B-310004, United States Capitol Police--Cost of Living Payments, December 3, 2007
Decision
Matter of: United States Capitol Police—Cost of Living Payments
DIGEST
The United States Capitol Police
(USCP) was authorized to make a lump sum payment on
DECISION
The Inspector General for the
United States Capitol Police (USCP) has requested a decision regarding USCP’s
payment of a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for its uniformed members and
civilian employees (eligible employees).
Letter from Carl W. Hoecker,
Inspector General, USCP, to Gary L. Kepplinger, General Counsel, GAO, Subject: Request for Comptroller General
Decision, Aug. 8, 2007 (Hoecker Letter).
Specifically, the Inspector General (IG) asks whether USCP properly made
a lump sum COLA payment to eligible employees on
BACKGROUND
The Capitol Police Board (Board) is responsible for establishing and maintaining rates and schedules of basic pay for eligible employees.[1] 2 U.S.C. sect. 1923(a)(1). Pursuant to this duty, the Board maintains the Capitol Police Board Resolution for Unified Schedules of Rates of Basic Pay for Members and Civilian Employees of the United States Capitol Police (Board Resolution). The Board may adjust the Board Resolution as it sees fit to reflect changes in the cost of living and to maintain pay comparability. 2 U.S.C. sect. 1923(a)(2). Such changes may take effect only after approval by the House Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration (the committees). 2 U.S.C. sect. 1923(a)(3). The Board Resolution provides that, subject to committee approval, the Board may adjust basic pay for eligible employees “effective at the beginning of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after the first day of the month in which an adjustment becomes effective [for federal employees under a statutory pay system] under section 5303 of title 5, United States Code.”[2] Board Resolution, sections (a)3(A), (b)3(A).
On
On December 27, 2006, the Board submitted to the
committees a proposal to increase pay for eligible employees by 2.64 percent, consistent
with the President’s order under 5 U.S.C. sect. 5303, in accordance with sections
(a)3 and (b)3 of the Board Resolution.
Letter from Wilson Livingood, Chairman, Board, to the Honorable Vernon
Ehlers, Chairman, House Committee on House Administration, Dec. 27, 2006
(Livingood Letter); Letter from William H. Pickle, Sergeant at Arms and Member
of the Board, to the Honorable Trent Lott, Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules
and Administration, Dec. 27, 2006 (Lott Letter). The House Committee approved the proposal on
On
DISCUSSION
As a general matter, employees’ pay adjustments are
prospective. B-252215,
However, when implementation of an otherwise prospective
pay adjustment is delayed under statutorily authorized procedures, the pay
adjustment may cover past pay periods so long as there is recognition of the
effective date, notwithstanding the delay, and payments do not cover pay
periods preceding that effective date.
For example, on
As discussed above, Congress has charged the Board with
responsibility for establishing and maintaining the pay system for eligible
employees, and specified that the Board may make changes to the pay schedules
as the Board sees fit to reflect changes in the cost of living. 2 U.S.C. sect. 1923(a). Pursuant to this duty, the Board established
and maintains the Board Resolution. The Board Resolution provides that when a
COLA becomes effective for federal employees under a statutory pay system, the
Board may grant a similar adjustment to eligible USCP employees, subject to
committee approval. Board Resolution, sections
(a)3(A), (b)3(A). An approved COLA
becomes “effective at the beginning of the first applicable pay period beginning
on or after the first day of the month in which an adjustment becomes effective”
for statutory pay system employees.
Following the President’s grant of a COLA to federal
employees under 5 U.S.C. sect. 5303,
the Board submitted its proposed COLA to the committees via letter on
The House Committee returned the letter to the Board
stamped “approved,” initialed by the Chairman, and dated
USCP’s General Counsel raised concerns whether USCP had
authority to make the payments effective January 7, because the Board’s letters
to the committees requesting approval of the COLA payment did not explicitly
advise that payment would be effective
As noted above, the letters themselves indicated that the
Board planned to make pay adjustments “[u]nder section (a)3” and “[u]nder
section (b)3” of the Board Resolution.
Livingood Letter; Feinstein Letter.
These sections of the Board Resolution provide that adjustments to USCP
pay schedules, such as COLAs, become “effective at the beginning of the first
applicable pay period beginning on or after the first day of the month in which
an adjustment becomes effective” for statutory pay system employees. Board Resolution, sections (a)3(A), (b)3(A). We think that because the letters referred to
these specific provisions of the Board Resolution, the committees were alerted
that, with their approval, the Board would make the COLA payments effective
CONCLUSION
USCP was authorized to make COLA payments effective
Gary L. Kepplinger
General Counsel
[1]
The Board’s purpose is to oversee USCP and coordinate USCP’s law enforcement
activities with the Sergeants at Arms of the House and Senate. Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003,
Pub. L. No. 108-7, sect. 1014, 117 Stat. 11, 361 (
[2] Section 5303 provides for yearly COLAs for civilian executive branch employees.
[3]
Our practice when rendering decisions is to obtain the views of the relevant
federal agencies. GAO, Procedures and Practices for Legal Decisions
and Opinions, GAO-06-1064SP (
[4] Based on interviews with Committee staff, the IG in his August 2007 report determined that, in fact, the Committee had understood that the adjustment would be effective in January. IG Report, at 2, 4.
[5] On
February 28, subsequent to enactment of the Continuing Resolution for the
remainder of fiscal year 2007, the Chairman of the Senate Committee signed
“approved” on the February 23 letter from USCP to the Committee regarding the
COLA. Feinstein Letter. This letter, too, referred to sections (a)3
and (b)3 of the Board Resolution.