Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act
Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act would tighten how locality pay is determined for Bureau of Prisons employees whose duty stations fall in the “Rest of U.S.” locality. Instead of staying at Rest of U.S. for pay purposes, these employees would be treated as if their official worksite is located in the nearest other locality pay area, provided there is a nearby locality within 200 miles. When multiple nearby localities exist within 200 miles, the employee would receive the highest comparability payment among those localities. If there is no other locality within 200 miles, the employee would not be moved to a different locality. The change also covers prevailing rate employees and would take effect for pay periods beginning 180 days after enactment. The bill amends section 5304 of title 5, U.S.C.
Key Points
- 1Creates a new rule in 5 U.S.C. 5304 to treat BOP duty stations in Rest of U.S. as being located in the nearest other locality for locality pay purposes.
- 2If more than one nearby locality exists within 200 miles, the employee’s pay locality is the one with the highest comparability payment.
- 3If no other locality is within 200 miles, the Rest of U.S. designation remains and no locality pay change occurs.
- 4The provision explicitly includes prevailing rate employees within its scope.
- 5The changes take effect for pay periods beginning 180 days after enactment.