Bush officials say no to five new locality pay areas

Federal employees in five cities won't be getting extra pay boosts in January, the Bush administration has decided. Administration officials decided that federal employees in Austin, Texas; Las Vegas, Nev.; Nashville, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Louisville, Ky., will continue to be paid at a nationwide pay rate, rather than at special higher pay rates based on local salary surveys. Federal workers in 31 metropolitan areas, such as Washington, Houston and New York, receive special locality pay rates. In a report to Congress, Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James, Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said that salary surveys, such as those conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), are not reliable enough to set special rates in those cities, where nearly 30,000 federal employees work. "While we understand the concerns of federal employees in the metropolitan areas under consideration, we believe adding new locality pay areas must, at a minimum, await the introduction of planned improvements in the BLS salary survey methodology," the officials wrote. "In addition, we are concerned about the potential additional cost to the government of conducting full-scale locality pay surveys in additional locations." Last year, Congress instructed the three officials--referred to collectively as the President's Pay Agent--who made the decision to consider giving workers in the five cities special locality pay rates. BLS conducts small salary surveys in Raleigh, Austin and Louisville, but not in Las Vegas or Nashville. Private companies conduct salary surveys in all of those cities. The Pay Agent found that private companies' salary surveys are not rigorous or large enough to be used to set federal locality pay rates. The small BLS surveys in Raleigh, Austin and Louisville are also not good enough, the Pay Agent decided. The Pay Agent's decision goes against the recommendation of the Federal Salary Council, a group representing federal unions, professional associations and pay experts. The council in August recommended that the small BLS surveys be used to set new locality rates in Raleigh, Austin and Louisville. "We have concluded that such use would be both premature and misleading," the pay agent said. Employees in the five cities will continue to be paid at the "Rest of the United States" pay rate, which covers all areas of the lower 48 states not included in one of the 31 designated locality pay areas.