Washington, D.C. 20530

August 4, 2003

MEMORANDUM FOR BUREAU HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICERS

The attached Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memorandum and attachments provide instructions for the annual review of special salary rates required by 5 U.S.C. § 5305. The review covers each special rate authorization in effect as of September 30, 2003.

In accordance with OPM’s instructions, please submit one OPM Form 1397 (Short Form) to cover all special salary rate authorizations for which you request a percentage increase equal to the General Schedule (GS) increase. Attachment 1 provides guidelines for the other possible scenarios. Please be sure to include Information Technology special salary rates (Tables 999A-F) in your review. Note: The actual amount of the 2004 GS increase is unknown. The President’s budget provides for an overall average increase of 2 percent.
Please submit the required forms by September 30, 2003, to:

Edith T. Byrne
Assistant Director for Workforce Effectiveness
Personnel Staff
U.S. Department of Justice
National Place Building, Suite 1110
1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

In January 2004, OPM plans to amend the information technology (IT) special rate tables 999A 999F to delete the former GS-334 Computer Specialist series designation. The IT special rate tables will continue to cover the GS-854, Computer Engineer; GS-550, Computer Scientist; and GS-2210, Information Technology Management, occupational series. OPM retained the GS-334 series designation on the IT special rate tables to give agencies more time to implement the new classification standard.

By January 2004, components should have completed their reclassification actions and classified affected IT positions to the appropriate series. If you are unable to complete reclassifying your GS-334 positions by January 2004, please contact Jamie Higgins by October 31, 2003, and inform her of your expected completion date.

If you need additional information or assistance, please contact Ms. Higgins, of my staff’s Workforce Effectiveness Group, at (202) 514-5781.

Attachment

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