of nationwide or worldwide
special rates. At the time of the January 1999 general pay
increase, an IGA continued rate will be increased by the dollar
amount of the increase in the employee's underlying GS rate. (See
5 CFR 531.703.) Since a continued rate is a form of saved pay, it
is not affected by other pay actions, such as within-grade
increases or promotions.
Pay Adjustments for
Law Enforcement Officers
We have issued separate locality or geographic salary tables for
law enforcement officers (LEOs) in each locality pay area. These
tables incorporate the statutory worldwide law enforcement
special rates for grades GS-3 through GS-10, which are used as
the base in computing any locality or other geographic payment.
While LEOs are entitled to the same locality percentage rates
that apply to other GS employees, higher geographic adjustments
of 16 percent continue to apply to LEOs in four metropolitan
areas: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston. (In
January 1999, the geographic adjustment of 8 percent in San Diego
will be surpassed by the regular GS locality payment of 8.62
percent. Thus, the LEO geographic adjustment in San Diego will be
terminated at that time.)
LEOs covered by the SES or SL/ST pay systems generally are
entitled to the locality rates of pay shown in salary tables
99-ES (LOC) or 99-SL/ST (LOC), respectively. However, since LEOs
covered by these pay systems in some metropolitan areas also are
entitled to special pay adjustments for LEOs, these rates of pay
are provided in salary tables 99-ES (LEO) and 99-SL/ST (LEO).
Certain law enforcement officers are entitled to a
"continued rate" under 5 CFR 531.307 (established in
January 1994 when our regulations were revised to discontinue the
practice of paying LEO geographic adjustments on top of
nationwide or worldwide special rates). As with IGA continued
rates, at the time of the January 1999 across-the-board pay
increase, an LEO continued rate will be increased by the dollar
amount of the increase in the officer's underlying GS rate. (See
5 CFR 531.307(b).)
Order for Processing Pay Actions
The general pay adjustments that take effect on the first day of
the first pay period beginning in January 1999 must be processed before
any individual pay action (e.g., a within-grade increase or
promotion) that takes effect on the same day. General pay
adjustments include across-the-board increases under 5 U.S.C.
5303, increases in locality payments or other geographic
adjustments, special rate increases, increases in retained rates,
and increases in continued rates under 5 CFR 531.703 or 531.307.
If there are multiple individual pay actions on the effective
date of the January 1999 pay adjustment, those actions must be
processed in the order that satisfies the simultaneous action
rule in 5 CFR 531.203(f).
Pay Administration
To assist agencies in administering pay as a result of the 1999 pay adjustments
for General Schedule employees, we are providing examples of pay computations
in a variety of situations. (See Attachment 4.)
Salary Tables for 1999
The Government Printing Office will publish the "Salary
Tables for 1999" book in early 1999. The salary table book
will provide the 1999 salary tables, locality pay tables
(including hourly rate tables), and detailed information on
administering locality rates of pay, calculating rates of pay,
maximum limitations on pay, and deductions for benefits.
IRS Tax Withholding Tables
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 15, Circular E, Employers
Tax Guide (revised January 1999), will show the 1999 wage
bracket income tax withholding tables for both single and married
persons who are paid on a biweekly basis. Publication 15 will be
mailed by IRS to employers and also should be available at IRS
offices in December 1998. (Call 1-800-829-3676 to order copies.)
IRS publications may be downloaded from the IRS Internet website
at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/forms_pubs/
index.html.
Questions
For further information, please contact our Pay and Leave
Administration Division by calling (202) 606-2858, sending a FAX
to (202) 606-0824, or sending an email message to payleave@opm.gov.
Last Modified: 3:38:05 PM on Wednesday, August 20, 2003
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