Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-110
§5546a Differential Pay for Certain Employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense
Title 5 › PART III — EMPLOYEES › Subpart D — Pay and Allowances › CHAPTER 55 — PAY ADMINISTRATION › SUBCHAPTER V — PREMIUM PAY › § 5546a
Summary
The FAA Administrator and the Secretary of Defense may pay extra money to certain FAA and DoD workers. They can pay 5 percent of basic pay to specific air traffic controllers (GS‑9 or higher) working in control centers, terminals, or flight service stations; employees in airway facilities (GS‑9 or WG‑10); flight inspection crew members (GS‑11) in field offices who help run or maintain the air traffic control system; flight test pilots (GS‑12) in regions or centers with unusually hard or critical safety duties; and FAA Academy instructors who used to hold those kinds of jobs and train others for them. That extra pay is added on top of regular pay and any other extra pay. The agencies may also pay 1.6 percent of basic pay to controllers at centers or terminals who are certified even if certification is not required, and 10 percent of the hourly basic rate for each hour spent giving on‑the‑job training to a controller handling live traffic. If a controller or flight service station specialist is forced to work the fourth through sixth hour of an eight‑hour shift without a 30‑minute meal break, they get extra pay equal to 50 percent of one‑half of their hourly basic pay. The Administrator and the Secretary must set rules and standards for who gets these payments.
Full Legal Text
Title 5, §5546a
Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Administrator”) and the Secretary of Defense (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) may pay premium pay at the rate of 5 per centum of the applicable rate of basic pay to—
(1)any employee of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Defense who is—
(A)occupying a position in the air traffic controller series classified not lower than GS–9 and located in an air traffic control center or terminal or in a flight service station;
(B)assigned to a position classified not lower than GS–09 or WG–10 located in an airway facilities sector; or
(C)assigned to a flight inspection crew-member position classified not lower than GS–11 located in a flight inspection field office,
the duties of whose position are determined by the Administrator or the Secretary to be directly involved in or responsible for the operation and maintenance of the air traffic control system; and
(2)any employee of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Defense who is assigned to a flight test pilot position classified not lower than GS-12 located in a region or center, the duties of whose position are determined by the Administrator or the Secretary to be unusually taxing, physically or mentally, and to be critical to the advancement of aviation safety; and
(3)any employee of the Federal Aviation Administration who occupies a position at the Federal Aviation Administration Academy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the duties of which are determined by the Administrator to require the individual to be actively engaged in or directly responsible for training employees to perform the duties of a position described in subparagraph (a); (b); or (c) or paragraph (1) of this subsection, and who, immediately prior to assuming such position at such Academy, occupied a position referred to in subparagraph (a), (b), or (c) of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(b)The premium pay payable under any subsection of this section is in addition to basic pay and to premium pay payable under any other subsection of this section and any other provision of this subchapter.
(c)(1)The Administrator or the Secretary may pay premium pay to any employee of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Defense who—
(A)is an air traffic controller located in an air traffic control center or terminal;
(B)is not required as a condition of employment to be certified by the Administrator or the Secretary as proficient and medically qualified to perform duties including the separation and control of air traffic; and
(C)is so certified.
(2)Premium pay paid under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be paid at the rate of 1.6 per centum of the applicable rate of basic pay for so long as such employee is so certified.
(d)(1)The Administrator or the Secretary may pay premium pay to any air traffic controller of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Defense who is assigned by the Administrator or the Secretary to provide on-the-job training to another air traffic controller while such other air traffic controller is directly involved in the separation and control of live air traffic.
(2)Premium pay paid under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be paid at the rate of 10 per centum of the applicable hourly rate of basic pay times the number of hours and portion of an hour during which the air traffic controller of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Defense provides on-the-job training.
(e)(1)The Administrator or the Secretary may pay premium pay to any air traffic controller or flight service station specialist of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Defense who, while working a regularly scheduled eight-hour period of service, is required by his supervisor to work during the fourth through sixth hour of such period without a break of thirty minutes for a meal.
(2)Premium pay paid under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be paid at the rate of 50 per centum of one-half of the applicable hourly rate of basic pay.
(f)(1)The Administrator or the Secretary shall prescribe standards for determining which air traffic controllers and other employees of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Defense are to be paid premium pay under this section.
(2)The Administrator and the Secretary may prescribe such rules as he determines are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1984—Pub. L. 98–525, § 1537(c)(6)(A), inserted “and the Department of Defense” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–525, § 1537(c)(1)(A), inserted “and the Secretary of Defense (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Secretary’)” in provisions preceding par. (1). Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–525, § 1537(c)(1)(B), inserted “or the Department of Defense” in provisions preceding subpar. (A) and “or the Secretary” in provisions following subpar. (C). Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 98–525, § 1537(c)(1)(C), inserted “or the Department of Defense” and “or the Secretary”. Subsecs. (c)(1), (d), (e)(1), (f)(1). Pub. L. 98–525, § 1537(c)(2)–(5)(A), inserted “or the Secretary” after “Administrator” wherever appearing, and “or the Department of Defense” after “Administration” wherever appearing. Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 98–525, § 1537(c)(5)(B), inserted “and the Secretary”. 1982—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 97–377 added par. (3).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–525 effective Oct. 1, 1984, see section 1537(f) of Pub. L. 98–525, set out as a note under section 4109 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1982 Amendment Pub. L. 97–377, title I, § 145(b), as added by Pub. L. 98–78, title III, § 320(2), Aug. 15, 1983, 97 Stat. 473, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) of this section [amending this section] shall be effective as of 5 o’clock ante meridian eastern daylight time, August 3, 1981.”
Effective Date
Pub. L. 97–276, § 151(h)(1), Oct. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 1202, provided that: “(1) The
Amendments
made by subsection 152 [151] (b), (c), (e), and (g) of this joint resolution [enacting subsecs. (a) and (b) of this section and amending section 5532, 5547, and 8344 of this title] shall take effect at 5 o’clock ante meridian eastern daylight time, August 3, 1981. “(2) The
Amendments
made by subsection 152 [151] (a) and subsection 152 [151] (d) of this joint resolution [enacting subsecs. (c)–(f) of this section and amending section 4109 of this title] shall take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning after the date of the enactment of this joint resolution [Oct. 2, 1982].”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
5 U.S.C. § 5546a
Title 5, Government Organization and Employees
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110