Federal Salary Council Recommends Locality Pay for Des Moines, Other Areas

An advisory council of political appointees and federal employee stakeholders on Tuesday recommended that Des Moines, Iowa, be added to the list of regions where federal workers received increased pay and suggested widening two existing pay areas beginning in 2020. The Federal Salary Council, which each year re-examines disparities between federal sector salaries and those in the private and state and local sectors, will send its recommendations to the President’s Pay Agent for final consideration by the end of this year. The paying agent, which consists of Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, acting Office of Personnel Management Director Margaret Weichert and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, will then either accept or reject the recommendations and issue instructions to the Office of Personnel Management for implementation.