Promises of Pay Parity -- Dashed Again

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By Joe Davidson

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Dear Frank and Flo Fed,

Good news! The law says you're due a whopping 31 percent pay raise because you live in the Washington, D.C., pay area.

The bad news -- you're not going to get it.

Realistically,

Uncle Sam

Let me explain.

Under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990, the disparity between pay for federal and non-federal workers should be down to 5 percent. But Uncle Sam hasn't followed the law.

To reach that point now, he would need to boost D.C. area federal pay by almost one-third, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued last month. Raises for other areas would vary because of differences in local labor markets. The nationwide hike would average more than 19 percent.

But "the law has never been implemented as originally enacted," the report says.

You can't put Uncle Sam in jail for flouting this law. It gives him a big loophole. He's free to ignore the otherwise required pay raises primarily for GS (General Schedule) employees "in the event of a national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare," the report explains.

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