§5377 Pay Authority for Critical Positions

Summary

Lets agencies get special permission to set higher basic pay for certain critical jobs when they need to hire or keep people with extremely high skill in a scientific, technical, professional, or administrative field and the job is vital to the agency’s mission. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), after talking with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and when an agency head asks, can allow higher pay for one or more positions. Pay set this way cannot be below what would normally be paid, and it cannot be higher than the rate for Executive Schedule level I unless the President agrees in writing. OPM can stop the authority if the job no longer meets the rules or on another date, but not before the authority has been in effect for at least 1 calendar year. At no time can more than 800 positions have this authorization, and no more than 30 of those can be positions normally paid under subchapter II. OPM must consult OMB before granting or ending authority and must report each year to the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, listing how many positions (by agency) and each employee’s name, pay, dates, and what would have been paid otherwise. "Agency" — the meaning given in section 5102. "Position" — includes SES jobs (including FBI and DEA SES), Executive Schedule jobs under sections 5312–5317, jobs covered by sections 5372 or 5372a, jobs under section 3104, categories designated under subsection (i), and FBI jobs whose main duties are intelligence.