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Problems With the Federal Wage System Schedule - FederalPay.org

Federal employees are paid according to complex pay scales like the General Schedule, Federal Wage System, Law Enforcement Payscale, Senior Executive Service, and Military Pay Scale. These pay scales determine the salaries of federal civilian employees, blue-collar workers, law enforcement officers, top government officials, and service members respectively. Federal employees are assigned grades based on the job, experience, and education level. Unfortunately, many find these systems cumbersome and difficult to navigate.

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General Schedule Payscale

Federal Wage System Payscale

Law Enforcement Officer Payscale

Senior Executive Service Pay Scale

Military Pay Scales

Issues with How Government Pay is Structured

Wage Scales are Too Complex

The Federal Government is a giant bureaucracy, and it’s known for being slow and inefficient. It’s not surprising that the government also complicates how it pays its employees. Federal government salary and wage scales are public information, but that information can be challenging to find and understand. It’s scattered across the internet and once located, difficult to parse.

As stated, the federal government uses many different pay scales. For example, blue-collar jobs like those in the craft, trade, and manual labor industries are paid using the Federal Wage System Schedule (FWS). Unlike other salary-based scales, the FWS is wage-based, meaning employees are paid hourly. FWS is the second most widely used pay scale within the federal government. It’s used to calculate the pay of over 10 million Americans every year.

The FWS is designed to ensure that federal blue-collar workers are paid a fair wage that is equivalent to what workers make in the private sector. The government conducts regular surveys to determine fair wages based on the geographic area and the type of work performed. However, this system is considered by many to be outdated and complicated. Many FWS jobs are paid too much or not enough. Plus, the FWS location boundaries were drawn in the 1970s and can no longer be used to fairly determine the pay of all FWS workers today.

FWS Salaries are Behind Comparable Private-Sector Jobs

Wage surveys are used to determine fair wages for the different types of blue-collar jobs within the federal government’s labor force. When these jobs include plumbers and electricians, there is plenty of private sector information to survey. However, when the federal government is the only major employer within a certain area or field, gathering comparable information becomes increasingly difficult.

Due to issues like these, President Obama signed an executive order mandating a $10.10 minimum wage for all federal employees and contractors. While efforts like this do help, they are not always enough. Similarly, the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act did provide some flexibility regarding pay scales. These reforms are essentially band-aids that do not address or change the main problems with the GS system.

Government Starting Salaries are Not Competitive

The federal government has sought to increase the performance levels of federal employees. While pay is not the most important issue for every job applicant, it’s a factor. Many private-sector companies pay above-market salaries as a way to attract and hire qualified talent. Salaries that are below market-based salaries often deter applicants. Low pay is one of the employees’ most common complaints, especially when working for the federal government. To address staffing, retention, and performance problems, the federal government should increase starting salaries for many federal jobs.

The simple truth remains that the starting salaries for federal positions for high-demand occupations are not competitive enough. The below-market starting salaries make it difficult for agencies to staff positions. Every year, salaries are adjusted, but these adjustments are generally automatic. The market comparisons are complicated and not always accurate because of the process the Bureau of Labor Statistics is required to use.

The Step System is Not Enough

The government pay scale does provide employees raises when they obtain an automatic step increase. However, these increases are not tied to the employee’s performance. In private sector companies, employers can pay to attract and reward high performers through performance bonuses. The government cannot give employees bonuses based on performance. Many high-demand federal positions are hard to fill for various reasons, including the location of the job. If the job is in an undesirable place to live with a high local cost of living and commuting nightmares, the position might be extremely difficult to change and therefore difficult to fill.

The Pay System Needs Comprehensive Change

The federal pay system has been modified so often that it’s extremely difficult for an average American citizen to understand its patchwork of complexities. Because wage information is so hard to find and comprehend across a number of websites, many prospective federal employees may not know what their wages will be until after they commit to a job.

Blue-collar employees are some of the most vulnerable employees in the federal government. They deserve a more modern pay system. Blue-collar workers should be paid fairly and predictably, and the Federal Wage System Schedule in its current form cannot effectively meet these needs.

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Topics: FWS
** This Document Provided By www.FederalPay.org - The Civil Employee's Resource **
Source: www.federalpay.org/articles/federal-wage-system-problems