Administration announces 2002 civilian raises

By Irene Brown
Editor

President Bush issued an executive order Dec. 31 outlining base and locality pay raises for General Schedule employees. West Point employees, who are part of the New York City locality area, will receive 5.07 percent.

The 2002 Treasury-Postal spending bill directed the president to give employees an average 4.6 percent pay raise. The administration has divided that raise between a 3.6 percent base pay increase for all employees and an average 1 percent locality pay adjustment.

Locality pay varies according to regional work areas and is based on the cost-of-living in those areas.

For example, employees in the San Francisco area will receive the largest total pay raise, 5.42 percent. Other areas that will receive more than 5 percent include Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Los Angeles.

Employees in the Washington, D.C., area will receive 4.77 percent, while those in other cities will see a 4.52 percent raise.

The Clinton administration implemented locality-based raises in 1994, as part of the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, which was intended to close the pay gap between public and private sector salaries. While designed to close that gap to within 5 percent, the raises under the law have never been fully funded.

To see the full pay tables go to www.opm.gov/oca/payrates.