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- General Schedule Pay Scale: Past, Present and Future
Created: February 29, 2016Last Modified:March 17, 2021
General Schedule History
The General Schedule (GS) Pay Scale was created by the Classification Act of 1923 and refined in the Classification Act of 1949. Today, the GS Pay Scale is codified in Chapter 53, Title 5 U.S.C. §§ 5331-5338.This law lays out the structure of the GS pay scale and appoints the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to administer most of the details.The pay scale was originally created with the purpose of keeping federal salaries in line with equivalent private sector jobs.Over time, GS pay scale has evolved into what we have today.
The General Schedule is a schedule of annual rates of basic pay, consisting of 15 grades, designated “GS–1” through “GS–15”, consecutively, with 10 rates of pay for each such grade.
Excerpt from Title 5 U.S.C. §§ 5332
The original 1949 system had 18 grades and up to 10 steps depending upon grade. However, the locality pay adjustments did not come until much later.The GS Pay Scale officially went into effect at October 28, 1949. The highest possible pay rate was only $14,000.
Image of the original General Schedule Pay Table published in the Classification Act of 1949
In the early 1990's, the pay gap between public and private sector jobs was increasing. To remedy this pay gap, congress passed an update to Title 5 U.S.C. requiring "each locality determined to have a pay disparity greater than 5 percent".
More: What are Grade and Step?
In January 1994, locality adjustments first went into effect. At the time there were just 29 locality areas. The locality adjustments were between 3% to 6%.OPM still maintains a record of the old pay rates on line. View the 1994 GS pay rates
General Schedule Pay
The General Schedule Pay Scale is the most widely used pay scale for white-collar federal civilian employees. There are over 1.5 million federal employees on the GS scale. Positions range from administrative jobs to managerial and technical positions.
Other alternative pay scales include: Federal Wage Grade Schedule (FWS) which is used for blue-collar, hourly positions;Senior Executive Service (SES) which is used for high level executive positions above the highest GS positions;Foreign Service Schedule (FS) which is used for Foreign Service members;and at least 12 alternative or experimental pay schedules.
Thirteen new locality areas were added in 2016.There are now 47 locality areas -- regions across the country where employees are paid more to compensate for higher cost of living.The last time locality areas were changed was in 2006.
Future of the General Pay Schedule
The General Schedule has been used for over 90 years.The system has evolved greatly to keep up with the times. However, the GS system is not perfect.
There is a significant pay gap between civil service positions and their private sector equivalent. One of the main objectives of the GS system was the reduce this pay gap.The GS schedule does do a good job of ensuring equal pay for equal work by reducing pay gaps between men, women, and minorities.
Others have complained that the GS scale does not provide merit based incentives. People in favor of overhauling the GS system argue that there is little motivation when employees are paid the same regardless of performance. The Federal Employee Union, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), opposes changes to the GS pay schedule arguing it ensures equal pay for equal work.
Several "experimental" pay scales have been created to test the idea of merit based pay. The Pay Band system is one such experimental, merit-based pay system.In the Pay Band system, there are 6 "bands." Each band maps to a range of GS pay grades with a large pay range.Based on performance, your pay will fall somewhere within your band's pay range.
Some experimental pay scales are still being used.However, the General Schedule system is still by far largest pay system in use and is not going anywhere in the foreseeable future.
Related Articles
- Who Decides General Schedule Pay Rates?
- How are General Schedule Pay Rates Calculated?
- How do General Schedule 'Steps' Work?
- Federal General Schedule (GS) Education Requirements
- When Does General Schedule Pay Increase?
** This Document Provided By GeneralSchedule.org **
Source: http://www.generalschedule.org/articles/gs-history
FAQs
The two-step promotion rule states that a GS employee promoted to a position in a higher grade is entitled to basic pay at the lowest rate of the higher grade that exceeds his or her existing rate of basic pay by not less than two step increases of the grade from which promoted.
How do you advance steps in GS pay scale? ›
Within-grade step increases are based on an acceptable level of performance and longevity (waiting periods of 1 year at steps 1-3, 2 years at steps 4-6, and 3 years at steps 7-9). It normally takes 18 years to advance from step 1 to step 10 within a single GS grade if an employee remains in that single grade.
Is GS 11 a good salary? ›
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $392,500 and as low as $153,500, the majority of Gs 11 salaries currently range between $215,000 (25th percentile) to $360,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $384,000 annually across the United States.
What will be the GS pay scale for 2024? ›
2024 GS Base Payscale Table PDF Version - 2024 GS Payscale
| GS Grade | Step 1 | Step 3 |
|---|
| GS-1 | $21,986 | $23,454 |
| GS-2 | $24,722 | $26,129 |
| GS-3 | $26,975 | $28,773 |
| GS-4 | $30,280 | $32,298 |
11 more rowsAs a GS employee, you have to wait one year to increase to a step 2, 3, or 4. You must wait two years before increasing to step 5, 6, or 7. Lastly, you must wait three years before increasing to step 8, 9, or 10. This means that if you join TTS at step 1, you'll proceed to step 2 the following year.
How to negotiate GS pay scale? ›
Your total compensation (all allowances and all pay items) is the starting point for your discussion about your civil service salary. Map the bottom line of your LES (gross pay) to the appropriate civil service pay chart. For GS positions, find the step that matches your salary and ask for it in your negotiation.
Is GS 13 a high position? ›
The GS-1 through GS-7 range generally marks entry-level positions, while mid-level positions are in the GS-8 to GS-12 range and top-level positions (senior managers, high-level technical specialists, or physicians) are in the GS-13 to GS-15 range.
Do GS step increases happen automatically? ›
Once you have worked the required length of time within the existing grade and as long as you have received a satisfactory score on your performance review, you will automatically receive a step increase. The required length of service ranges from 6 months to 3 years, depending on the pay scale and current step.
Can I retire after 5 years of federal service? ›
You must work at least 5 years with the Federal Government before you are eligible for a FERS Federal Pension, and for every year you work, you will be eligible for at least 1% of your High-3 Average Salary History.
Is GS-14 a high rank? ›
GS-14: This is the grade generally reserved for highly specialized and valued positions. GS-15: This is the highest grade available for Federal employees, typically reserved for supervisors or managers, and extremely specialized. Any advancement past this grade would be going into the Senior Executive Service.
You may qualify for a GS-9 grade (or equivalent) level position on the basis of a master's degree, and for the GS-11 grade (or equivalent) level on the basis of a doctoral degree. At these levels, however, the advanced degree must be directly related to the work of the job to be filled.
How many years of experience is GS-11? ›
Applicants need 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level to qualify for GS-7, 1 year equivalent to at least the GS-7grade level to qualify for GS-9, and 1 year equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level to qualify for GS-11.
What is the GS 2 step rule? ›
Under the two-step promotion rule, a GS employee who is being promoted from one grade on the General Schedule to a higher grade on the General Schedule is entitled to the lowest rate of the higher grade which exceeds his or her "existing rate" by not less than two step increases of the grade from which promoted or ...
Do all GS employees get locality pay? ›
Locality-based comparability payments are authorized under 5 U.S.C. 5304 and apply to most General Schedule employees.
What is a GS rank equivalent to? ›
GS and military rank
For enlisted service members, rank E-1 through E-4 is equivalent to GS-1 through GS-4. Moving up in rank, a GS-5 position would equate to E-5 or E-6, depending on the position. GS-6 then compares to E-7, GS-7 aligns to E-8, and GS-8 corresponds to E-9.
What are the rules for GS promotion? ›
For all Merit Promotion roles: employees must be at their current GS level for one year in order to apply for a position at the next highest GS level. This is called the “time-in-grade” requirement, and an applicant must meet time-in-grade within 30 days of an application's closing date.
How long does it take to go from GS-11 to GS-12? ›
For example, to qualify for a GS-12 grade (or equivalent) level, you must have a minimum of 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to a GS-11 grade (or equivalent) level.
Can I jump from GS-12 to GS 14? ›
Then your step increases happen as you remain at the job in the same grade. Usually its about 2 years to go from step 1 to step 10. You can jump a grade (to GS 14 or GS 15) by taking on additional responsibilities (usually management related) or, rarely, as a way to retain you against outside offers.
Image of the original General Schedule Pay Table published in the Classification Act of 1949