How does locality pay work, and what can federal employees do if they believe theirs is incorrect?

Are you a federal employee looking to get ahead? If so, certain federal government locations in the United States are considered “locality pay areas,” which in some cases translates into higher rates of pay for federal employees.

What is locality pay based on?

Certain location-based pay entitlements (such as locality payments, special rate supplements, and non-foreign area cost-of-living allowances) are based on the location of the employee’s official worksite associated with the employee’s position of record.

The official worksite generally is the location where the employee regularly performs his or her duties. If the employee’s work involves recurring travel or the employee’s work location varies on a recurring basis, the official worksite is the location where the work activities of the employee’s position of record are based, as determined by the employing agency, subject to the requirement that the official worksite must be in a locality pay area in which the employee regularly performs work.

An agency must document an employee’s official worksite on the employee’s Notification of Personnel Action (Standard Form 50 or equivalent). (See “Duty Station” blocks 38 and 39 of the Standard Form 50 showing the city/county and state in which the official worksite is located.)

In the locality pay program, federal pay is compared to non-federal pay for the same levels of work, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The results of pay comparisons by the Federal Salary Council are contained in annual reports by the President’s Pay Agent, which geographically define current locality pay areas for federal employees, defined using criteria applied for all locations throughout the United States, according OPM.

Temporary changes in work location

An employee’s work location may change on a temporary basis. Such a change may or may not affect the employee’s official worksite, as explained in the following paragraphs:

• If an employee is in temporary duty travel status away from the official worksite for his or her position of record, the employee’s official worksite and associated pay entitlements are not affected.
• If an employee is temporarily detailed to a position in a different location, the employee’s official worksite and associated pay entitlements are not affected.
• If an employee is authorized to receive relocation expenses under 5 U.S.C. 5737, in connection with an extended assignment resulting in temporary change of station, the worksite associated with the extended assignment is the official worksite. (See 41 CFR 302-1.1.)
• If an employee is temporarily reassigned or promoted to another position in a different geographic area, the temporary work location is considered the official worksite for pay purposes.

Teleworkers

An agency must determine and designate the official worksite for an employee covered by a telework agreement on a case-by-case basis using the following criteria:

• The official worksite for an employee covered by a telework agreement is the location of the regular worksite for the employee’s position (i.e., the place where the employee would normally work absent a telework agreement), as long as the employee is scheduled to report physically at least twice each biweekly pay period on a regular and recurring basis to that regular worksite.
• In the case of a telework employee whose work location varies on a recurring basis, the employee need not report at least twice each biweekly pay period to the regular worksite established by the agency as long as the employee is performing work within the same geographic area (established for the purpose of a given pay entitlement) as the employee’s regular worksite. For example, if a telework employee with a varying work location works at least twice each biweekly pay period on a regular and recurring basis in the same locality pay area in which the established official worksite is located, the employee need not report at least twice each biweekly pay period to that official worksite to maintain entitlement to the locality payment for that area.
• The official worksite for an employee covered by a telework agreement who is not scheduled to report at least twice each biweekly pay period on a regular and recurring basis to the regular worksite is the location of the telework site (i.e., home, telework center, or other alternative worksite), except in certain temporary situations, as explained under “Temporary Telework Arrangements,” below.

Locality pay is usually designated on an SF50. If an employee believes their locality pay is incorrect, they can try these steps:

• Contact your local agency customer service representative: Your immediate supervisor can help you determine who that is for your organization.
• Explain the problem and provide supporting documentation: If available, you can provide timecards or records of hours worked.
• Request a correction: Ask your employer to correct the mistake and issue a revised paycheck.

Federal employees looking to get ahead can access the GS locality pay map to obtain pay adjustment percentages for each location in the United States, in addition to other tools related to locality pay.

If you have additional questions about locality pay areas, our Tully Rinckey team of attorneys is available to assist you today. Please call 8885294543 to schedule a consultation or schedule a consultation online.