OPM: Pay Gap Study to Kick Off in September

Last week, OPM officials said they couldn't say when a plan to conduct a new study of how federal compensation compares to that of the private sector might get off the ground. Now, OPM Director John Berry says the process will start next month.

In an interview with Federal Times, Berry said the government's current pay gap numbers -- which show federal employees earn 22 percent less than their private sector counterparts on a job-for-job basis -- "are good ones, and the process is accurate." But he reaffirmed that OPM, OMB and the Labor Department still are planning to put their heads together in September to see if any improvements are in order in the process of computing the gap.

The potential overhaul has taken on new urgency due to recent news reports claiming federal employees actually are paid more than private sector workers -- and that the gap is growing. Berry has dismissed those as apples-to-oranges comparisons that don't take into account the makeup of the federal workforce.