§4094 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

§4094 Enhanced pay authority for certain research and technology positions in science and technology reinvention laboratories

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART V— - ACQUISITION › Subpart Subpart E— - Research and Engineering › Chapter CHAPTER 303— - RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - PERSONNEL › § 4094

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense can run a special pay program to help military labs hire and keep top research and technology experts. The program covers lab jobs that need extremely high scientific, technical, professional, or acquisition-management skill and that are critical to big research or technology projects. A military department may use the program only if its service acquisition executive approves. Pay can be set up to 150 percent of the Level I Executive Schedule rate with that approval. Higher pay needs the military department’s Secretary to approve. The program can be used only to recruit or keep exceptionally qualified people, for no more than five positions in each military department at a time, and only for jobs lasting less than five years. “Science and technology reinvention laboratories” means the labs named in section 4121(b).

Title 10, §4094

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense may carry out a program using the pay authority specified in subsection (d) to fix the rate of basic pay for positions described in subsection (c) in order to assist the military departments in attracting and retaining high quality acquisition and technology experts in positions responsible for managing and performing complex, high-cost research and technology development efforts in the science and technology reinvention laboratories of the Department of Defense.

(b)The program may be carried out in a military department only with the approval of the service acquisition executive of the military department concerned.

(c)The positions described in this subsection are positions in the science and technology reinvention laboratories of the Department of Defense that—

(1)require expertise of an extremely high level in a scientific, technical, professional, or acquisition management field; and

(2)are critical to the successful accomplishment of an important research or technology development mission.

(d)The pay authority specified in this subsection is authority as follows:

(1)Authority to fix the rate of basic pay for a position at a rate not to exceed 150 percent of the rate of basic pay payable for level I of the Executive Schedule, upon the approval of the service acquisition executive concerned.

(2)Authority to fix the rate of basic pay for a position at a rate in excess of 150 percent of the rate of basic pay payable for level I of the Executive Schedule, upon the approval of the Secretary of the military department concerned.

(e)(1)The authority in subsection (a) may be used only to the extent necessary to competitively recruit or retain individuals exceptionally well qualified for positions described in subsection (c).

(2)The authority in subsection (a) may not be used with respect to more than five positions in each military department at any one time, unless the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in concurrence with the Secretaries of the military departments concerned, authorizes the transfer of positions from one military department to another.

(3)The authority in subsection (a) may be used only for positions having a term of less than five years.

(f)In this section, the term “science and technology reinvention laboratories of the Department of Defense” means the laboratories designated as science and technology reinvention laboratories by section 4121(b) of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Another section 4094, added Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XI, § 1115(a), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3895, § 2358c; renumbered § 4094 and amended Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title II, § 215(d)(14), title XVII, § 1701(e)(3)(A), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1595, 2138, which related to enhanced pay authority for certain research and technology positions in science and technology reinvention laboratories and was substantially identical to this section, was repealed by Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVIII, § 1801(a)(32), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 685.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title XI, § 1106(c), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2818, provided that: “This section [enacting this section] shall take effect immediately after section 881 of this Act [section 881(a) and (b) of Pub. L. 117–263, set out as notes under section 4027 of this title].”