II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3771 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide increased locality pay 

rates to certain Bureau of Prisons employees whose duty stations are 

located in the pay locality designated as ‘‘Rest of U.S.’’, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 7), 2024 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide increased 

locality pay rates to certain Bureau of Prisons employees 

whose duty stations are located in the pay locality designated as ‘‘Rest of U.S.’’, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pay Our Correctional 

5 Officers Fairly Act’’. 


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•S 3771 IS

1 SEC. 2. PROVIDING NEAREST OTHER LOCALITY PAY RATE 

2 FOR CERTAIN BUREAU OF PRISONS EMPLOY3 EES RECEIVING REST OF U.S. LOCALITY 

4 RATE. 

5 Section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, is 

6 amended by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (j) 

7 and by inserting after subsection (h) the following: 

8 ‘‘(i)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

9 chapter, and consistent with paragraph (2), the official 

10 worksite of an employee of the Bureau of Prisons that is 

11 otherwise located in the pay locality designated as ‘Rest 

12 of U.S.’ shall be considered to be located in the nearest 

13 other pay locality established pursuant to this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) For purposes of carrying out paragraph (1)— 

15 ‘‘(A) if more than one pay locality is within 200 

16 miles of the official worksite of such an employee, 

17 such worksite shall be considered to be located in the 

18 pay locality with the highest comparability payment; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) an employee of the Bureau of Prisons 

21 shall not be subject to paragraph (1) if the official 

22 worksite of such employee is not within 200 miles of 

23 the nearest boundary of any pay locality other than 

24 ‘Rest of U.S.’.’’. 


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•S 3771 IS

1 SEC. 3. PROVIDING HIGHER WAGE AREA PAY FOR CERTAIN 

2 BUREAU OF PRISONS EMPLOYEES. 

3 Section 5343 of title 5, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(g)(1) In this subsection— 

6 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered pay locality’— 

7 ‘‘(i) means a pay locality established under 

8 section 5304 that includes the boundaries of 2 

9 or more wage areas established under this sec10 tion; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) does not include the pay locality des12 ignated as ‘Rest of the U.S.’; 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered wage area’ means a 

14 wage area established under this section, the bound15 ary of which is located within the boundaries of a 

16 covered pay locality; 

17 ‘‘(C) the term ‘nearest other wage area’ means 

18 a wage area, a boundary of which is located within 

19 the boundaries of a nearest other pay locality estab20 lished under section 5304(i); and 

21 ‘‘(D) the term ‘Rest of U.S. wage area’ means 

22 a wage area located in the pay locality designated as 

23 ‘Rest of the U.S.’. 

24 ‘‘(2)(A) A prevailing rate employee of the Bureau of 

25 Prisons employed in a Rest of U.S. wage area shall be 

26 paid at the higher wage schedule and rate of the nearest 


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•S 3771 IS

1 other wage area established under this paragraph and the 

2 wage area of the employee. 

3 ‘‘(B) For purposes of carrying out subparagraph (A), 

4 if the nearest other pay locality established under section 

5 5304(i) contains the boundaries of 2 or more wage areas 

6 established under this section— 

7 ‘‘(i) the employee shall be paid at the wage 

8 schedule and rate for employees at the nearest other 

9 Bureau of Prisons facility within 200 miles of the 

10 nearest boundary of the nearest other pay locality 

11 established under section 5304(i); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) if there is no Bureau of Prisons facility in 

13 the nearest other pay locality established under sec14 tion 5304(i), the employee shall be paid at the wage 

15 schedule and rate for the nearest other wage area 

16 that the Bureau of Prisons determines is most simi17 lar in population, employment, manpower, and in18 dustry to the wage area of the employee, as in effect 

19 on the day before the date of enactment of this sub20 section. 

21 ‘‘(3) A prevailing rate employee of the Bureau of 

22 Prisons employed in a covered wage area shall be paid at 

23 the highest applicable wage schedule and rate for any 

24 wage area located in the covered pay locality.’’. 


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•S 3771 IS

1 SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY. 

2 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any 

3 pay period beginning on or after the date that is 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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