[Federal Register: April 26, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 79)] [Notices] [Page 20340] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT January 1999 Pay Adjustments AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The rates of basic pay and locality payments for certain categories of Federal employees were adjusted in January 1999, as authorized by the President. This notice documents those pay adjustments for the public record. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Jenkins, Office of Compensation Administration, Workforce Compensation and Performance Service, Office of Personnel Management, (202) 606-2858, FAX (202) 606-0824, or email to payleave@opm.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 7, 1998, the President signed Executive Order 13106 at 63 FR 68151, published on December 9, 1998, which established the January 1999 across-the-board adjustments for the statutory pay systems and the 1999 locality pay adjustments for General Schedule (GS) employees in the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia. These adjustments were made in accordance with section 647 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999, as contained in Division A, section 101(h), of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105- 277, October 21, 1998). The 1999 General Schedule, reflecting a 3.1 percent general increase, was published as Schedule 1 of Executive Order 13106. Executive Order 13106 also included the percentage amounts of the 1999 locality payments. (See Section 5 and Schedule 9 of Executive Order 13106.) The publication of this notice satisfies the requirement in section 5(b) of Executive Order 13106 that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publish appropriate notice of the 1999 locality payments in the Federal Register. Locality payments are authorized for General Schedule employees under 5 U.S.C. 5304. They apply in the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia. In 1999, there are 32 separate locality pay areas with locality payments ranging from 5.87 percent to 13.06 percent. These 1999 locality pay percentages, which replaced the locality pay percentages that were applicable in 1998, became effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 1999. An employee's locality-adjusted annual rate of pay is computed by increasing his or her scheduled annual rate of basic pay (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5302(8) and 5 CFR 531.602) by the applicable locality pay percentage. (See 5 CFR 531.604 and 531.605.) On December 7, 1998, the President's Pay Agent extended the 1999 locality-based comparability payments to the same Governmentwide and single-agency categories of non-GS employees that were authorized to receive the 1998 locality payments. The Governmentwide categories include members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), the Foreign Service, the Senior Foreign Service, employees in senior-level (SL) and scientific or professional (ST) positions, administrative law judges, and members of Boards of Contract Appeals. In accordance with section 621 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999, Executive Order 13106 provided no increase in the rates for the Executive Schedule. The Executive order reflects a decision by the President to increase the rates of basic pay for SES members by 3.1 percent (rounded to the nearest $100) at levels ES-1 through ES-4. Since the maximum rate of basic pay for SES members is limited by law to the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule, which was not increased, the ES-5 and ES-6 rates of basic pay were not increased in 1999. The rates of basic pay for administrative law judges (ALJs) and Board of Contract Appeals (BCA) members are calculated as a percentage of the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule. (See 5 U.S.C. 5372 and 5372a.) Therefore, the ALJ and BCA rates of basic pay were not increased. Also, the maximum rate of basic pay for senior-level (SL) and scientific or professional (ST) positions was not increased because it is tied to the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule. The minimum rate of basic pay for SL/ST positions is equal to 120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-15, and it was increased by 3.1 percent (to $89,728) because of the 3.1 percent across-the-board GS pay adjustment. (See 5 U.S.C. 5376.) OPM has published ``Salary Tables for 1999'' (OPM Doc. 124-48-6, March 1999), which provides complete salary tables incorporating the 1999 pay adjustments, information on general pay administration matters, locality pay area definitions, Internal Revenue Service withholding tables, and other related information. The rates of pay shown in ``Salary Tables for 1999'' are the official rates of pay for affected employees and are hereby incorporated as part of this notice. Copies of ``Salary Tables for 1999'' may be purchased from the Government Printing Office (GPO) by calling (202) 512-1800 or FAX (202) 512-2250. Copies of ``Salary Tables for 1999'' may also be ordered directly from GPO on the Internet at http://www.gpo.gov/su__docs/sale/ prf/prf.html. In addition, pay tables may be downloaded from OPM's Internet website at http://www.opm.gov/oca/ payrates/index.htm. Pay schedules also may be downloaded directly from OPM's electronic bulletin board, OPM ONLINE, which is reached by dialing (202) 606-4800 via modem. Office of Personnel Management. Janice R. Lachance, Director. [FR Doc. 99-10402 Filed 4-23-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325-01-P