Employees won’t see back pay in special rates case for a year

The 212,000 current and former federal employees to whom the government owes $173.5 million in special rate back pay will have to wait at least another year before they collect the money, according to the National Treasury Employees Union.

In the meantime, the judge who must put her stamp of approval on the back pay settlement wants to hear from the special pay raters.

Special pay raters-so-called because they worked under special salary tables from 1982 to 1988-received requests for comments on the settlement this week from the U.S. Court for Federal Claims. Special raters can send their comments, either supporting or opposing the terms of the settlement, to the settlement administrator by Aug. 28.

Judge Nancy Firestone has scheduled a final hearing for Nov. 18. Once she approves the settlement, the administrator estimates it will be nine to 10 months before people start receiving back pay checks. The settlement agreement will also be binding, preventing individual special raters from bringing up additional claims in the future. NTEU brought the case against the government in 1983, after OPM issued a rule denying annual across-the-board pay increases to federal employees who receive special rates. OPM changed the rule in 1988, though special pay raters still don't receive annual locality-based increases.