Title 5 — Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73

§9509 General workforce classification and pay

Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart I— - Miscellaneous › Chapter CHAPTER 95— - PERSONNEL FLEXIBILITIES RELATING TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE › § 9509

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury may set up one or more broad-banded pay systems for all or part of the IRS workforce, if the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) gives the required criteria and approves parts of the plan. Broad-banded system — groups jobs by combining multiple grades and pay ranges into larger pay bands for evaluation and pay. OPM can ask the Secretary for information about these systems. Employees in a broad-banded system still follow the other pay laws that would normally apply, unless this law says otherwise. OPM must at least require rules that protect equal pay for equal work, limit how many grades may be combined, set band pay ranges and adjustment rules (including for supervisors), and set pay rules for hiring, moves, promotions, demotions, conversions, and other position changes. With OPM approval and an implementation plan, the Secretary may also allow exceptions to subchapter VI of chapter 53 for IRS employees in such systems.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §9509

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For purposes of this section, the term “broad-banded system” means a system for grouping positions for pay, job evaluation, and other purposes that is different from the system established under chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 as a result of combining grades and related ranges of rates of pay in one or more occupational series.

(b)(1)(A)The Secretary of the Treasury may, subject to criteria to be prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, establish one or more broad-banded systems covering all or any portion of the Internal Revenue Service workforce.

(B)With the approval of the Office of Personnel Management, a broad-banded system established under this section may either include or consist of positions that otherwise would be subject to subchapter IV of chapter 53 or section 5376.

(2)The Office of Personnel Management may require the Secretary of the Treasury to submit information relating to broad-banded systems at the Internal Revenue Service.

(3)Except as otherwise provided under this section, employees under a broad-banded system shall continue to be subject to the laws and regulations covering employees under the pay system that otherwise would apply to such employees.

(4)The criteria to be prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management shall, at a minimum—

(A)ensure that the structure of any broad-banded system maintains the principle of equal pay for substantially equal work;

(B)establish the minimum and maximum number of grades that may be combined into pay bands;

(C)establish requirements for setting minimum and maximum rates of pay in a pay band;

(D)establish requirements for adjusting the pay of an employee within a pay band;

(E)establish requirements for setting the pay of a supervisory employee whose position is in a pay band or who supervises employees whose positions are in pay bands; and

(F)establish requirements and methodologies for setting the pay of an employee upon conversion to a broad-banded system, initial appointment, change of position or type of appointment (including promotion, demotion, transfer, reassignment, reinstatement, placement in another pay band, or movement to a different geographic location), and movement between a broad-banded system and another pay system.

(c)With the approval of the Office of Personnel Management and in accordance with a plan for implementation submitted by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary may, with respect to Internal Revenue Service employees who are covered by a broad-banded system established under this section, provide for variations from the provisions of subchapter VI of chapter 53.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 9509

Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73