Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990
Encyclopedia
The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 or FEPCA was an attempt to address the need for pay reform in the executive branch of the United States Government
that became apparent in the 1980s as Federal civil service salaries fell behind those in the private sector
. FEPCA provided guidelines to achieve pay comparability between Federal and non-Federal jobs. FEPCA was enacted as Section 529 of the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law 101-509, signed into law on 5 November 1990).
and to maintain comparability by locality. It also called for establishment of the following special pay plans: Senior Level (SL) employees (non-supervisory and non-managerial employees classified above grade 15 of the General Schedule), administrative law judge
s (AL), members of the Boards of Contract Appeals (CA), certain law enforcement officers, employees in the Senior Biomedical Service, and police
of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
and the United States Mint
. FEPCA also authorized recruitment and relocation bonuses and retention allowances in special situations as well. A major feature of the Act, locality pay, is discussed below.
's Employment Cost Index
(ECI), which does not necessarily correlate to the better-known Consumer Price Index
that tracks consumer prices. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have complained about the methodology used to compute locality adjustments and the projected cost of closing the pay gap (as determined by FEPCA) between Federal salaries and those in the private sector. As a result, FEPCA has never been fully implemented.
Although FEPCA provides for an automatic formula to determine the annual pay raise, this formula has been ignored due to the cost of implementation. The President has authority under FEPCA to submit an "alternative" pay plan with a lower raise than that called for by the FEPCA formula (or none at all) "if because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare" [5 U.S.C. §5303(b)(1)]. In reality, the final pay raise has been decided by Congress, which has authorized higher increases than what were originally requested by the President in his annual budget submissions.
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
that became apparent in the 1980s as Federal civil service salaries fell behind those in the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
. FEPCA provided guidelines to achieve pay comparability between Federal and non-Federal jobs. FEPCA was enacted as Section 529 of the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law 101-509, signed into law on 5 November 1990).
FEPCA Provisions
The most far reaching provisions of the Act were to change the way pay is set for the General ScheduleGeneral Schedule
The General Schedule is the predominant pay scale within the United States civil service. The GS includes the majority of white collar personnel positions...
and to maintain comparability by locality. It also called for establishment of the following special pay plans: Senior Level (SL) employees (non-supervisory and non-managerial employees classified above grade 15 of the General Schedule), administrative law judge
Administrative law judge
An administrative law judge in the United States is an official who presides at an administrative trial-type hearing to resolve a dispute between a government agency and someone affected by a decision of that agency. The ALJ is usually the initial trier of fact and decision maker...
s (AL), members of the Boards of Contract Appeals (CA), certain law enforcement officers, employees in the Senior Biomedical Service, and police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...
and the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
. FEPCA also authorized recruitment and relocation bonuses and retention allowances in special situations as well. A major feature of the Act, locality pay, is discussed below.
Locality Pay
FEPCA provides for a two-part annual pay adjustment for General Schedule workers: an across-the-board pay adjustment and a locality pay adjustment that varies by pay locality. Locality pay may be extended by Executive Order to other pay plans outside the General Schedule. Employees receiving special rates for hard-to-fill positions receive the higher of their special salary rate or locality pay.Implementation of FEPCA
A common misconception is that the locality adjustments are determined according to cost of living fluctuations and other regional considerations. In fact, the adjustments are determined according to the cost of employment in a given area as measured by the Department of LaborUnited States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
's Employment Cost Index
Employment Cost Index
The Employment Cost Index is a quarterly economic series detailing the changes in the costs of labor for businesses in the United States economy. The ECI is prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics , in the U.S...
(ECI), which does not necessarily correlate to the better-known Consumer Price Index
Consumer price index
A consumer price index measures changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI, in the United States is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of...
that tracks consumer prices. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have complained about the methodology used to compute locality adjustments and the projected cost of closing the pay gap (as determined by FEPCA) between Federal salaries and those in the private sector. As a result, FEPCA has never been fully implemented.
Although FEPCA provides for an automatic formula to determine the annual pay raise, this formula has been ignored due to the cost of implementation. The President has authority under FEPCA to submit an "alternative" pay plan with a lower raise than that called for by the FEPCA formula (or none at all) "if because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare" [5 U.S.C. §5303(b)(1)]. In reality, the final pay raise has been decided by Congress, which has authorized higher increases than what were originally requested by the President in his annual budget submissions.