Pay Raise
Trump likely to propose pay freeze for federal workers in 2026
In OMB’s response to agency budget submissions, the White House budget office told officials to prepare for a freeze on federal civilian pay next year.
Democrats introduce bills to provide feds 4.3% average pay raise in 2026, standardize retiree COLAs
Lawmakers have reintroduced annual bills aimed at setting a marker for the upcoming federal pay raise debate and to end bifurcated cost-of-living increases for federal retirees.
OPM set to finalize rules standardizing General Schedule, blue collar locality pay maps
The final rule implementing the long-requested adjustment to the Federal Wage System’s map of wage areas won’t be published until after President-elect Trump’s inauguration.
EEOC: The federal gender pay gap gets worse with age
The discrepancy between what men and women make in the federal government is substantially larger for those over 40 years old than that of their younger counterparts.
Biden finalizes 2% pay raise for feds next month
The president was apparently unmoved by federal employee groups and some House Democrats’ pleas to restore pay parity between the civilian and military workforces.
What difference does 2.5% make?
Here's what a Dec. 31, 2025 retirement might look like with a 4.5% increase in pay for 2025 compared with only a 2% increase.
Lawmakers call on Biden to grant feds a 4.5% raise in 2025, restoring pay parity
President Biden previously came under fire from federal employee groups and some lawmakers for proposing only a 2.0% average pay raise for civilian workers, abandoning a longstanding Democratic priority.
Feds in 2024 made almost a quarter less than their private sector peers
The Federal Salary Council, which reported the disparity, also recommended creating new locality pay areas in Kennewick-Richland-Walla Walla, Wash., and Syracuse-Auburn, N.Y.
Cost-of-living adjustments will decline for federal retirees again in 2025
For the second straight year, former federal workers will see a smaller increase to their defined-benefit annuities in January, with FERS retirees set for a 2% increase and CSRS annuitants a 2.5% bump.
OPM moves to standardize General Schedule, blue collar locality pay areas
For years, federal employee unions have bemoaned that the pay systems’ differing maps of high-cost regions created pay inequity within agency workforces.
Labor Department sets 2025 federal contractor minimum wages
In a pair of filings in the Federal Register Monday, Labor Department officials set the range of minimum wages for contractors between $9.30 per hour for tipped workers to $17.75 per hour, depending on the job type.
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Biden formally announces 2% average pay raise for feds in 2025
The president each August must declare an “economic emergency” to prevent large automatic increases to locality pay from taking effect, in accordance with the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act.
Republicans criticize EEOC over nixed one-day furlough
The agency said that no additional funding and a high pay increase for federal employees helped create its budget shortfall, but GOP leaders called it a failure to adjust spending.
Senator says rule to stem Head Start employee turnover could bar children from early education
The HHS rule would require wage and benefit increases for Head Start staff, but Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., claimed the proposed changes would reduce funded, if vacant, slots in the education program.
EEOC averts the threat of a one-day furlough
Chair Charlotte Burrows said in a statement that the agency found enough savings to avoid furloughing employees on Aug. 30.
As millions of acres burn, firefighters say the U.S. Forest Service has left them with critical shortages
The country’s wildland firefighting resources are spread thin, more blazes are imminent, and supervisors of local crews are reluctant to allow firefighters to travel far from home to help elsewhere.
EEOC workers could be furloughed for one day due to budget shortfall
No additional funding and a high pay increase for federal employees helped create the agency’s financial conundrum.
Cassidy ties proposed 30% pay and benefits cuts to federal telework
The Louisiana Republican has introduced bills to bar federal workers from receiving locality pay if they telework at least once per week and excising locality pay from all future feds’ pensions.
Senate appropriators endorse 2% pay raise for feds next year
With neither chamber in Congress willing to override President Biden, his plan to increase federal workers’ pay by 2% on average appears headed for implementation later this year.
OPM finalizes rule to ensure temporarily promoted feds are paid properly
A two-decades old Office of Personnel Management advisory opinion capping increased pay for federal workers temporarily performing duties of a higher-graded position at 120 days inadvertently penalized workers rather than their errant employer.
