TITLE 5 - US CODE - CHAPTER 53 - PAY RATES AND SYSTEMS

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER I - PAY COMPARABILITY SYSTEM

5 USC 5301 - Policy

It is the policy of Congress that Federal pay fixing for employees under the General Schedule be based on the principles that
(1) there be equal pay for substantially equal work within each local pay area;
(2) within each local pay area, pay distinctions be maintained in keeping with work and performance distinctions;
(3) Federal pay rates be comparable with non-Federal pay rates for the same levels of work within the same local pay area; and
(4) any existing pay disparities between Federal and non-Federal employees should be completely eliminated.

5 USC 5302 - Definitions

For the purpose of this subchapter
(1) the term statutory pay system means a pay system under
(A) subchapter III, relating to the General Schedule;
(B) section 403 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, relating to the Foreign Service of the United States; or
(C) chapter 74 of title 38, relating to the Veterans Health Administration (other than a position subject to section 7451 of title 38);
(2) the term ECI means the Employment Cost Index (wages and salaries, private industry workers) published quarterly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
(3) the base quarter for any year is the 3-month period ending on September 30 of such year;
(4) the term pay agent means the agent designated by the President under section 5304 (d)(1);
(5) the term locality or pay locality means any locality, as established or modified under section 5304;
(6) the term pay disparity, as used with respect to a locality, means the extent to which rates of pay payable under the General Schedule are generally lower than the rates paid for the same levels of work by non-Federal workers in the same locality; except as otherwise required in this subchapter, a pay disparity shall be expressed as a single percentage which, if uniformly applied to employees within the locality who are receiving rates of pay under the General Schedule, would cause the rates payable to such employees to become substantially equal (when considered in the aggregate) to the rates paid to non-Federal workers for the same levels of work in the same locality;
(7) the term comparability payment means a payment payable under section 5304;
(8) the term rates of pay under the General Schedule, rates of pay for the General Schedule, or scheduled rates of basic pay means the rates of basic pay under the General Schedule as established by section 5332, excluding pay under section 5304 and any other additional pay of any kind; and
(9) the term General Schedule position means any position to which subchapter III applies.

5 USC 5303 - Annual adjustments to pay schedules

(a) Effective as of the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1 of each calendar year, the rates of basic pay for each statutory pay system shall be increased by the percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent) equal to one-half of 1 percentage point less than the percentage by which the ECI for the base quarter of the year before the preceding calendar year exceeds the ECI for the base quarter of the second year before the preceding calendar year (if at all).
(b) 
(1) If, because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, the President should consider the pay adjustment which would otherwise be required by subsection (a) in any year to be inappropriate, the President shall
(A) prepare and transmit to Congress before September 1 of the preceding calendar year a plan for such alternative pay adjustments as he considers appropriate, together with the reasons therefor; and
(B) adjust the rates of pay of each statutory pay system, in accordance with such plan, effective on the same day as the increase under subsection (a) would otherwise take effect.
(2) In evaluating an economic condition affecting the general welfare under this subsection, the President shall consider pertinent economic measures including, but not limited to, the Indexes of Leading Economic Indicators, the Gross National Product, the unemployment rate, the budget deficit, the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, the Employment Cost Index, and the Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumption Expenditures.
(3) The President shall include in the report to Congress under paragraph (1)(A) his assessment of the impact that the alternative pay adjustments under this subsection will have on the Governments ability to recruit and retain well-qualified employees.
(c) The rates of basic pay that take effect under this section
(1) shall modify, supersede, or render inapplicable, as the case may be, to the extent inconsistent therewith, any prior rates of basic pay under the statutory pay system involved (as last adjusted under this section or prior provisions of law); and
(2) shall be printed in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.
(d) An increase in rates of basic pay that takes effect under this section is not an equivalent increase in pay within the meaning of section 5335.
(e) This section does not impair any authority pursuant to which rates of basic pay may be fixed by administrative action.
(f) Pay may not be paid, by reason of any provision of this section (disregarding any comparability payment payable), at a rate in excess of the rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive Schedule.
(g) Any rate of pay under this section shall be initially adjusted, effective on the effective date of the rate of pay, under conversion rules prescribed by the President or by such agency or agencies as the President may designate.

5 USC 5304 - Locality-based comparability payments

(a) Pay disparities shall be identified and reduced as follows:
(1) Comparability payments shall be payable within each locality determined to have a pay disparity greater than 5 percent.
(2) 
(A) The localities having pay disparities, and the size of those disparities, shall, for purposes of any comparability payment scheduled to take effect in any calendar year, be determined in accordance with the appropriate report, as prepared and submitted to the President under subsection (d)(1) for purposes of such calendar year.
(B) Any computation necessary to determine the size of the comparability payment to become payable for any locality in a year (as well as any determination as to the size of any pay disparity remaining after that comparability payment is made) shall likewise be made using data contained in the appropriate report (described in subparagraph (A)) so prepared and submitted for purposes of such calendar year.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), the amount of the comparability payments payable under this subsection in a calendar year within any locality in which a comparability payment is payable shall be computed using such percentage as the President determines for such locality under subsection (d)(2), except that
(A) the percentage for the first calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 1/5 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent;
(B) the percentage for the second calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 3/10 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent;
(C) the percentage for the third calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 2/5 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent;
(D) the percentage for the fourth calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 1/2 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent;
(E) the percentage for the fifth calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 3/5 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent;
(F) the percentage for the sixth calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 7/10 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent;
(G) the percentage for the seventh calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 4/5 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent;
(H) the percentage for the eighth calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section may not be less than 9/10 of the amount needed to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent; and
(I) the percentage for the ninth calendar year in which any amounts are payable under this section, and any year thereafter, may not be less than the full amount necessary to reduce the pay disparity of the locality involved to 5 percent.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be considered to preclude the President, in his discretion, from adjusting comparability payments to a level higher than the minimum level otherwise required in a calendar year, including to the level necessary to eliminate a localitys pay disparity completely.
(b) After the ninth calendar year (referred to in subsection (a)(3)(I)), the level of comparability payments payable within such locality may be reduced for any subsequent calendar year, but only if, or to the extent that, the reduction would not immediately create another pay disparity in excess of 5 percent within the locality (taking into consideration any comparability payments remaining payable).
(c) 
(1) The amount of the comparability payment payable within any particular locality during a calendar year
(A) shall be stated as a single percentage, which shall be uniformly applicable to General Schedule positions within the locality; and
(B) shall, for any employee entitled to receive a comparability payment, be computed by applying that percentage to such employees scheduled rate of basic pay (or, if lower due to a limitation on the rate payable, the rate actually payable), subject to subsection (g).
(2) A comparability payment
(A) shall be considered to be part of basic pay for purposes of retirement under chapter 83 or 84, as applicable, life insurance under chapter 87, and premium pay under subchapter V of chapter 55, and for such other purposes as may be expressly provided for by law or as the Office of Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe; and
(B) shall be paid in the same manner and at the same time as the basic pay payable to such employee pursuant to any provision of law outside of this section.
(3) Nothing in this subchapter shall be considered to permit or require that any portion of a comparability payment be taken into account for purposes of any adjustment under section 5303.
(4) 
(A) Only employees receiving scheduled rates of basic pay (subject to any pay limitation which may apply) shall be eligible for comparability payments under this section.
(B) Comparability payments shall not be payable for service performed in any position which may not, under subsection (f)(1)(A), be included within a pay locality.
(d) In order to carry out this section, the President shall
(1) direct such agent as he considers appropriate to prepare and submit to him annually, after considering such views and recommendations as may be submitted under subsection (e) (but not later than 13 months before the start of the calendar year for purposes of which it is prepared), a report that
(A) compares the rates of pay under the General Schedule (disregarding any described in section 5302 (8)(C))1 with the rates of pay generally paid to non-Federal workers for the same levels of work within each pay locality, as determined on the basis of appropriate surveys that shall be conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
(B) based on data from such surveys, identifies each locality in which a pay disparity exists and specifies the size of each such pay disparity (before and after taking into consideration any comparability payments payable);
(C) makes recommendations for appropriate comparability payments, in conformance with applicable requirements of this section; and
(D) includes the views and recommendations submitted under subsection (e);
(2) after considering the report of his agent (including the views and recommendations referred to in subsection (e)(2)(C), provide for or adjust comparability payments in conformance with applicable requirements of this section, effective as of the beginning of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after January 1 of the applicable year; and
(3) transmit to Congress a report of the actions taken under paragraph (2) (together with a copy of the report submitted to him by his agent, including the views and recommendations referred to in subsection (e)(2)(C)) which shall
(A) identify each pay locality;
(B) specify which localities have pay disparities in excess of 5 percent, and the size of the disparity existing in each of those localities, according to the pay agents most recent report under paragraph (1) (before and after taking into consideration any comparability payments payable); and
(C) indicate the size of the respective comparability payments (expressed as percentages) which will be in effect under paragraph (2) for the various pay localities specified under subparagraph (B) for the applicable calendar year.
(e) 
(1) The President shall establish a Federal Salary Council of 9 members, of whom
(A) 3 shall be chosen from among persons generally recognized for their impartiality, knowledge, and experience in the field of labor relations and pay policy; and
(B) 6 shall be representatives of employee organizations which represent substantial numbers of employees holding General Schedule positions, and who shall be selected giving due consideration to such factors as the relative numbers of employees represented by the various organizations, except that not more than 3 members of the Council at any one time shall be from a single employee organization, council, federation, alliance, association, or affiliation of employee organizations.

Members of the Council shall not receive pay by reason of their service on the Council, nor shall members who are not otherwise employees of the United States be considered employees by reason of any such service. However, members under subparagraph (A) may be paid expenses in accordance with section 5703. The President shall designate one of the members to serve as Chairman of the Federal Salary Council. One of the 3 members under subparagraph (A) may be the Chairman of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, notwithstanding the restriction under section 5347 (a)(1), and such individual may also be designated to serve as Chairman of the Federal Salary Council.

(2) The pay agent shall
(A) provide for meetings with the Council and give thorough consideration to the views and recommendations of the Council and the individual views and recommendations, if any, of the members of the Council regarding
(i) the establishment or modification of pay localities;
(ii) the coverage of the surveys of pay localities conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under subsection (d)(1)(A) (including, but not limited to, the occupations, establishment sizes, and industries to be surveyed, and how pay localities are to be surveyed);
(iii) the process of comparing the rates of pay payable under the General Schedule with rates of pay for the same levels of work performed by non-Federal workers; and
(iv) the level of comparability payments that should be paid in order to eliminate or reduce pay disparities in accordance with the requirements of this section;
(B) give thorough consideration to the views and recommendations of employee organizations not represented on the Council regarding the subjects in subparagraph (A)(i)(iv); and
(C) include in its report to the President the views and recommendations submitted as provided in this subsection by the Council, by any member of the Council, and by employee organizations not represented on the Council.
(f) 
(1) The pay agent may provide for such pay localities as the pay agent considers appropriate, except that
(A) each General Schedule position (excluding any outside the continental United States, as defined in section 5701 (6)) shall be included with a pay locality; and
(B) the boundaries of pay localities shall be determined based on appropriate factors which may include local labor market patterns, commuting patterns, and practices of other employers.
(2) 
(A) The establishment or modification of any such boundaries shall be effected by regulations which, notwithstanding subsection (a)(2) of section 553, shall be promulgated in accordance with the notice and comment requirements of such section.
(B) Judicial review of any regulation under this subsection shall be limited to whether or not it was promulgated in accordance with the requirements referred to in subparagraph (A).
(g) 
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), comparability payments may not be paid at a rate which, when added to the rate of basic pay otherwise payable to the employee involved, would cause the total to exceed the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
(2) The applicable maximum under this subsection shall be level III of the Executive Schedule for
(A) positions under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (h)(1); and
(B) any positions under subsection (h)(1)(C) as the President may determine.
(h) 
(1) For the purpose of this subsection, the term position means
(A) a position to which section 5372 applies (relating to administrative law judges appointed under section 3105);
(B) a position to which section 5372a applies (relating to contract appeals board members); and
(C) a position within an Executive agency not covered under the General Schedule or any of the preceding subparagraphs, the rate of basic pay for which is (or, but for this section, would be) no more than the rate payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule; but does not include
(i) a position to which subchapter IV applies (relating to prevailing rate systems);
(ii) a position as to which a rate of pay is authorized under section 5377 (relating to critical positions);
(iii) a position to which subchapter II applies (relating to the Executive Schedule);
(iv) a Senior Executive Service position under section 3132;
(v) a position in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service under section 3151;
(vi) a position in a system equivalent to the system in clause (iv), as determined by the Presidents Pay Agent designated under subsection (d); or
(vii) a position to which section 5376 applies (relating to certain senior-level and scientific and professional positions).
(2) 
(A) Notwithstanding subsection (c)(4) or any other provision of this section, but subject to subparagraph (B) and paragraph (3), upon the request of the head of an Executive agency with respect to 1 or more categories of positions, the President may provide that each employee of such agency who holds a position within such category, and within the particular locality involved, shall be entitled to receive comparability payments.
(B) A request by an agency head or exercise of authority by the President under subparagraph (A) shall cover
(i) with respect to the positions under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), all positions described in the subparagraph or subparagraphs involved (excluding any under clause (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), or (vii) of such paragraph); and
(ii) with respect to positions under paragraph (1)(C), such positions as may be considered appropriate (excluding any under clause (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), or (vii) of paragraph (1)).
(C) Notwithstanding subsection (c)(4) or any other provision of law, but subject to paragraph (3), in the case of a category with positions that are in more than 1 Executive agency, the President may, on his own initiative, provide that each employee who holds a position within such category, and in the locality involved, shall be entitled to receive comparability payments. No later than 30 days before an employee receives comparability payments under this subparagraph, the President or the Presidents designee shall submit a detailed report to the Congress justifying the reasons for the extension, including consideration of recruitment and retention rates and the expense of extending locality pay.
(3) Comparability payments under this subsection
(A) may be paid only in any calendar year in which comparability payments under the preceding provisions of this section are payable with respect to General Schedule positions within the same locality;
(B) shall take effect, within the locality involved, on the first day of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after such date as the President designates (except that no date may be designated which would require any retroactive payments), and shall remain in effect through the last day of the last applicable pay period commencing during that calendar year;
(C) shall be computed using the same percentage as is applicable, for the calendar year involved, with respect to General Schedule positions within the same locality; and
(D) shall be subject to the applicable limitation under subsection (g).
(i) The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations, consistent with the provisions of this section, governing the payment of comparability payments to employees.
[1] See References in Text note below.

5 USC 5304a - Authority to fix an alternative level of comparability payments

(a) If, because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, the President should consider the level of comparability payments which would otherwise be payable under section 5304 in any year to be inappropriate, the President shall
(1) prepare and transmit to Congress, at least 1 month before those comparability payments (disregarding this section) would otherwise become payable, a report describing the alternative level of payments which the President instead intends to provide, including the reasons why such alternative level is considered necessary; and
(2) implement the alternative level of payments beginning on the same date as would otherwise apply, for the year involved, under section 5304.
(b) The requirements set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, of section 5303 (b) shall apply with respect to any decision to exercise any authority to fix an alternative level of comparability payments under this section.

5 USC 5305 - Special pay authority

(a) 
(1) Whenever the Office of Personnel Management finds that the Governments 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), the Office 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 pay for 1 or more grades or levels, occupational groups, series, classes, or subdivisions thereof, and may make corresponding increases in all rates of the pay range for each such grade or level. However, a minimum rate so established may not exceed the maximum rate of basic pay (excluding any locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law) for the grade or level by more than 30 percent, and no rate may be established under this section in excess of the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule. In the case of individuals not subject to the provisions of this title governing appointment in the competitive service, the President may designate another agency to authorize special rates under this section.
(2) The head of an agency may determine that a category of employees of the agency will not be covered by a special rate authorization established under this section. The head of an agency shall provide written notice to the Office of Personnel Management (or other agency designated by the President to authorize special rates under the last sentence of paragraph (1)) which identifies the specific category or categories of employees that will not be covered by special rates authorized under this section. If the head of an agency removes a category of employees from coverage under a special rate authorization after that authorization takes effect, the loss of coverage will take effect on the first day of the first pay period after the date of the notice.
(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 Office of Personnel Management (or such other agency as the President may under the last sentence of subsection (a)(1) designate) 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 Office of Personnel Management (or by such other agency as the President may designate under the last sentence of subsection (a)(1)). The actions and revisions have the force and effect of statute.
(e) An increase in a rate of pay established under this section is not an equivalent increase in pay within the meaning of section 5335.
(f) When a schedule of special rates established under this section is adjusted under subsection (d), a covered employees special rate will be adjusted in accordance with conversion rules prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management (or by such other agency as the President may under the last sentence of subsection (a)(1) designate).
(g) 
(1) The benefit of any comparability payments under section 5304 shall be available to individuals receiving rates of pay established under this section to such extent as the Office of Personnel Management (or such other agency as the President may under the last sentence of subsection (a)(1) designate) 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) An employee shall not for any purpose be considered to be entitled to a rate of pay established under this section with respect to any period for which such employee is entitled to a higher rate of basic pay under any other provision of law. For purposes of this subsection, the term basic pay includes any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law.
(i) If an employee who is receiving a rate of pay under this section becomes subject, by virtue of moving to a new official duty station, to a different pay schedule, such employees new rate of pay shall be initially established under conversion rules prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management (or such other agency as the President may under the last sentence of subsection (a)(1) designate) in conformance with the following:
(1) First, determine the rate of pay to which such employee would be entitled at the new official duty station based on such employees position, grade, and step (or relative position in the rate range) before the move.
(2) Then, if (in addition to the change in pay schedule) the move also involves any personnel action or other change requiring a rate adjustment under any other provision of law, rule, or regulation, apply the applicable rate adjustment provisions, treating the rate determined under paragraph (1) as if it were the rate last received by the employee before the rate adjustment.
(j) A rate determined under a schedule of special rates established under this section shall be considered to be part of basic pay for purposes of subchapter III of chapter 83, chapter 84, chapter 87, subchapter V of chapter 55, and section 5941, and for such other purposes as may be expressly provided for by law or as the Office of Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe.

5 USC 5306 - Pay fixed by administrative action

(a) Notwithstanding sections 1341, 1342, and 1349–1351 and subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31
(1) the rates of pay of
(A) employees in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government of the United States (except employees whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives) and of the government of the District of Columbia, whose rates of pay are fixed by administrative action under law and are not otherwise adjusted under this subchapter;
(B) employees under the Architect of the Capitol, whose rates of pay are fixed under section 166b–3a1 of title 40, and the Superintendent of Garages, House office buildings; and
(C) persons employed by the county committees established under section 590h (b) of title 16; and
(2) and minimum or maximum rate of pay (other than a maximum rate equal to or greater than the maximum rate then currently being paid under the General Schedule as a result of a pay adjustment under section 5303 (or prior corresponding provision of law)), and any monetary limitation on or monetary allowance for pay, applicable to employees described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1); may be adjusted, by the appropriate authority concerned, effective at the beginning of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after the day on which a pay adjustment becomes effective under section 5303 (or prior provision of law), by whichever of the following methods the appropriate authority concerned considers appropriate
(i) by an amount or amounts not in excess of the pay adjustment provided under section 5303 for corresponding rates of pay in the appropriate schedule or scale of pay;
(ii) if there are no corresponding rates of pay, by an amount or amounts equal or equivalent, insofar as practicable and with such exceptions and modifications as may be necessary to provide for appropriate pay relationships between positions, to the amount of the pay adjustment provided under section 5303; or
(iii) in the case of minimum or maximum rates of pay, or monetary limitations of allowances with respect to pay, by an amount rounded to the nearest $100 and computed on the basis of a percentage equal or equivalent, insofar as practicable and with such variations as may be appropriate, to the percentage of the pay adjustment provided under section 5303.
(b) An adjustment under subsection (a) in rates of pay, minimum or maximum rates of pay, the monetary limitations or allowances with respect to pay, shall be made in such manner as the appropriate authority concerned considers appropriate.
(c) This section does not authorize any adjustment in the rates of pay of employees whose rates of pay are fixed and adjusted from time to time as nearly as is consistent with the public interest in accordance with prevailing rates or practices.
(d) This section does not impair any authority under which rates of pay may be fixed by administrative action.
(e) Pay may not be paid, by reason of any exercise of authority under this section, at a rate in excess of the rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive Schedule.
[1] See References in Text note below.

5 USC 5307 - Limitation on certain payments

(a) 
(1) Except as otherwise permitted by or under law, or as otherwise provided under subsection (d), no allowance, differential, bonus, award, or other similar cash payment under this title may be paid to an employee in a calendar year if, or to the extent that, when added to the total basic pay paid or payable to such employee for service performed in such calendar year as an employee in the executive branch (or as an employee outside the executive branch to whom chapter 51 applies), such payment would cause the total to exceed the annual rate of basic pay payable for level I of the Executive Schedule, as of the end of such calendar year.
(2) This section shall not apply to any payment under
(A) subchapter III or VII of chapter 55 or section 5596;
(B) chapter 57 (other than section 5753, 5754, 5755, or 5757);[1] or
(C) chapter 59 (other than section 5925, 5928, 5941 (a)(2), or 5948).
(b) 
(1) Any amount which is not paid to an employee in a calendar year because of the limitation under subsection (a) shall be paid to such employee in a lump sum at the beginning of the following calendar year.
(2) Any amount paid under this subsection in a calendar year shall be taken into account for purposes of appying[2] the limitations under subsection (a) with respect to such calendar year.
(c) The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section (subject to subsection (d)), including regulations (consistent with section 5582) concerning how a lump-sum payment under subsection (b) shall be made with respect to any employee who dies before an amount payable to such employee under subsection (b) is made.
(d) 
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, subsection (a)(1) shall be applied by substituting the total annual compensation payable to the Vice President under section 104 of title 3 for the annual rate of basic pay payable for level I of the Executive Schedule in the case of any employee who
(A) is paid under section 5376 or 5383 of this title or section 332 (f), 603, or 604 of title 28; and
(B) holds a position in or under an agency which is described in paragraph (2).
(2) An agency described in this paragraph is any agency which, for purposes of applying the limitation in the calendar year involved, has a performance appraisal system certified under this subsection as making, in its design and application, meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.
(3) 
(A) The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget jointly shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this subsection, including the criteria and procedures in accordance with which any determinations under this subsection shall be made.
(B) The certification of an agency performance appraisal system under this subsection shall be for a period not to exceed 24 months beginning on the date of certification, unless extended by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management for up to 6 additional months, except that such certification may be terminated at any time upon a finding that the actions of such agency have not remained in conformance with applicable requirements.
(C) Any certification or decertification under this subsection shall be made by the Office of Personnel Management, with the concurrence of the Office of Management and Budget.
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (3), any regulations, certifications, or other measures necessary to carry out this subsection with respect to employees within the judicial branch shall be the responsibility of the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. However, the regulations under this paragraph shall be consistent with those promulgated under paragraph (3).
[1] See References in Text note below.
[2] So in original. Probably should be “applying”.

5 USC 5308 - Omitted]

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER II - EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE PAY RATES

5 USC 5311 - The Executive Schedule

The Executive Schedule, which is divided into five pay levels, is the basic pay schedule for positions, other than Senior Executive Service positions and positions in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service, to which this subchapter applies.

5 USC 5312 - Positions at level I

Level I of the Executive Schedule applies to the following positions for which the annual rate of basic pay shall be the rate determined with respect to such level under chapter 11 of title 2, as adjusted by section 5318 of this title: Secretary of State. Secretary of the Treasury. Secretary of Defense. Attorney General. Secretary of the Interior. Secretary of Agriculture. Secretary of Commerce. Secretary of Labor. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Secretary of Transportation. United States Trade Representative. Secretary of Energy. Secretary of Education. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Secretary of Homeland Security. Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Commissioner of Social Security, Social Security Administration. Director of National Drug Control Policy. Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Director of National Intelligence.

5 USC 5313 - Positions at level II

Level II of the Executive Schedule applies to the following positions, for which the annual rate of basic pay shall be the rate determined with respect to such level under chapter 11 of title 2, as adjusted by section 5318 of this title: Deputy Secretary of Defense. Deputy Secretary of State. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. Administrator, Agency for International Development. Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Deputy Secretary of Transportation. Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers. Director of the Office of Science and Technology. Director of Central Intelligence. Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of the Army. Secretary of the Navy. Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration. Director of the National Science Foundation. Deputy Attorney General. Deputy Secretary of Energy. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Administrator, Federal Highway Administration. Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Deputy Secretary of Labor. Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Independent Members, Thrift Depositor Protection Oversight Board. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. Deputy Secretary of the Interior. Deputy Secretary of Education. Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget. Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, Social Security Administration. Administrator of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy. Members, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Under Secretary of Transportation for Security. Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy. Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge Corporation. Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence. Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Director of the National Counter Proliferation Center. Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

5 USC 5314 - Positions at level III

Level III of the Executive Schedule applies to the following positions, for which the annual rate of basic pay shall be the rate determined with respect to such level under chapter 11 of title 2, as adjusted by section 5318 of this title: Solicitor General of the United States. Under Secretary of Commerce, Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism. Under Secretaries of State (6). Under Secretaries of the Treasury (3). Administrator of General Services. Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Deputy Administrator, Agency for International Development. Chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Chairman, Federal Communications Commission. Chairman, Board of Directors, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Chairman, Federal Trade Commission. Chairman, Surface Transportation Board. Chairman, National Labor Relations Board. Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission. Chairman, National Mediation Board. Chairman, Railroad Retirement Board. Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission. Comptroller of the Currency. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense. Under Secretary of the Air Force. Under Secretary of the Army. Under Secretary of the Navy. Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Deputy Directors of Central Intelligence (2). Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. Director of the Peace Corps. Deputy Director, National Science Foundation. President of the Export-Import Bank of Washington. Members, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Members, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice. Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration. Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board. Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts the incumbent of which also serves as Chairman of the National Council on the Arts. Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Federal Transit Administrator. President, Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission. Chairman, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Governor of the Farm Credit Administration. Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission. Under Secretaries of Energy (3). Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Deputy United States Trade Representatives (3). Chief Agricultural Negotiator. Chairman, United States International Trade Commission. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, the incumbent of which also serves as Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Associate Attorney General. Chairman, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. Chairman, National Credit Union Administration Board. Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Director, Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development. Administrator, Maritime Administration. Executive Director Property Review Board. Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Archivist of the United States. Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology. Director, Trade and Development Agency. Under Secretary for Health, Department of Veterans Affairs. Under Secretary for Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs. Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs. Under Secretaries, Department of Homeland Security. Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. Director of the Office of Government Ethics. Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy. Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. Chairperson of the Federal Housing Finance Board. Executive Secretary, National Space Council. Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget. Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Deputy Director for Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy. Deputy Director for Supply Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy. Deputy Director for State and Local Affairs, Office of National Drug Control Policy. Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Register of Copyrights. Commissioner of Customs, Department of Homeland Security. Under Secretary of Education[1] Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government. Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Deputy Administrators, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Chief Executive Officer, International Clean Energy Foundation.
[1] So in original. Probably should be followed by a period.

5 USC 5315 - Positions at level IV

Level IV of the Executive Schedule applies to the following positions, for which the annual rate of basic pay shall be the rate determined with respect to such level under chapter 11 of title 2, as adjusted by section 5318 of this title: Deputy Administrator of General Services. Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Assistant Administrators, Agency for International Development (6). Regional Assistant Administrators, Agency for International Development (4). Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture (3). Assistant Secretaries of Commerce (11). Assistant Secretaries of Defense (10). Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force (4). Assistant Secretaries of the Army (5). Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (4). Assistant Secretaries of Health and Human Services (6). Assistant Secretaries of the Interior (6). Assistant Attorneys General (11). Assistant Secretaries of Labor (10), one of whom shall be the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training. Assistant Secretaries of State (24) and 4 other State Department officials to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury (10). Members, United States International Trade Commission (5). Assistant Secretaries of Education (10). General Counsel, Department of Education. Director of Civil Defense, Department of the Army. Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. Deputy Director of the Office of Science and Technology. Deputy Director of the Peace Corps. Assistant Directors of the Office of Management and Budget (3). General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture. General Counsel of the Department of Commerce. General Counsel of the Department of Defense. General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services. Solicitor of the Department of the Interior. Solicitor of the Department of Labor. General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury. First Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of Washington. Members, Council of Economic Advisers. Members, Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of Washington. Members, Federal Communications Commission. Member, Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Directors, Federal Housing Finance Board. Members, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Members, Federal Trade Commission. Members, Surface Transportation Board. Members, National Labor Relations Board. Members, Securities and Exchange Commission. Members, Merit Systems Protection Board. Members, Federal Maritime Commission. Members, National Mediation Board. Members, Railroad Retirement Board. Director of Selective Service. Associate Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice. Members, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (4). Director, Community Relations Service. Members, National Transportation Safety Board. General Counsel, Department of Transportation. Deputy Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration. Assistant Secretaries of Transportation (4). Deputy Federal Highway Administrator. Administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. Assistant Secretary for Science, Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for History and Art, Smithsonian Institution. Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Assistant Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development (8). General Counsel of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Commissioner of Interama. Federal Insurance Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Executive Vice President, Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Members, National Credit Union Administration Board (2). Members, Postal Regulatory Commission (4). Members, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Deputy Under Secretaries of the Treasury (or Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury) (2). Members, Consumer Product Safety Commission (4). Members, Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Director of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Director of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Executive Director for Operations, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. President, Government National Mortgage Association, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, the incumbent of which also serves as Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Director, Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice. Assistant Secretaries of Energy (7). General Counsel of the Department of Energy. Administrator, Economic Regulatory Administration, Department of Energy. Administrator, Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy. Director, Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, Department of Energy. Director, Office of Science, Department of Energy. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health. Members, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. President, National Consumer Cooperative Bank. Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Chairman, Federal Labor Relations Authority. Assistant Secretaries, Department of Homeland Security. General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security. Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Department of Homeland Security. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Homeland Security. Chief Information Officer, Department of Homeland Security. Deputy Director, Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Director of the National Institute of Justice. Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business Administration. Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances, Environmental Protection Agency. Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste, Environmental Protection Agency. Assistant Administrators, Environmental Protection Agency (8). Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, Department of Defense. Special Representatives of the President for arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament matters, Department of State. Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce. Director of Defense Research and Engineering. Ambassadors at Large. Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service. Assistant Secretaries, Department of Veterans Affairs (7). General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs. Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Department of Health and Human Services[1] Chairman, Board of Veterans Appeals. Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Director, United States Marshals Service. Chairman, United States Parole Commission. Director, Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce. Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Agriculture. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Commerce. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Education. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Health and Human Services. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Chief Financial Officer, Department of the Interior. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Justice. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Labor. Chief Financial Officer, Department of State. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Transportation. Chief Financial Officer, Department of the Treasury. Chief Financial Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs. Chief Financial Officer, Environmental Protection Agency. Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Commissioner, Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness. General Counsel of the Department of the Army. General Counsel of the Department of the Navy. General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force. Liaison for Community and Junior Colleges, Department of Education. Director of the Office of Educational Technology. Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau. The[2] Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor. Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture. Chief Information Officer, Department of Agriculture. Chief Information Officer, Department of Commerce. Chief Information Officer, Department of Defense (unless the official designated as the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense is an official listed under section 5312, 5313, or 5314 of this title). Chief Information Officer, Department of Education. Chief Information Officer, Department of Energy. Chief Information Officer, Department of Health and Human Services. Chief Information Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Chief Information Officer, Department of the Interior. Chief Information Officer, Department of Justice. Chief Information Officer, Department of Labor. Chief Information Officer, Department of State. Chief Information Officer, Department of Transportation. Chief Information Officer, Department of the Treasury. Chief Information Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs. Chief Information Officer, Environmental Protection Agency. Chief Information Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Chief Information Officer, Agency for International Development. Chief Information Officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Chief Information Officer, General Services Administration. Chief Information Officer, National Science Foundation. Chief Information Officer, Nuclear Regulatory Agency. Chief Information Officer, Office of Personnel Management. Chief Information Officer, Small Business Administration. General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency. Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration. Additional Deputy Administrators of the National Nuclear Security Administration (3), but if the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors is an officer of the Navy on active duty, (2). Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. General Counsel of the Office of the National Intelligence Director. Chief Medical Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[1] So in original. Probably should be followed by a period.
[2] The word “The” probably should not appear.

5 USC 5316 - Positions at level V

Level V of the Executive Schedule applies to the following positions, for which the annual rate of basic pay shall be the rate determined with respect to such level under chapter 11 of title 2, as adjusted by section 5318 of this title: Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration, Department of the Interior. Administrator of the National Capital Transportation Agency. Associate Administrators of the Small Business Administration (4). Associate Administrators, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (7). Associate Deputy Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Deputy Associate Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archivist of the United States. Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Administration. Assistant Attorney General for Administration. Assistant and Science Adviser to the Secretary of the Interior. Chairman, Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States, Department of Justice. Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, Department of Defense. Chairman of the Renegotiation Board. Chairman of the Subversive Activities Control Board. Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury. Commissioner, Federal Acquisition Service, General Services Administration. Director, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior. Commissioners, Indian Claims Commission (5). Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration. Commissioner of Reclamation, Department of the Interior. Commissioner of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Health and Human Services. Commissioner of Welfare, Department of Health and Human Services. Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of Defense. Director, Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior. Director, Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Department of the Treasury. Deputy General Counsel, Department of Defense. Associate Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Associate Director for Volunteers, Peace Corps. Associate Director for Program Development and Operations, Peace Corps. Assistants to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice (2). Assistant Directors, Office of Emergency Planning (3). Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. General Counsel of the Agency for International Development. General Counsel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. General Counsel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Manpower Administrator, Department of Labor. Members, Renegotiation Board. Members, Subversive Activities Control Board. Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense for Research and Engineering, Department of Defense (4). Assistant Administrator of General Services. Director, United States Travel Service, Department of Commerce. Administrator, Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Division, Department of Labor. Assistant Director (Program Planning, Analysis and Research), Office of Economic Opportunity. Deputy Director, National Security Agency. Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. Director, National Park Service, Department of the Interior. National Export Expansion Coordinator, Department of Commerce. Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Staff Director, Commission on Civil Rights. Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Transportation. Director, United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Director, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Institution. Administrator of the Environmental Science Services Administration. Associate Directors of the Office of Personnel Management (5). Assistant Federal Highway Administrator. Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Deputy Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Assistant Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator. Director, Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Department of Justice. Vice Presidents, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (3). Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Department of Transportation. General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Executive Director, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Additional Officers, Department of Energy (14). Additional officers, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (5). Assistant Administrator for Coastal Zone Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Assistant Administrators (3), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Members, Federal Labor Relations Authority (2) and its General Counsel. Additional officers, Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (2). Additional officers, Office of Management and Budget (6). Associate Deputy Secretary, Department of Transportation. Chief Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Director, Indian Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services. Commissioners, United States Parole Commission (8). Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families.

5 USC 5317 - Presidential authority to place positions at levels IV and V

In addition to the positions listed in sections 5315 and 5316 of this title, the President, from time to time, may place in levels IV and V of the Executive Schedule positions held by not to exceed 34 individuals when he considers that action necessary to reflect changes in organization, management responsibilities, or workload in an Executive agency. Such an action with respect to a position to which appointment is made by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate is effective only at the time of a new appointment to the position. Notice of each action taken under this section shall be published in the Federal Register, except when the President determines that the publication would be contrary to the interest of national security. The President may not take action under this section with respect to a position the pay for which is fixed at a specific rate by this subchapter or by statute enacted after August 14, 1964.

5 USC 5318 - Adjustments in rates of pay

(a) Subject to subsection (b), effective at the beginning of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after the first day of the month in which an adjustment takes effect under section 5303 of this title in the rates of pay under the General Schedule, the annual rate of pay for positions at each level of the Executive Schedule shall be adjusted by an amount, rounded to the nearest multiple of $100 (or if midway between multiples of $100, to the next higher multiple of $100), equal to the percentage of such annual rate of pay which corresponds to the most recent percentage change in the ECI (relative to the date described in the next sentence), as determined under section 704(a)(1) of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. The appropriate date under this sentence is the first day of the fiscal year in which such adjustment in the rates of pay under the General Schedule takes effect.
(b) In no event shall the percentage adjustment taking effect under subsection (a) in any calendar year (before rounding), in any rate of pay, exceed the percentage adjustment taking effect in such calendar year under section 5303 in the rates of pay under the General Schedule.

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER III - GENERAL SCHEDULE PAY RATES

5 USC 5331 - Definitions; application

(a) For the purpose of this subchapter, agency, employee, position, class, and grade have the meanings given them by section 5102 of this title.
(b) This subchapter applies to employees and positions to which chapter 51 applies, other than Senior Executive Service positions, positions in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service, and positions to which section 5376 applies.

5 USC 5332 - The General Schedule

(a) 
(1) The General Schedule, the symbol for which is GS, is the basic pay schedule for positions to which this subchapter applies. Each employee to whom this subchapter applies is entitled to basic pay in accordance with the General Schedule.
(2) The General Schedule is a schedule of annual rates of basic pay, consisting of 15 grades, designated GS1 through GS15, consecutively, with 10 rates of pay for each such grade. The rates of pay of the General Schedule are adjusted in accordance with section 5303.
(b) When payment is made on the basis of an hourly, daily, weekly, or biweekly rate, the rate is computed from the appropriate annual rate of basic pay named by subsection (a) of this section in accordance with the rules prescribed by section 5504 (b) of this title.

5 USC 5333 - Minimum rate for new appointments

New appointments shall be made at the minimum rate of the appropriate grade. However, under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management which provide for such considerations as the existing pay or unusually high or unique qualifications of the candidate, or a special need of the Government for his services, the head of an agency may appoint, with the approval of the Office in each specific case, an individual to a position at such a rate above the minimum rate of the appropriate grade as the Office may authorize for this purpose. The approval of the Office in each specific case is not required with respect to an appointment made by the Librarian of Congress.

5 USC 5334 - Rate on change of position or type of appointment; regulations

(a) The rate of basic pay to which an employee is entitled is governed by regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management in conformity with this subchapter and chapter 51 of this title when
(1) he is transferred from a position in the legislative, judicial, or executive branch to which this subchapter does not apply;
(2) he is transferred from a position in the legislative, judicial, or executive branch to which this subchapter applies to another such position;
(3) he is demoted to a position in a lower grade;
(4) he is reinstated, reappointed, or reemployed in a position to which this subchapter applies following service in any position in the legislative, judicial, or executive branch;
(5) his type of appointment is changed;
(6) his employment status is otherwise changed; or
(7) his position is changed from one grade to another grade.

For the purpose of this subsection, an individual employed by the Appalachian Regional Commission under section 14306 (a)(2) of title 40, who was a Federal employee immediately prior to such employment by a commission and within 6 months after separation from such employment is employed in a position to which this subchapter applies, shall be treated as if transferred from a position in the executive branch to which this subchapter does not apply.

(b) An employee who is promoted or transferred to a position in a higher grade is entitled to basic pay at the lowest rate of the higher grade which exceeds his existing rate of basic pay by not less than two step-increases of the grade from which he is promoted or transferred. If, in the case of an employee so promoted or transferred who is receiving basic pay at a rate in excess of the maximum rate of his grade, there is no rate in the higher grade which is at least two step-increases above his existing rate of basic pay, he is entitled to
(1) the maximum rate of the higher grade; or
(2) his existing rate of basic pay, if that rate is the higher. If an employee so promoted or transferred is receiving basic pay at a rate saved to him under subchapter VI of this chapter on reduction in grade, he is entitled to
(A) basic pay at a rate two steps above the rate which he would be receiving if subchapter VI of this chapter were not applicable to him; or
(B) his existing rate of basic pay, if that rate is the higher. If an employees rate after promotion or transfer is greater than the maximum rate of basic pay for the employees grade, that rate shall be treated as a retained rate under section 5363. The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe by regulation the circumstances under which and the extent to which special rates under section 5305 (or similar provision of law) or locality-adjusted rates under section 5304 (or similar provision of law) are considered to be basic pay in applying this subsection.
(c) An employee in the legislative branch who is paid by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, and who has completed two or more years of service as such an employee, and a Member of the Senate or House of Representatives who has completed two or more years of service as such a Member, may, on appointment to a position to which this subchapter applies, have his initial rate of pay fixed
(1) at the minimum rate of the appropriate grade; or
(2) at a step of the appropriate grade that does not exceed the highest previous rate of pay received by him during that service in the legislative branch.
(d) The rate of pay established for a teaching position as defined by section 901 of title 20 held by an individual who becomes subject to subsection (a) of this section is deemed increased by an amount determined under regulations which the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe for the determination of the yearly rate of pay of the position. The amount by which a rate of pay is increased under the regulations may not exceed the amount equal to 20 percent of that rate of pay.
(e) An employee of a county committee established pursuant to section 8(b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h (b)) may, on appointment to a position subject to this subchapter, have the initial rate of basic pay of the employee fixed at
(1) the lowest rate of the higher grade that exceeds the rate of basic pay of the employee with the county committee by not less than 2 step-increases of the grade from which the employee was promoted, if the Federal Civil Service position under this subchapter is at a higher grade than the last grade the employee had while an employee of the county committee;
(2) the same step of the grade as the employee last held during service with the county committee, if the Federal Civil Service position under this subchapter is at the same grade as the last grade the employee had while an employee of the county committee; or
(3) the lowest step of the Federal grade for which the rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than the highest previous rate of pay of the employee, if the Federal Civil Service position under this subchapter is at a lower grade than the last grade the employee had while an employee of the county committee.
(f) 
(1) An employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105 (c) who moves, without a break in service of more than 3 days, to a position in the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively, that is subject to this subchapter, may have such employees initial rate of basic pay fixed at the minimum rate of the appropriate grade or at any step of such grade that does not exceed
(A) if the highest previous rate of basic pay received by that employee during the employees service described in section 2105 (c) is equal to a rate of the appropriate grade, such rate of the appropriate grade;
(B) if the employees highest previous rate of basic pay (as described in subparagraph (A)) is between two rates of the appropriate grade, the higher of those two rates; or
(C) if the employees highest previous rate of basic pay (as described in subparagraph (A)) exceeds the maximum rate of the appropriate grade, the maximum rate of the appropriate grade.
(2) In the case of a nonappropriated fund employee who is moved involuntarily from such nonappropriated fund instrumentality without a break in service of more than 3 days and without substantial change in duties to a position that is subject to this subchapter, the employees pay shall be set at a rate (not above the maximum for the grade, except as may be provided for under section 5365) that is not less than the employees rate of basic pay under the nonappropriated fund instrumentality immediately prior to so moving.
(g) In the case of an employee who
(1) moves to a new official duty station, and
(2) by virtue of such move, becomes subject to a different pay schedule, any rate adjustment under the preceding provisions of this section, with respect to such employee in connection with such move, shall be made
(A) first, by determining the rate of pay to which such employee would be entitled at the new official duty station based on such employees position, grade, and step (or relative position in the rate range) before the move, and
(B) then, by applying the provisions of this section that would otherwise apply (if any), treating the rate determined under subparagraph (A) as if it were the rate last received by the employee before the rate adjustment.

5 USC 5335 - Periodic step-increases

(a) An employee paid on an annual basis, and occupying a permanent position within the scope of the General Schedule, who has not reached the maximum rate of pay for the grade in which his position is placed, shall be advanced in pay successively to the next higher rate within the grade at the beginning of the next pay period following the completion of
(1) each 52 calendar weeks of service in pay rates 1, 2, and 3;
(2) each 104 calendar weeks of service in pay rates 4, 5, and 6; or
(3) each 156 calendar weeks of service in pay rates 7, 8, and 9; subject to the following conditions:
(A) the employee did not receive an equivalent increase in pay from any cause during that period; and
(B) the work of the employee is of an acceptable level of competence as determined by the head of the agency.
(b) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, the benefit of successive step-increases shall be preserved for employees whose continuous service is interrupted in the public interest by service with the armed forces or by service in essential non-Government civilian employment during a period of war or national emergency.
(c) When a determination is made under subsection (a) of this section that the work of an employee is not of an acceptable level of competence, the employee is entitled to prompt written notice of that determination and an opportunity for reconsideration of the determination within his agency under uniform procedures prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management. If the determination is affirmed on reconsideration, the employee is entitled to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board. If the reconsideration or appeal results in a reversal of the earlier determination, the new determination supersedes the earlier determination and is deemed to have been made as of the date of the earlier determination. The authority of the Office to prescribe procedures and the entitlement of the employee to appeal to the Board do not apply to a determination of acceptable level of competence made by the Librarian of Congress.
(d) An increase in pay granted by statute is not an equivalent increase in pay within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section.
(e) This section does not apply to the pay of an individual appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(f) In computing periods of service under subsection (a) in the case of an employee who moves without a break in service of more than 3 days from a position under a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105 (c) to a position under the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively, that is subject to this subchapter, service under such instrumentality shall, under regulations prescribed by the Office, be deemed service in a position subject to this subchapter.

5 USC 5336 - Additional step-increases

(a) Within the limit of available appropriations and under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, the head of each agency may grant additional step-increases in recognition of high quality performance above that ordinarily found in the type of position concerned. However, an employee is eligible under this section for only one additional step-increase within any 52-week period.
(b) A step-increase under this section is in addition to those under section 5335 of this title and is not an equivalent increase in pay within the meaning of section 5335 (a) of this title.
(c) This section does not apply to the pay of an individual appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

5 USC 5337 - Repealed. Pub. L. 95454, title VIII, 801(a)(2), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1221]

Section, Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 470; Pub. L. 92–392, § 3, Aug. 19, 1972, 86 Stat. 573, set forth provisions relating to pay saving for employees reduced in grade from a grade in the General Schedule. See section 5361 et seq. of this title.

5 USC 5338 - Regulations

The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations necessary for the administration of this subchapter.

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER IV - PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS

5 USC 5341 - Policy

It is the policy of Congress that rates of pay of prevailing rate employees be fixed and adjusted from time to time as nearly as is consistent with the public interest in accordance with prevailing rates and be based on principles that
(1) there will be equal pay for substantially equal work for all prevailing rate employees who are working under similar conditions of employment in all agencies within the same local wage area;
(2) there will be relative differences in pay within a local wage area when there are substantial or recognizable differences in duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements among positions;
(3) the level of rates of pay will be maintained in line with prevailing levels for comparable work within a local wage area; and
(4) the level of rates of pay will be maintained so as to attract and retain qualified prevailing rate employees.

5 USC 5342 - Definitions; application

(a) For the purpose of this subchapter
(1) agency means an Executive agency; but does not include
(A) a Government controlled corporation;
(B) the Tennessee Valley Authority;
(C) the Virgin Islands Corporation;
(D) the Atomic Energy Commission;
(E) the Central Intelligence Agency;
(F) the National Security Agency, Department of Defense;
(G) the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, except for the purposes of section 5349 of this title;
(H) the Government Accountability Office; or[1]
(J) [2] the Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense; or
(K) the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense;
(2) prevailing rate employee means
(A) an individual employed in or under an agency in a recognized trade or craft, or other skilled mechanical craft, or in an unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled manual labor occupation, and any other individual, including a foreman and a supervisor, in a position having trade, craft, or laboring experience and knowledge as the paramount requirement;
(B) an employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality described by section 2105 (c) of this title who is employed in a recognized trade or craft, or other skilled mechanical craft, or in an unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled manual labor occupation, and any other individual, including a foreman and a supervisor, in a position having trade, craft, or laboring experience and knowledge as the paramount requirement; and
(C) an employee of the Veterans Canteen Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, excepted from chapter 51 of this title by section 5102 (c)(14) of this title who is employed in a recognized trade or craft, or other skilled mechanical craft, or in an unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled manual labor occupation, and any other individual, including a foreman and a supervisor, in a position having trade, craft, or labor experience and knowledge as the paramount requirement; and
(3) position means the work, consisting of duties and responsibilities, assignable to a prevailing rate employee.
(b) 
(1) Except as provided by paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, this subchapter applies to all prevailing rate employees and positions in or under an agency.
(2) This subchapter does not apply to employees and positions described by section 5102 (c) of this title other than by
(A) paragraph (7) of that section to the extent that such paragraph (7) applies to employees and positions other than employees and positions of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; and
(B) paragraph (14) of that section.
(3) This subchapter, except section 5348, does not apply to officers and members of crews of vessels excepted from chapter 51 of this title by section 5102 (c)(8) of this title.
(c) Each prevailing rate employee employed within any of the several States or the District of Columbia shall be a United States citizen or a bona fide resident of one of the several States or the District of Columbia unless the Secretary of Labor certifies that no United States citizen or bona fide resident of one of the several States or the District of Columbia is available to fill the particular position.
[1] So in original. The word “or” probably should not appear.
[2] So in original. Subsec. (a)(1) does not contain a subpar. (I).

5 USC 5343 - Prevailing rate determinations; wage schedules; night differentials

(a) The pay of prevailing rate employees shall be fixed and adjusted from time to time as nearly as is consistent with the public interest in accordance with prevailing rates. Subject to section 213 (f) of title 29, the rates may not be less than the appropriate rates provided by section 206 (a)(1) of title 29. To carry out this subsection
(1) the Office of Personnel Management shall define, as appropriate
(A) with respect to prevailing rate employees other than prevailing rate employees under paragraphs (B) and (C) of section 5342 (a)(2) of this title, the boundaries of
(i) individual local wage areas for prevailing rate employees having regular wage schedules and rates; and
(ii) wage areas for prevailing rate employees having special wage schedules and rates;
(B) with respect to prevailing rate employees under paragraphs (B) and (C) of section 5342 (a)(2) of this title, the boundaries of
(i) individual local wage areas for prevailing rate employees under such paragraphs having regular wage schedules and rates (but such boundaries shall not extend beyond the immediate locality in which the particular prevailing rate employees are employed); and
(ii) wage areas for prevailing rate employees under such paragraphs having special wage schedules and rates;
(2) the Office of Personnel Management shall designate a lead agency for each wage area;
(3) subject to paragraph (5) of this subsection, and subsections (c)(1)(3) and (d) of this section, a lead agency shall conduct wage surveys, analyze wage survey data, and develop and establish appropriate wage schedules and rates for prevailing rate employees;
(4) the head of each agency having prevailing rate employees in a wage area shall apply, to the prevailing rate employees of that agency in that area, the wage schedules and rates established by the lead agency, or by the Office of Personnel Management, as appropriate, for prevailing rate employees in that area; and
(5) the Office of Personnel Management shall establish wage schedules and rates for prevailing rate employees who are United States citizens employed in any area which is outside the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories and possessions of the United States, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
(b) The Office of Personnel Management shall schedule full-scale wage surveys every 2 years and shall schedule interim surveys to be conducted between each 2 consecutive full-scale wage surveys. The Office may schedule more frequent surveys when conditions so suggest.
(c) The Office of Personnel Management, by regulation, shall prescribe practices and procedures for conducting wage surveys, analyzing wage survey data, developing and establishing wage schedules and rates, and administering the prevailing rate system. The regulations shall provide
(1) that, subject to subsection (d) of this section, wages surveyed be those paid by private employers in the wage area for similar work performed by regular full-time employees, except that, for prevailing rate employees under paragraphs (B) and (C) of section 5342 (a)(2) of this title, the wages surveyed shall be those paid by private employers to full-time employees in a representative number of retail, wholesale, service, and recreational establishments similar to those in which such prevailing rate employees are employed;
(2) for participation at all levels by representatives of organizations accorded recognition as the representatives of prevailing rate employees in every phase of providing an equitable system for fixing and adjusting the rates of pay for prevailing rate employees, including the planning of the surveys, the drafting of specifications, the selection of data collectors, the collection and the analysis of the data, and the submission or recommendations to the head of the lead agency for wage schedules and rates and for special wage schedules and rates where appropriate;
(3) for requirements for the accomplishment of wage surveys and for the development of wage schedules and rates for prevailing rate employees, including, but not limited to
(A) nonsupervisory and supervisory prevailing rate employees paid under regular wage schedules and rates;
(B) nonsupervisory and supervisory prevailing rate employees paid under special wage schedules and rates; and
(C) nonsupervisory and supervisory prevailing rate employees described under paragraphs (B) and (C) of section 5342 (a)(2) of this title;
(4) for proper differentials, as determined by the Office, for duty involving unusually severe working conditions or unusually severe hazards, and for any hardship or hazard related to asbestos, such differentials shall be determined by applying occupational safety and health standards consistent with the permissible exposure limit promulgated by the Secretary of Labor under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970;
(5) rules governing the administration of pay for individual employees on appointment, transfer, promotion, demotion, and other similar changes in employment status; and
(6) for a continuing program of maintenance and improvement designed to keep the prevailing rate system fully abreast of changing conditions, practices, and techniques both in and out of the Government of the United States.
(d) 
(1) A lead agency, in making a wage survey, shall determine whether there exists in the local wage area a number of comparable positions in private industry sufficient to establish wage schedules and rates for the principal types of positions for which the survey is made. The determination shall be in writing and shall take into consideration all relevant evidence, including evidence submitted by employee organizations recognized as representative of prevailing rate employees in that area.
(2) When the lead agency determines that there is a number of comparable positions in private industry insufficient to establish the wage schedules and rates, such agency shall establish the wage schedules and rates on the basis of
(A) local private industry rates; and
(B) rates paid for comparable positions in private industry in the nearest wage area that such agency determines is most similar in the nature of its population, employment, manpower, and industry to the local wage area for which the wage survey is being made.
(e) 
(1) Each grade of a regular wage schedule for nonsupervisor prevailing rate employees shall have 5 steps with
(A) the first step at 96 percent of the prevailing rate;
(B) the second step at 100 percent of the prevailing rate;
(C) the third step at 104 percent of the prevailing rate;
(D) the fourth step at 108 percent of the prevailing rate; and
(E) the fifth step at 112 percent of the prevailing rate.
(2) A prevailing rate employee under a regular wage schedule who has a work performance rating of satisfactory or better, as determined by the head of the agency, shall advance automatically to the next higher step within the grade at the beginning of the first applicable pay period following his completion of
(A) 26 calendar weeks of service in step 1;
(B) 78 calendar weeks of service in step 2; and
(C) 104 calendar weeks of service in each of steps 3 and 4.
(3) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, the benefits of successive step increases shall be preserved for prevailing rate employees under a regular wage schedule whose continuous service is interrupted in the public interest by service with the armed forces or by service in essential non-Government civilian employment during a period of war or national emergency.
(4) Supervisory wage schedules and special wage schedules authorized under subsection (c)(3) of this section may have single or multiple rates or steps according to prevailing practices in the industry on which the schedule is based.
(f) A prevailing rate employee is entitled to pay at his scheduled rate plus a night differential
(1) amounting to 71/2 percent of that scheduled rate for regularly scheduled nonovertime work a majority of the hours of which occur between 3 p.m. and midnight; and
(2) amounting to 10 percent of that scheduled rate for regularly scheduled nonovertime work a majority of the hours of which occur between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.

A night differential under this subsection is a part of basic pay.

5 USC 5344 - Effective date of wage increase; retroactive pay

(a) Each increase in rates of basic pay granted, pursuant to a wage survey, to prevailing rate employees is effective not later than the first day of the first pay period which begins on or after the 45th day, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, following the date the wage survey is ordered to be made.
(b) Retroactive pay is payable by reason of an increase in rates of basic pay referred to in subsection (a) of this section only when
(1) the individual is in the service of the Government of the United States, including service in the armed forces, or the government of the District of Columbia on the date of the issuance of the order granting the increase; or
(2) the individual retired or died during the period beginning on the effective date of the increase and ending on the date of issuance of the order granting the increase, and only for services performed during that period.

For the purpose of this subsection, service in the armed forces includes the period provided by statute for the mandatory restoration of the individual to a position in or under the Government of the United States or the government of the District of Columbia after he is relieved from training and service in the armed forces or discharged from hospitalization following that training and service.

5 USC 5345 - Repealed. Pub. L. 95454, title VIII, 801(a)(2), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1221]

Section, added Pub. L. 92–392, § 1(a), Aug. 19, 1972, 86 Stat. 569, related to retained rate of pay on reduction in grade or reassignment. A prior section 5345, added Pub. L. 90–206, title II, § 223(a), Dec. 16, 1967, 81 Stat. 641, which provided for position classification appeals, was omitted in the general amendment of this subchapter, and is covered by section 5346 (c) of this title.

5 USC 5346 - Job grading system

(a) The Office of Personnel Management, after consulting with the agencies and with employee organizations, shall establish and maintain a job grading system for positions to which this subchapter applies. In carrying out this subsection, the Office shall
(1) establish the basic occupational alinement and grade structure or structures for the job grading system;
(2) establish and define individual occupations and the boundaries of each occupation;
(3) establish job titles within occupations;
(4) develop and publish job grading standards; and
(5) provide a method to assure consistency in the application of job standards.
(b) The Office, from time to time, shall review such numbers of positions in each agency as will enable the Office to determine whether the agency is placing positions in occupations and grades in conformance with or consistently with published job standards. When the Office finds that a position is not placed in its proper occupation and grade in conformance with published standards or that a position for which there is no published standard is not placed in the occupation and grade consistently with published standards, it shall, after consultation with appropriate officials of the agency concerned, place the position in its appropriate occupation and grade and shall certify this action to the agency. The agency shall act in accordance with the certificate, and the certificate is binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing, and accounting officials.
(c) On application, made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Office, by a prevailing rate employee for the review of the action of an employing agency in placing his position in an occupation and grade for pay purposes, the Office shall
(1) ascertain currently the facts as to the duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements of the position;
(2) decide whether the position has been placed in the proper occupation and grade; and
(3) approve, disapprove, or modify, in accordance with its decision, the action of the employing agency in placing the position in an occupation and grade.

The Office shall certify to the agency concerned its action under paragraph (3) of this subsection. The agency shall act in accordance with the certificate, and the certificate is binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing, and accounting officials.

5 USC 5347 - Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee

(a) There is established a Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee composed of
(1) the Chairman, who shall not hold any other office or position in the Government of the United States or the government of the District of Columbia, and who shall be appointed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management for a 4-year term;
(2) one member from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, designated by the Secretary of Defense;
(3) two members from the military departments, designated by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management;
(4) one member, designated by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management from time to time from an agency (other than the Department of Defense, a military department, and the Office of Personnel Management);
(5) an employee of the Office of Personnel Management, designated by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and
(6) five members, designated by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, from among the employee organizations representing, under exclusive recognition of the Government of the United States, the largest numbers of prevailing rate employees.
(b) In designating members from among employee organizations under subsection (a)(6) of this section, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall designate, as nearly as practicable, a number of members from a particular employee organization in the same proportion to the total number of employee representatives appointed to the Committee under subsection (a)(6) of this section as the number of prevailing rate employees represented by such organization is to the total number of prevailing rate employees. However, there shall not be more than two members from any one employee organization nor more than four members from a single council, federation, alliance, association, or affiliation of employee organizations.
(c) Every 2 years the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall review employee organization representation to determine adequate or proportional representation under the guidelines of subsection (b) of this section.
(d) The members from the employee organizations serve at the pleasure of the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
(e) The Committee shall study the prevailing rate system and other matters pertinent to the establishment of prevailing rates under this subchapter and, from time to time, advise the Office of Personnel Management thereon. Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee shall be formulated by majority vote. The Chairman of the Committee may vote only to break a tie vote of the Committee.
(f) The Committee shall meet at the call of the Chairman. However, a special meeting shall be called by the Chairman if 5 members make a written request to the Chairman to call a special meeting to consider matters within the purview of the Committee.
(g) 
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), members of the Committee described in paragraphs (2)(5) of subsection (a) of this section serve without additional pay. Members who represent employee organizations are not entitled to pay from the Government of the United States for services rendered to the Committee.
(2) The position of Chairman shall be considered to be a Senior Executive Service position within the meaning of section 3132 (a), and shall be subject to all provisions of this title relating to Senior Executive Service positions, including section 5383.
(h) The Office of Personnel Management shall provide such clerical and professional personnel as the Chairman of the Committee considers appropriate and necessary to carry out its functions under this subchapter. Such personnel shall be responsible to the Chairman of the Committee.

5 USC 5348 - Crews of vessels

(a) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, the pay of officers and members of crews of vessels excepted from chapter 51 of this title by section 5102 (c)(8) of this title shall be fixed and adjusted from time to time as nearly as is consistent with the public interest in accordance with prevailing rates and practices in the maritime industry.
(b) Vessel employees in an area where inadequate maritime industry practice exists and vessel employees of the Corps of Engineers shall have their pay fixed and adjusted under the provisions of this subchapter other than this section, as appropriate.

5 USC 5349 - Prevailing rate employees; legislative, judicial, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and government of the District of Columbia

(a) The pay of employees, described under section 5102 (c)(7) of this title, in the Library of Congress, the Botanic Garden, the Government Printing Office, the Government Accountability Office, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the government of the District of Columbia, shall be fixed and adjusted from time to time as nearly as is consistent with the public interest in accordance with prevailing rates and in accordance with such provisions of this subchapter, including the provisions of section 5344, relating to retroactive pay, and subchapter VI of this chapter, relating to grade and pay retention, as the pay-fixing authority of each such agency may determine. Subject to section 213 (f) of title 29, the rates may not be less than the appropriate rates provided for by section 206 (a)(1) of title 29. If the pay-fixing authority concerned determines that the provisions of subchapter VI of this chapter should apply to any employee under his jurisdiction, then the employee concerned shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of section 5361 (1) of this title if the tenure of his appointment is substantially equivalent to the tenure of any appointment referred to in such paragraph.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not modify or otherwise affect section 5102 (d) of this title, section 305 of title 44, and section 5141 of title 31.

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER V - STUDENT-EMPLOYEES

5 USC 5351 - Definitions

For the purpose of this subchapter
(1) agency means an Executive agency, a military department, and the government of the District of Columbia; and
(2) student-employee means
(A) a student nurse, medical or dental intern, resident-in-training, student dietitian, student physical therapist, and student occupational therapist, assigned or attached to a hospital, clinic, or medical or dental laboratory operated by an agency; and
(B) any other student-employee, assigned or attached primarily for training purposes to a hospital, clinic, or medical or dental laboratory operated by an agency, who is designated by the head of the agency with the approval of the Office of Personnel Management.

5 USC 5352 - Stipends

The head of each agency, and the District of Columbia Council with respect to the government of the District of Columbia, shall fix the stipends of its student-employees. The stipend may not exceed the applicable maximum prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management.

5 USC 5353 - Quarters, subsistence, and laundry

An agency may provide living quarters, subsistence, and laundering to student-employees while at the hospitals, clinics, or laboratories. The reasonable value of the accommodations, when furnished, shall be deducted from the stipend of the student-employee. The head of the agency concerned, and the District of Columbia Council with respect to the government of the District of Columbia, shall fix the reasonable value of the accommodations at an amount not less than the lowest deduction applicable to regular employees at the same hospital, clinic, or laboratory for similar accommodations.

5 USC 5354 - Effect of detail or affiliation; travel expenses

(a) Status as a student-employee is not terminated by a temporary detail to, or affiliation with another Government or non-Government institution to procure necessary supplementary training or experience pursuant to an order of the head of the agency. A student-employee may receive his stipend and other perquisites provided under this subchapter from the hospital, clinic, or laboratory to which he is assigned or attached for not more than 60 days of a detail or affiliation for each training year, as defined by the head of the agency.
(b) When the detail or affiliation under subsection (a) of this section is to or with another Federal institution, the student-employee is entitled to necessary expenses of travel to and from the institution in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of this title.

5 USC 5355 - Effect on other statutes

This subchapter does not limit the authority conferred on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs by chapter 73 of title 38.

5 USC 5356 - Appropriations

Funds appropriated to an agency for expenses of its hospitals, clinics, and laboratories to which student-employees are assigned or attached are available to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER VI - GRADE AND PAY RETENTION

5 USC 5361 - Definitions

For the purpose of this subchapter
(1) employee means an employee to whom chapter 51 of this title applies, and a prevailing rate employee, as defined by section 5342 (a)(2) of this title, whose employment is other than on a temporary or term basis;
(2) agency has the meaning given it by section 5102 of this title;
(3) retained grade means the grade used for determining benefits to which an employee to whom section 5362 of this title applies is entitled;
(4) rate of basic pay means
(A) the rate of basic pay payable to an employee under law or regulations before any deductions or additions of any kind, but including
(i) any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law;
(ii) any applicable special pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law; and
(iii) subject to such regulations as the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe, any applicable existing retained rate of pay established under section 5363 or similar provision of law; and
(B) in the case of a prevailing rate employee, the scheduled rate of pay determined under section 5343;
(5) covered pay schedule means the General Schedule, any prevailing rate schedule established under subchapter IV of this chapter, or a special occupational pay system under subchapter IX;
(6) position subject to this subchapter means any position under a covered pay schedule;
(7) reduction-in-force procedures means procedures applied in carrying out any reduction in force due to a reorganization, due to lack of funds or curtailment of work, or due to any other factor; and
(8) retained rate means the rate of basic pay to which an employee is entitled under section 5363 (b)(2).

5 USC 5362 - Grade retention following a change of positions or reclassification

(a) Any employee
(1) who is placed as a result of reduction-in-force procedures from a position subject to this subchapter to another position which is subject to this subchapter and which is in a lower grade than the previous position, and
(2) who has served for 52 consecutive weeks or more in one or more positions subject to this subchapter at a grade or grades higher than that of the new position,

is entitled, to the extent provided in subsection (c) of this section, to have the grade of the position held immediately before such placement be considered to be the retained grade of the employee in any position he holds for the 2-year period beginning on the date of such placement.

(b) 
(1) Any employee who is in a position subject to this subchapter and whose position has been reduced in grade is entitled, to the extent provided in subsection (c) of this section, to have the grade of such position before reduction be treated as the retained grade of such employee for the 2-year period beginning on the date of the reduction in grade.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply with respect to any reduction in the grade of a position which had not been classified at the higher grade for a continuous period of at least one year immediately before such reduction.
(c) For the 2-year period referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the retained grade of an employee under such subsection (a) or (b) shall be treated as the grade of the employees position for all purposes (including pay and pay administration under this chapter and chapter 55 of this title, retirement and life insurance under chapters 83, 84, and 87 of this title, and eligibility for training and promotion under this title) except
(1) for purposes of subsection (a) of this section,
(2) for purposes of applying any reduction-in-force procedures, or
(3) for such other purposes as the Office of Personnel Management may provide by regulation.
(d) The foregoing provisions of this section shall cease to apply to an employee who
(1) has a break in service of one workday or more;
(2) is demoted (determined without regard to this section) for personal cause or at the employees request;
(3) is placed in, or declines a reasonable offer of, a position the grade of which is equal to or higher than the retained grade; or
(4) elects in writing to have the benefits of this section terminate.

5 USC 5363 - Pay retention

(a) Any employee
(1) who ceases to be entitled to the benefits of section 5362 of this title by reason of the expiration of the 2-year period of coverage provided under such section;
(2) who is in a position subject to this subchapter and who is subject to a reduction or termination of a special rate of pay established under section 5305 of this title (or corresponding prior provision of this title);
(3) who is in a position subject to this subchapter and who (but for this section) would be subject to a reduction in pay under circumstances prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management by regulation to warrant the application of this section; or
(4) who is in a position subject to this subchapter and who is subject to a reduction or termination of a rate of pay established under subchapter IX of chapter 53;

is entitled to a rate of basic pay in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management in conformity with the provisions of this section.

(b) 
(1) 
(A) If, as a result of any event described in subsection (a), the employees former rate of basic pay is less than or equal to the maximum rate of basic pay payable for the grade of the employees position immediately after the occurrence of the event involved, the employee is entitled to basic pay at the lowest rate of basic pay payable for such grade that equals or exceeds such former rate of basic pay.
(B) This section shall cease to apply to an employee to whom subparagraph (A) applies once the appropriate rate of basic pay has been determined for such employee under this paragraph.
(2) 
(A) If, as a result of any event described in subsection (a), the employees former rate of basic pay is greater than the maximum rate of basic pay payable for the grade of the employees position immediately after the occurrence of the event involved, the employee is entitled to basic pay at a rate equal to the lesser of
(i) the employees former rate of basic pay; or
(ii) 150 percent of the maximum rate of basic pay payable for the grade of the employees position immediately after the occurrence of the event involved,

as adjusted by subparagraph (B).

(B) A rate to which an employee is entitled under this paragraph shall be increased at the time of any increase in the maximum rate of basic pay payable for the grade of the employees position by 50 percent of the dollar amount of each such increase.
(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term former rate of basic pay, as used with respect to an employee in connection with an event described in subsection (a), means the rate of basic pay last received by such employee before the occurrence of such event.
(c) 
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in the case of an employee who
(A) moves to a new official duty station, and
(B) in conjunction with such move, becomes subject to both a different pay schedule and (disregarding this subsection) the preceding provisions of this section, this section shall be applied
(i) first, by determining the rate of pay to which such employee would be entitled at the new official duty station based on such employees position, grade, and step (or relative position in the pay range) before the move, and
(ii) then, by applying the provisions of this section that would apply (if any), treating the rate determined under clause (i) as if it were the rate last received by the employee before the application of this section.
(2) A reduction in an employees rate of basic pay resulting from a determination under paragraph (1)(ii) is not a basis for an entitlement under this section.
(3) The rate of basic pay for an employee who is receiving a retained rate at the time of moving to a new official duty station at which different pay schedules apply shall be subject to regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management consistent with the purposes of this section.
(d) A retained rate shall be considered part of basic pay for purposes of this subchapter and for purposes of subchapter III of chapter 83, chapters 84 and 87, subchapter V of chapter 55, section 5941, and for such other purposes as may be expressly provided for by law or as the Office of Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe. The Office shall, for any purpose other than any of the purposes referred to in the preceding sentence, prescribe by regulation what constitutes basic pay for employees receiving a retained rate.
(e) This section shall not apply, or shall cease to apply, to an employee who
(1) has a break in service of 1 workday or more;
(2) is entitled, by operation of this subchapter, chapter 51 or 53, or any other provision of law, to a rate of basic pay which is equal to or higher than, or declines a reasonable offer of a position the rate of basic pay for which is equal to or higher than, the retained rate to which the employee would otherwise be entitled; or
(3) is demoted for personal cause or at the employees request.

5 USC 5364 - Remedial actions

Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, the Office may require any agency
(1) to report to the Office information with respect to vacancies (including impending vacancies);
(2) to take such steps as may be appropriate to assure employees receiving benefits under section 5362 or 5363 of this title have the opportunity to obtain necessary qualifications for the selection to positions which would minimize the need for the application of such sections;
(3) to establish a program under which employees receiving benefits under section 5362 or 5363 of this title are given priority in the consideration for or placement in positions which are equal to their retained grade or pay; and
(4) to place certain employees, notwithstanding the fact their previous position was in a different agency, but only in circumstances in which the Office determines the exercise of such authority is necessary to carry out the purpose of this section.

5 USC 5365 - Regulations

(a) The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations to carry out the purpose of this subchapter.
(b) Under such regulations, the Office may provide for the application of all or portions of the provisions of this subchapter (subject to any conditions or limitations the Office may establish)
(1) to any individual reduced to a grade of a covered pay schedule from a position not subject to this subchapter;
(2) to individuals to whom such provisions do not otherwise apply; and
(3) to situations the application to which is justified for purposes of carrying out the mission of the agency or agencies involved.

Individuals with respect to whom authority under paragraph (2) may be exercised include individuals who are moved without a break in service of more than 3 days from employment in nonappropriated fund instrumentalities of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105 (c) to employment in the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively, that is not described in section 2105 (c).

5 USC 5366 - Appeals

(a) 
(1) In the case of the termination of any benefits available to an employee under this subchapter on the grounds such employee declined a reasonable offer of a position the grade or pay of which was equal to or greater than his retained grade or pay, such termination may be appealed to the Office of Personnel Management under procedures prescribed by the Office.
(2) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to affect the right of any employee to appeal
(A) under section 5112 (b) or 5346 (c) of this title, or otherwise, any reclassification of a position; or
(B) under procedures prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, any reduction-in-force action.
(b) For purposes of any appeal procedures (other than those described in subsection (a) of this section) or any grievance procedure negotiated under the provisions of chapter 71 of this title
(1) any action which is the basis of an individuals entitlement to benefits under this subchapter, and
(2) any termination of any such benefits under this subchapter,

shall not be treated as appealable under such appeals procedures or grievable under such grievance procedure.

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER VII - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

5 USC 5371 - Health care positions

(a) For the purposes of this section, health care means direct patient-care services or services incident to direct patient-care services.
(b) The Office of Personnel Management may, with respect to any employee described in subsection (c), provide that 1 or more provisions of chapter 74 of title 38 shall apply
(1) in lieu of any provision of chapter 51 or 61, subchapter V of chapter 55, or any other provision of this chapter; or
(2) notwithstanding any lack of specific authority for a matter with respect to which chapter 51 or 61, subchapter V of chapter 55, or this chapter, relates.
(c) Authority under subsection (b) may be exercised with respect to any employee holding a position
(1) to which chapter 51 applies, excluding any Senior Executive Service position and any position in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service; and
(2) which involves health care responsibilities.

5 USC 5372 - Administrative law judges

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term administrative law judge means an administrative law judge appointed under section 3105.
(b) 
(1) 
(A) There shall be 3 levels of basic pay for administrative law judges (designated as AL1, 2, and 3, respectively), and each such judge shall be paid at 1 of those levels, in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(B) Within level AL3, there shall be 6 rates of basic pay, designated as AL3, rates A through F, respectively. Level AL2 and level AL1 shall each have 1 rate of basic pay.
(C) The rate of basic pay for AL3, rate A, may not be less than 65 percent of the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule, and the rate of basic pay for AL1 may not exceed the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
(2) The Office of Personnel Management shall determine, in accordance with procedures which the Office shall by regulation prescribe, the level in which each administrative-law-judge position shall be placed and the qualifications to be required for appointment to each level.
(3) 
(A) Upon appointment to a position in AL3, an administrative law judge shall be paid at rate A of AL3, and shall be advanced successively to rates B, C, and D of that level at the beginning of the next pay period following completion of 52 weeks of service in the next lower rate, and to rates E and F of that level at the beginning of the next pay period following completion of 104 weeks of service in the next lower rate.
(B) The Office of Personnel Management may provide for appointment of an administrative law judge in AL3 at an advanced rate under such circumstances as the Office may determine appropriate.
(4) Subject to paragraph (1), effective at the beginning of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after the first day of the month in which an adjustment takes effect under section 5303 in the rates of basic pay under the General Schedule, each rate of basic pay for administrative law judges shall be adjusted by an amount determined by the President to be appropriate.
(c) The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations necessary to administer this section.

5 USC 5372a - Contract appeals board members

(a) For the purpose of this section
(1) the term contract appeals board member means a member of an agency board of contract appeals appointed under section 8 of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 or a member of the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals appointed under section 42 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act; and
(2) the term appeals board means an agency board of contract appeals established pursuant to section 8 of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978.
(b) Rates of basic pay for contract appeals board members shall be as follows:
(1) Chairman of an appeals boardthe rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
(2) Vice chairman of an appeals board97 percent of the rate under paragraph (1).
(3) Other members of an appeals board94 percent of the rate under paragraph (1).
(c) Rates of pay taking effect under this section shall be printed in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.

5 USC 5372b - Administrative appeals judges

(a) For the purpose of this section
(1) the term administrative appeals judge position means a position the duties of which primarily involve reviewing decisions of administrative law judges appointed under section 3105; and
(2) the term agency means an Executive agency, as defined by section 105, but does not include the Government Accountability Office.
(b) Subject to such regulations as the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe, the head of the agency concerned shall fix the rate of basic pay for each administrative appeals judge position within such agency which is not classified above GS15 pursuant to section 5108.
(c) A rate of basic pay fixed under this section shall be
(1) not less than the minimum rate of basic pay for level AL3 under section 5372; and
(2) not greater than the maximum rate of basic pay for level AL3 under section 5372.

5 USC 5373 - Limitation on pay fixed by administrative action

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and by the Government Employees Salary Reform Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 400) and notwithstanding the provisions of other statutes, the head of an Executive agency or military department who is authorized to fix by administrative action the annual rate of basic pay for a position or employee may not fix the rate at more than the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule. This section does not impair the authorities provided by
(1) sections 248, 482, 1766, and 1819 of title 12, section 206 of the Bank Conservation Act, sections 2B(b)1 and 21A(e)(4) of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, section 2A(i)1 of the Home Owners Loan Act, and sections 5.11 and 5.58 of the Farm Credit Act of 1971;
(2) section 831b of title 16;
(3) sections 403a–403c, 403e–403h, and 403j of title 50; or
(4) [2] section 4802.
(4) [2] section 2(a)(7) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2 (a)(7)).
(b) Subsection (a) shall not affect the authority of the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department to fix the pay of a civilian employee paid from nonappropriated funds, except that the annual rate of basic pay (including any portion of such pay attributable to comparability with private-sector pay in a locality) of such an employee may not be fixed at a rate greater than the rate for level III of the Executive Schedule.
[1] See References in Text note below.
[2] So in original. Two pars. (4) have been enacted.

5 USC 5374 - Miscellaneous positions in the executive branch

The head of the agency concerned shall fix the annual rate of basic pay for each position in the executive branch specifically referred to in, or covered by, a conforming change in statute made by section 305 of the Government Employees Salary Reform Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 422), or other position in the executive branch for which the annual pay is fixed at a rate of $18,500 or more under special provision of statute enacted before August 14, 1964, which is not placed in a level of the Executive Schedule set forth in subchapter II of this chapter, at a rate equal to the pay rate of a grade and step of the General Schedule set forth in section 5332 of this title. The head of the agency concerned shall report each action taken under this section to the Office of Personnel Management and publish a notice thereof in the Federal Register, except when the President determines that the report and publication would be contrary to the interest of national security.

5 USC 5375 - Police force of the National Zoological Park

The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall fix the annual rates of basic pay for positions on the police force of the National Zoological Park as follows:
(1) Private, not more than the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS7 of the General Schedule.
(2) Sergeant, not more than the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS8 of the General Schedule.
(3) Lieutenant, not more than the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS9 of the General Schedule.
(4) Captain, not more than the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS10 of the General Schedule.

5 USC 5376 - Pay for certain senior-level positions

(a) This section applies to
(1) positions that are classified above GS15 pursuant to section 5108; and
(2) scientific or professional positions established under section 3104; but does not apply to
(A) any Senior Executive Service position under section 3132; or
(B) any position in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service under section 3151.
(b) 
(1) Subject to such regulations as the Office of Personnel Management prescribes, the head of the agency concerned shall fix the rate of basic pay for any position within such agency to which this section applies. A rate fixed under this section shall be
(A) not less than 120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS15 of the General Schedule; and
(B) subject to paragraph (3), not greater than the rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule.

The payment of a rate of basic pay under this section shall not be subject to the pay limitation of section 5306 (e) or 5373.

(2) Subject to paragraph (1), effective at the beginning of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after the first day of the month in which an adjustment takes effect under section 5303 in the rates of pay under the General Schedule, each rate of pay established under this section for positions within an agency shall be adjusted by such amount as the head of such agency considers appropriate.
(3) In the case of an agency which has a performance appraisal system which, as designed and applied, is certified under section 5307 (d) as making meaningful distinctions based on relative performance, paragraph (1)(B) shall apply as if the reference to level III were a reference to level II.
(4) No employee may suffer a reduction in pay by reason of transfer from an agency with an applicable maximum rate of pay prescribed under paragraph (3) to an agency with an applicable maximum rate of pay prescribed under paragraph (1)(B).

5 USC 5377 - Pay authority for critical positions

(a) For the purpose of this section
(1) the term agency has the meaning given it by section 5102; and
(2) the term position means
(A) a position to which chapter 51 applies, including a position in the Senior Executive Service or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service;
(B) a position under the Executive Schedule under sections 5312–5317;
(C) a position to which section 5372 applies (or would apply, but for this section);
(D) a position to which section 5372a applies (or would apply, but for this section);
(E) a position established under section 3104;
(F) a position in a category as to which a designation is in effect under subsection (i); and
(G) a position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the primary duties and responsibilities of which relate to intelligence functions (as determined by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
(b) Authority under this section
(1) may be granted or exercised only with respect to a position
(A) which requires expertise of an extremely high level in a scientific, technical, professional, or administrative field; and
(B) which is critical to the agencys successful accomplishment of an important mission; and
(2) may be granted or exercised only to the extent necessary to recruit or retain an individual exceptionally well qualified for the position.
(c) The Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, may, upon the request of the head of an agency, grant authority to fix the rate of basic pay for 1 or more positions in such agency in accordance with this section.
(d) 
(1) The rate of basic pay fixed under this section by an agency head may not be less than the rate of basic pay (including any comparability payments) which would then otherwise be payable for the position involved if this section had never been enacted.
(2) Basic pay may not be fixed under this section at a rate greater than the rate payable for level I of the Executive Schedule, except upon written approval of the President.
(e) The authority to fix the rate of basic pay under this section for a position shall terminate
(1) whenever the Office of Personnel Management determines (in accordance with such procedures and subject to such terms or conditions as such Office by regulation prescribes) that 1 or more of the requirements of subsection (b) are no longer met; or
(2) as of such date as such Office may otherwise specify, except that termination under this paragraph may not take effect before the authority has been available for such position for at least 1 calendar year.
(f) The Office of Personnel Management may not authorize the exercise of authority under this section with respect to more than 800 positions at any time, of which not more than 30 may, at any such time, be positions the rate of basic pay for which would otherwise be determined under subchapter II.
(g) The Office of Personnel Management shall consult with the Office of Management and Budget before making any decision to grant or terminate any authority under this section.
(h) The Office of Personnel Management shall report to the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate each year, in writing, on the operation of this section. Each report under this subsection shall include
(1) the number of positions, in the aggregate and by agency, for which higher rates of pay were authorized or paid under this section during any part of the period covered by such report; and
(2) the name of each employee to whom a higher rate of pay was paid under this section during any portion of the period covered by such report, the rate on rates paid under this section during such period, the dates between which each such higher rate was paid, and the rate or rates that would have been paid but for this section.
(i) 
(1) For the purpose of this subsection, the term position means the work, consisting of the duties and responsibilities, assignable to an employee, except that such term does not include any position under subsection (a)(2)(A)(E).
(2) At the request of an agency head, the President may designate 1 or more categories of positions within such agency to be treated, for purposes of this section, as positions within the meaning of subsection (a)(2).

5 USC 5378 - Police forces of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint

(a) The Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, or his designee, in his sole discretion shall fix the rates of basic pay for positions within the police forces of the United States Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing without regard to the pay provisions of title 5, United States Code, except that no entry-level police officer shall receive basic pay for a calendar year that is less than the basic rate of pay for General Schedule GS7 and no executive security official shall receive basic compensation for a calendar year that exceeds the basic rate of pay for General Schedule GS15.
(b) For the purpose of this section, the term police forces of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint means the employees of the Department of the Treasury who are appointed, under the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury, as police officers for the protection of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint buildings and property.

5 USC 5379 - Student loan repayments

(a) 
(1) For the purpose of this section
(A) the term agency means an agency under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of section 4101 (1) of this title, the Architect of the Capitol, the Botanic Garden, and the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services; and
(B) the term student loan means
(i) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.);
(ii) a loan made under part D or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq., 1087aa et seq.); and
(iii) a health education assistance loan made or insured under part A of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) or under part E of title VIII of such Act (42 U.S.C. 297a et seq.).
(2) An employee shall be ineligible for benefits under this section if the employee occupies a position that is excepted from the competitive service because of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.
(b) 
(1) The head of an agency may, in order to recruit or retain highly qualified personnel, establish a program under which the agency may agree to repay (by direct payments on behalf of the employee) any student loan previously taken out by such employee.
(2) Payments under this section shall be made subject to such terms, limitations, or conditions as may be mutually agreed to by the agency and employee concerned, except that the amount paid by an agency under this section may not exceed
(A) $10,000 for any employee in any calendar year; or
(B) a total of $60,000 in the case of any employee.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be considered to authorize an agency to pay any amount to reimburse an employee for any repayments made by such employee prior to the agencys entering into an agreement under this section with such employee.
(c) 
(1) An employee selected to receive benefits under this section must agree in writing, before receiving any such benefit, that the employee will
(A) remain in the service of the agency for a period specified in the agreement (not less than 3 years), unless involuntarily separated; and
(B) if separated involuntarily on account of misconduct, or voluntarily, before the end of the period specified in the agreement, repay to the Government the amount of any benefits received by such employee from that agency under this section.
(2) The payment agreed to under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection may not be required of an employee who leaves the service of such employees agency voluntarily to enter into the service of any other agency unless the head of the agency that authorized the benefits notifies the employee before the effective date of such employees entrance into the service of the other agency that payment will be required under this subsection.
(3) If an employee who is involuntarily separated on account of misconduct or who (excluding any employee relieved of liability under paragraph (2) of this subsection) is voluntarily separated before completing the required period of service fails to repay the amount agreed to under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection, a sum equal to the amount outstanding is recoverable by the Government from the employee (or such employees estate, if applicable) by
(A) setoff against accrued pay, compensation, amount of retirement credit, or other amount due the employee from the Government; and
(B) such other method as is provided by law for the recovery of amounts owing to the Government.

The head of the agency concerned may waive, in whole or in part, a right of recovery under this subsection if it is shown that recovery would be against equity and good conscience or against the public interest.

(4) Any amount repaid by, or recovered from, an individual (or an estate) under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation account from which the amount involved was originally paid. Any amount so credited shall be merged with other sums in such account and shall be available for the same purposes and period, and subject to the same limitations (if any), as the sums with which merged.
(d) An employee receiving benefits under this section from an agency shall be ineligible for continued benefits under this section from such agency if the employee
(1) separates from such agency; or
(2) does not maintain an acceptable level of performance, as determined under standards and procedures which the agency head shall by regulation prescribe.
(e) In selecting employees to receive benefits under this section, an agency shall, consistent with the merit system principles set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2301 (b) of this title, take into consideration the need to maintain a balanced workforce in which women and members of racial and ethnic minority groups are appropriately represented in Government service.
(f) Any benefit under this section shall be in addition to basic pay and any other form of compensation otherwise payable to the employee involved.
(g) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, after consultation with heads of a representative number and variety of agencies and any other consultation which the Director considers appropriate, shall prescribe regulations containing such standards and requirements as the Director considers necessary to provide for reasonable uniformity among programs under this section.
(h) 
(1) Each head of an agency shall maintain, and annually submit to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, information with respect to the agency on
(A) the number of Federal employees selected to receive benefits under this section;
(B) the job classifications for the recipients; and
(C) the cost to the Federal Government of providing the benefits.
(2) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall prepare, and annually submit to Congress, a report containing the information submitted under paragraph (1), and information identifying the agencies that have provided benefits under this section.

5 USC 5380 - Repealed. Pub. L. 102378, 8(a), Oct. 2, 1992, 106 Stat. 1359]

Section, added Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XII, 1206(i)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1662, related to pay authority for critical positions. See section 5377 of this title. Pub. L. 102–378, § 8(a), repealed Pub. L. 101–510, § 1206(i)(1), and provided that this title shall read as if section 1206 (i)(1) had not been enacted. Pub. L. 101–510, § 1206(i)(3), provided that (A) unless section 5380 of this title did not take effect as provided in subpar. (B), such section would cease to be in effect on the earlier of Oct. 1, 1992, or the date of the enactment of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 [Nov. 5, 1990], and (B) section 5380 of this title would not take effect if the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 [Pub. L. 101–509] was enacted before the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 5, 1990]. Pub. L. 102–378, § 8(a), repealed Pub. L. 101–510, § 1206(i)(3), and provided that this title shall read as if section 1206 (i)(3) had not been enacted.

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER VIII - PAY FOR THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE

5 USC 5381 - Definitions

For the purpose of this subchapter, agency, Senior Executive Service position, career appointee, and senior executive have the meanings set forth in section 3132 (a) of this title.

5 USC 5382 - Establishment of rates of pay for the Senior Executive Service

(a) Subject to regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, there shall be established a range of rates of basic pay for the Senior Executive Service, and each senior executive shall be paid at one of the rates within the range, based on individual performance, contribution to the agencys performance, or both, as determined under a rigorous performance management system. The lowest rate of the range shall not be less than the minimum rate of basic pay payable under section 5376, and the highest rate, for any position under this system or an equivalent system as determined by the Presidents Pay Agent designated under section 5304 (d), shall not exceed the rate for level III of the Executive Schedule. The payment of the rates shall not be subject to the pay limitation of section 5306 (e) or 5373.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the applicable maximum shall be level II of the Executive Schedule for any agency that is certified under section 5307 as having a performance appraisal system which, as designed and applied, makes meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.
(c) No employee may suffer a reduction in pay by reason of transfer from an agency with an applicable maximum rate of pay prescribed under subsection (b) to an agency with an applicable maximum rate of pay prescribed under subsection (a).

5 USC 5383 - Setting individual senior executive pay

(a) Each appointing authority shall determine, in accordance with criteria established by the Office of Personnel Management, which of the rates within a range established under section 5382 shall be paid to each senior executive under such appointing authority.
(b) Members of the Senior Executive Service shall be subject to the limitation under section 5307.
(c) Except as provided in regulations prescribed by the Office under section 5385, the rate of basic pay for any senior executive may not be adjusted more than once during any 12-month period.
(d) The rate of basic pay for any career appointee may be reduced from any rate of basic pay to any lower rate of basic pay only if the career appointee receives a written notice of the reduction at least 15 days in advance of the reduction.
(e) 
(1) This subsection applies to
(A) any individual who, after serving at least 5 years of current continuous service in 1 or more positions in the competitive service, is appointed, without any break in service, as a career appointee; and
(B) any individual who
(i) holds a position which is converted from the competitive service to a career reserved position in the Senior Executive Service; and
(ii) as of the conversion date, has at least 5 years of current continuous service in 1 or more positions in the competitive service.
(2) 
(A) The initial rate of pay for a career appointee who is appointed under the circumstances described in paragraph (1)(A) may not be less than the rate of basic pay last payable to that individual immediately before being so appointed.
(B) The initial rate of pay for a career appointee following the positions conversion (as described in paragraph (1)(B)) may not be less than the rate of basic pay last payable to that individual immediately before such positions conversion.

5 USC 5384 - Performance awards in the Senior Executive Service

(a) 
(1) To encourage excellence in performance by career appointees, performance awards shall be paid to career appointees in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) Such awards shall be paid in a lump sum and shall be in addition to the basic pay paid under section 5382 of this title or any award paid under section 4507 of this title.
(b) 
(1) No performance award under this section shall be paid to any career appointee whose performance was determined to be less than fully successful at the time of the appointees most recent performance appraisal and rating under subchapter II of chapter 43 of this title.
(2) The amount of a performance award under this section shall be determined by the agency head but may not be less than 5 percent nor more than 20 percent of the career appointees rate of basic pay.
(3) The aggregate amount of performance awards paid under this section by an agency during any fiscal year may not exceed the greater of
(A) an amount equal to 10 percent of the aggregate amount of basic pay paid to career appointees in such agency during the preceding fiscal year; or
(B) an amount equal to 20 percent of the average of the annual rates of basic pay paid to career appointees in such agency during the preceding fiscal year.
(c) 
(1) Performance awards paid by any agency under this section shall be based on recommendations by performance review boards established by such agency under section 4314 of this title.
(2) not[1] less than a majority of the members of any review board referred to in paragraph (1) shall be career appointees whenever making recommendations under such paragraph with respect to a career appointee. The requirement of the preceding sentence shall not apply in any case in which the Office of Personnel Management determines that there exists an insufficient number of career appointees available to comply with the requirement.
(d) The Office of Personnel Management may issue guidance to agencies concerning the proportion of Senior Executive Service salary expenses that may be appropriately applied to payment of performance awards and the distribution of awards.
[1] So in original. Probably should be capitalized.

5 USC 5385 - Regulations

The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations to carry out the purpose of this subchapter.

TITLE 5 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER IX - SPECIAL OCCUPATIONAL PAY SYSTEMS

5 USC 5391 - Definitions

For the purposes of this subchapter, agency, employee, and position have the meanings given them by section 5102.

5 USC 5392 - Establishment of special occupational pay systems

(a) Authority under this section may be exercised with respect to any occupation or group of occupations to which subchapter III applies (or would apply but for this section).
(b) Subject to subsection (a), the Presidents pay agent (as referred to in section 5304 (d)) may establish one or more special occupational pay systems for any positions within occupations or groups of occupations that the pay agent determines, for reasons of good administration, should not be classified under chapter 51 or subject to subchapter III.
(c) In establishing special occupational pay systems, the pay agent shall
(1) identify occupations or groups of occupations for which chapter 51 and subchapter III do not function adequately;
(2) consider alternative approaches for determining the pay for employees in positions in such occupations or groups of occupations;
(3) give thorough consideration to the views of agencies employing such employees and labor organizations representing such employees, as well as other interested parties;
(4) publish a proposed plan for determining the pay of such employees in the Federal Register;
(5) conduct one or more public hearings;
(6) provide each House of Congress with a report at least 90 days in advance of the date the system is to take effect setting forth the details of the proposed plan; and
(7) not later than 30 days before the date the system is to take effect, publish in the Federal Register the details of the final plan for the special occupational pay system.
(d) A special occupational pay system may not
(1) provide for a waiver of any law, rule, or regulation that could not be waived under section 4703 (c); or
(2) provide a rate of basic pay for any employee in excess of the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule.
(e) Subject to subsection (d)(2), effective at the beginning of the first applicable pay period commencing on or after the first day of the month in which an adjustment takes effect under section 5303 in the rates of pay under the General Schedule, each rate of pay established under this section shall be adjusted by such amount as the Office considers appropriate.