§9807 Pay Authority for Critical Positions

Summary

The Administrator may set the basic pay for up to 10 special, high-level positions in the Administration. A "position" here means one covered by chapter 51 (including the Senior Executive Service), a job on the Executive Schedule under sections 5312–5317, a job created under section 3104, or a senior-level job under section 5376(a)(1). That pay authority can only be used for jobs listed as a critical need in the workforce plan under section 9802(b)(2)(A) and that require extremely high-level scientific, technical, professional, or administrative expertise. It can only be used to recruit or keep an exceptionally well-qualified person, and only to retain Administration employees or hire people who were not employees of another Federal agency as defined in section 5102(a)(1). The Administrator must personally set the pay and cannot delegate that power. Pay set this way cannot be below what the position would otherwise pay, cannot exceed the per‑annum rate under section 104 of title 3, and no extra cash payments may be given in a year if they would push total pay above that section 104 rate.