Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has said she plans to introduce a bill to provide relief from the pay caps that affect employees in the General Schedule. This proposal would help address an FMA issue brief we have advocated for in recent years.

FMA’s 2022 issue briefs note, “The federal pay ceiling cap has not kept up with the higher cost of living in many cities across the United States. This issue plays a role in recruitment and retention to the federal workforce, which already has hiring issues. If an employee is offered a promotion at a higher level, with more responsibilities, but no corresponding salary increase, will they take on the new role? Technology employees who are now capped may be tempted to leave the government for the private sector, where there is no pay cap. Congress must address this problem before it grows exponentially.”

The impact will undoubtedly grow larger if the likely 4.6 percent pay raise takes effect in 2023 as expected. Fedweek reported Norton’s planned bill “would instead allow employees ‘to receive the base and locality pay adjustments they would otherwise be entitled to.’

“This bill will allow many of the longest-serving federal public servants, District of Columbia residents among them, to receive the pay adjustments they are entitled to but for the pay cap,” Norton said in a statement. “This bill will help the federal government hire and retain the most qualified individuals. Pay adjustments are especially important during periods of high inflation.”

FMA will continue to work with Delegate Norton and others on correcting this unfair and hurtful pay compression problem.