§296 Step increases; waiting periods; service in Armed Forces; automatic advancement

Summary

Employees who are not yet at the top pay step in the House Employees Schedule (HS) must move up one step at a time after doing satisfactory work. Moving to steps 2–4 happens at the start of the next pay period after 1 year of satisfactory service in the prior step. Moving to steps 5–7 happens after 2 years, to steps 8–10 after 3 years, and to steps 11–12 after 5 years. Service must be continuous with no break longer than 30 months. If an employee gets any pay increase while waiting for a step raise, the full waiting time starts over, except that pay increases required by law or from the committee raising the HS rates do not restart the waiting time. Time lost for service in the U.S. Armed Forces can be protected so step raises are not lost, under rules the committee makes. The committee must also run an automatic step-advance system for the House Wage Schedule (HWS) with the same basic rules: required waiting times, a restart of the waiting period if a pay increase is received during a wait (except for increases by law or committee schedule changes), and preservation of step benefits for interrupted service by reason of military service, all under committee regulations.