(a) Whenever the President finds that the Government's recruitment or retention efforts with respect to 1 or more occupations in 1 or more areas or locations are, or are likely to become, significantly handicapped, due to any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), he may establish for the areas or locations involved, with respect to individuals in positions paid under any of the pay systems referred to in subsection (c), higher minimum rates of basic pay for 1 or more grades or levels, occupational groups, series, classes, or subdivisions thereof, and may make corresponding increases in all step rates of the pay range for each such grade or level. However, a minimum rate so established may not exceed the maximum pay rate prescribed by statute for the grade or level by more than 30 percent, and no rate may be established under this section (disregarding any amount payable under subsection (g)) in excess of the rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive Schedule. The President may authorize the exercise of the authority conferred on him by this section by the Office of Personnel Management or, in the case of individuals not subject to the provisions of this title governing appointment in the competitive service, by such other agency as he may designate.
(b) The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are—
(1) rates of pay offered by non-Federal employers being significantly higher than those payable by the Government within the area, location, occupational group, or other class of positions under the pay system involved;
(2) the remoteness of the area or location involved;
(3) the undesirability of the working conditions or the nature of the work involved (including exposure to toxic substances or other occupational hazards); or
(4) any other circumstances which the President (or an agency duly authorized or designated by the President in accordance with the last sentence of subsection (a)) considers appropriate.
(c) Authority under subsection (a) may be exercised with respect to positions paid under—
(1) a statutory pay system; or
(2) any other pay system established by or under Federal statute for civilian positions within the executive branch.
(d) Within the limitations applicable under the preceding provisions of this section, rates of pay established under this section may be revised from time to time by the President or by such agency as he may designate. The actions and revisions have the force and effect of statute.
(e) An increase in a rate of basic pay established under this section is not an equivalent increase in pay within the meaning of section 5335.
(f) The rate of basic pay established under this section and received by an individual immediately before a statutory increase, which becomes effective prior to, on, or after the date of enactment of the statute, in the pay schedule applicable to such individual of any pay system specified in subsection (c) of this section, shall be initially adjusted, effective on the effective date of the statutory increase, under conversion rules prescribed by the President or by such agency as the President may designate.
(g)(1) The benefit of any comparability payments under section 5304 shall be available to individuals receiving rates of basic pay established under this section to such extent as the President (or his designated agency) considers appropriate, subject to paragraph (2) and subsection (h).
(2) Payments under this subsection may not be made if, or to the extent that, when added to basic pay otherwise payable, such payments would cause the total to exceed the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
(h) The rate of basic pay payable to an individual under this section may not, at any time, be less than the rate which would then be payable to such individual (taking comparability payments under section 5304 into account) if this section had never been enacted.
(Added Pub. L. 91–656, §3(a), Jan. 8, 1971, 84 Stat. 1946; amended Pub. L. 94–82, title II, §202(c), Aug. 9, 1975, 89 Stat. 420; Pub. L. 101–509, title V, §529 [title I, §101(a)(1)], Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 1436.)
Levels IV and V of the Executive Schedule, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (g)(2), are set out in sections 5315 and 5316, respectively, of this title.
The provisions of this title governing appointment in the competitive service, referred to in subsec. (a), are classified generally to section 3301 et seq. of this title.
1990—Pub. L. 101–509 amended section generally, substituting provisions authorizing President to make special pay increases whenever recruitment or retention efforts are handicapped for provisions requiring annual pay reports and adjustments, authorizing alternative plan in years of emergency or when economic conditions affect the general welfare, and setting forth procedure where Congressional committee disapproves such alternative plan.
1975—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 94–82, §202(c)(1), inserted provision relating to specification in the report to the Congress of the overall percentage of the adjustment in the rates of pay under the General Schedule and under other statutory pay systems.
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 94–82, §202(c)(2), inserted provision relating to specification in the report to the Congress of the overall percentage of the adjustment in the rates of pay under the General Schedule and under other statutory pay systems.
Amendment by Pub. L. 101–509 effective on such date as the President shall determine, but not earlier than 90 days, and not later than 180 days, after Nov. 5, 1990, see section 529 [title III, §305] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out as a note under section 5301 of this title.
For delegation of authorities of President under this section, see Ex. Ord. No. 12748, §3, Feb. 1, 1991, 56 F.R. 4521, eff. Feb. 3, 1991, set out as a note under section 5301 of this title.
Section 529 [title II, §209] of Pub. L. 101–509, as amended by Pub. L. 102–378, §3(3), Oct. 2, 1992, 106 Stat. 1355, provided that:
“(a)
“(1) grade GS–5 or 7 of the General Schedule;
“(2) a 2-grade-interval occupational series, as determined by the Office of Personnel Management; or
“(3) any combination of classes of positions described in paragraph (1) or (2) for which the President determines a recruiting difficulty exists.
“(b)
“(1) shall be paid in the same manner and at the same time as the employee's basic pay is paid, but may not be considered to be part of basic pay for any purpose; and
“(2) may be reduced or eliminated by the Office of Personnel Management in its sole discretion as the amendments made by this Act take effect [see Effective Date of 1990 Amendment and Short Title of 1990 Amendment notes set out under section 5301 of this title], except that no such reduction or elimination shall have the effect of reducing the total amount of pay (determined by adding basic pay and staffing differential) which any employee is receiving.”
[Authority of President under section 529 [title II, §209] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out above, delegated to Office of Personnel Management by Ex. Ord. No. 12748, Feb. 1, 1991, 56 F.R. 4521, eff. May 4, 1991, set out as a note under section 5301 of this title.]
Pub. L. 106–554, §1(a)(4) [div. B, title IX, §907(a)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–309, provided that: “Beginning on the effective date of this Act [see section 1(a)(4) [div. B, title IX, §909] of Pub. L. 106–554, set out in a Conversion to New Salary Schedule note under section 204 of Title 3, The President]—
“(1) no existing special salary rates shall be authorized for members of the United States Park Police under section 5305 of title 5, United States Code (or any previous similar provision of law); and
“(2) no special rates of pay or special pay adjustments shall be applicable to members of the United States Park Police pursuant to section 405 of the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 [section 529 [title IV, §405] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out in a note below].”
Section 529 [title IV, §§401–407] of Pub. L. 101–509, as amended by Pub. L. 102–378, §3(5)–(9), Oct. 2, 1992, 106 Stat. 1356; Pub. L. 103–123, title VI, §628, Oct. 28, 1993, 107 Stat. 1266; Pub. L. 103–178, title III, §303(a), Dec. 3, 1993, 107 Stat. 2034; Pub. L. 105–61, title I, §118(e), Oct. 10, 1997, 111 Stat. 1288; Pub. L. 106–554, §1(a)(4) [div. B, title IX, §907(b)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–309, provided that:
“This title [section 529 [title IV, §§401–412] of Pub. L. 101–509, enacting sections 4521 to 4523 of this title, amending sections 5541, 5542, 5547, 8335, and 8425 of this title, enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 4521, 5541, and 8335 of this title, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 5541 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990’.
“For the purposes of this title, except as otherwise provided, the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means any law enforcement officer within the meaning of section 5541(3) of title 5, United States Code, with respect to whom the provisions of chapter 51 of such title apply.
“(a) Notwithstanding the procedures of section 5305 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by section 101 of this Act, or similar provision of law, higher minimum rates and corresponding increases in all step rates of each designated General Schedule grade shall be established for law enforcement officers in accordance with the provisions of this section.
“(b)(1) Effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 1992, the higher minimum rates to be established are as follows:
“(2) Effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 1993, the higher minimum rates to be established are as follows:
“(c) The higher minimum rates and corresponding higher rates for each step rate of each designated grade shall apply to every law enforcement officer in the designated grades (except in the case of any law enforcement officer for whom a higher rate is authorized under section 5305 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by section 101 of this Act, or similar provision of law) in the same manner as rates established under section 5305 of such title, as so amended, and may be increased in accordance with subsection (f) of such section 5305.
“(d) Any interim entry-level adjustment under section 209 of this Act [section 529 [title II, §209] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out as a note above] which a law enforcement officer is receiving shall be eliminated on the day before the effective date of the higher minimum rates under subsection (b)(1).
“(a) A law enforcement officer shall be paid any applicable special pay adjustment in accordance with the provisions of this section, but such special pay adjustment shall be reduced by the amount of any applicable interim geographic adjustment under section 302 of this Act [section 529 [title III, §302] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out as a note under section 5304 of this title], any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by section 101 of this Act, and, to the extent determined appropriate by the Office of Personnel Management, any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 of such title, as so amended, or any similar provision of law (other than section 403).
“(b)(1) Except as provided in subsection (a), effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 1992, each law enforcement officer whose post of duty is in one of the following areas shall receive an adjustment, which shall be a percentage of the officer's rate of basic pay, as follows:
| “Area | Differential |
|---|---|
| Boston-Lawrence-Salem, MA–NH Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | 16% |
| Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL–IN–WI Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | 4% |
| Los Angeles-Anaheim-Riverside, CA Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | 16% |
| New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY–NJ–CT Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | 16% |
| Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton, PA–NJ–DE–MD Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | 4% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | 16% |
| San Diego, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area | 8% |
| Washington-Baltimore DC–MD–VA–WV Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | 4% |
“(2) In the case of any area specified in paragraph (1) that includes a portion, but not all, of a county, the Office of Personnel Management may, at the request of the head of 1 or more law enforcement agencies, extend the area specified in paragraph (1) to include, for the purposes of this section, the entire county, if the Office determines that such extension would be in the interests of good personnel administration. Any such extension shall be applicable to each law enforcement officer whose post of duty is in the area of the extension.
“(c)(1) A special pay adjustment under this section shall be administered, to the extent practicable, in the same manner as a locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by section 101 of this Act, and shall be considered part of basic pay to the same degree as such a locality-based comparability payment.
“(2) The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe such regulations as it considers necessary concerning the payment of special pay adjustments to law enforcement officers under this section.
“(a) The appropriate agency head (as defined in subsection (c)) shall prescribe regulations under which the purposes of sections 403, 404, and 407 shall be carried out with respect to individuals holding positions described in subsection (b).
“(b) This subsection applies with respect to any—
“(1) special agent within the Diplomatic Security Service;
“(2) probation officer (referred to in section 3672 of title 18, United States Code); or
“(3) pretrial services officer (referred to in section 3153 of title 18, United States Code).
“(c) For purposes of this section, the term ‘appropriate agency head’ means—
“(1) with respect to any individual under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of State; or
“(2) with respect to any individual under subsection (b)(2) or (b)(3), the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
“(a) The total pay of an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the New York Field Division before the date of September 29, 1993, in a position covered by the demonstration project conducted under section 601 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1989 (Public Law 100–453) [102 Stat. 1911] shall not be reduced as a result of the termination of the demonstration project during the period that employee remains employed after that date in a position covered by the demonstration project.
“(b) Beginning on September 30, 1993, any periodic payment under section 601(a)(2) of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1989 [Pub. L. 100–453, 102 Stat. 1911] for any such employee shall be reduced by the amount of any increase in basic pay under title 5, United States Code, including the following provisions: an annual adjustment under section 5303, locality-based comparability payment under section 5304, initiation or increase in a special pay rate under section 5305, promotion under section 5334, periodic step increase under section 5335, merit increase under section 5404, or other increase to basic pay under any provision of law.
“Notwithstanding section 5753(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States Code, as added by this Act, a law enforcement officer whose rate of basic pay is less than $60,000 may receive a relocation payment of up to $15,000 under section 5753.”
[Section 303(b) of Pub. L. 103–178 provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending section 529 [title IV, §406] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out above] shall take effect as of September 30, 1993, and shall apply to the pay of employees to whom the amendment applies that is earned on or after that date.”]
[For effective dates of amendments by section 3(5)–(9) of Pub. L. 102–378 to section 529 [title IV, §§402, 403(d), 404(a), (b), 405(a)] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out above, see section 9(a), (b)(6), (9) of Pub. L. 102–378, set out as an Effective Date of 1992 Amendment note under section 6303 of this title.]
Section 529 [title IV, §412] of Pub. L. 101–509 provided that: “Not later than January 1, 1993, the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with Federal law enforcement agencies and law enforcement employee groups, shall submit to Congress, in writing, a plan to establish a separate pay and classification system for law enforcement officers and specifications for legislation to implement such plan.”
This section is referred to in sections 3326, 5363, 5542, 5543, 5545, 5547 of this title; title 18 section 3006A; title 21 section 848; title 31 section 325; title 49 section 1113.