Evening star., 1939-02-10
Early Hearings
Due on Pay
Boost Bills
McCurrun Measure
Reintroduced for
S1,5OO Minimum
BY ]. A. OLEARY.

BY ]. A. OLEARY.
Early hearings are expected to be
arranged by the Senate Civil Serv-
ice Committee on proposed pay in
creases in the lower salary grades
of the Government service, for which
two plans are now pending.
Senator McCarran, Democrat, of
Nevada reintroduced yesterday his
bill from the last Congress to make
81 500 the minimum, provide small
increases in other grades up to
about the $4,000 level and revise the
system of efficiency ratings now re-
quired by the Classification Act.
Senator Bulow, Democrat, Of
South Dakota and chairman of the
Civil Service Committee, previously
had offered his 81 200 minimum pay
bill.
Under the McCarran measure the
salary ranges would be as follows:
The custodial service would start
at $500 and go up gradually,
through 10 grades, to a maximum
of 81, 800 for the top step of the 10th
grade.
Clerical Fiscal to S4,100.
The clerical, administrative and
fiscal service also would start at
$500 and go up to a maximum of
81, 100 for the top step of the 10th
grade.
The sub-professional service, con-
sIsting of eight grades, would start
at $500 and reach $1,000.
In the professional and scientific
service the range would be from
$2,100 to $1,000, in three grades.
For the clerical and mechanical
service, paid on an hourly basis, the
rates in the McCarran measure are:
Grade l, IS cents; grade 2, IS and
80 cents; grade 3. 95 cents and 81,
and grade 4, sl05 and $110.
'CharWomen on part time would
be paid 65 cents an hour and head
charwomen, 10 cents.
Efficiency Rating Included.
Senator McCarran had considered
omitting revision of the efficiency
rating system from this years bill,
but finally decided to let the COM
mittee determine whether this
should stay in the pay measure
Accordingly, the bill would abolish
the present uniform system of eff
cheney ratings, and vast discretion
in the Civil Service Commission to
determine to what extent 1t is de-
sirable and practicable to set up
new standards for measuring the
quantity and quality of work, and
the extent to which such ratings,
If established, should form the basis
for salary adjustment, up or down.
Wherever efficiency rating records
are put into effect, under this bill,
the records would be open to in
spection by the commission and the
employe. If the keeping of such
records. were decided upon, with
the approval of the President, SAL
aries could be adjusted at any time
in accordance with the work record
but an employe could be denoted
or dropped if he failed for six con-
secutive months to maintain the
minimum standard fixed.
Could Advance Annually.
The bill provides that where the
commission finds it impracticable to
keep such records for certain classes
Of work, or to make the records the
basis for pay adjustment employees
could be advanced to the next higher
rate within their grades annually
until the maximum of the grade is
reached, provided the department
head certified faithful and efficient
service had been rendered. If the
department head does not make
such certifcation, he must give the
employe a written statement of
deficiencies that prompted with
holding the increase or ordering
demotion.
The Civil Service Commission
submitted it's analysis of the Bulow
bill to the Senate committee Wednes-
day, with the statement that, while
the Budget Bureau had no objection
to submission of the report, it was
not to be construed as rejecting
the relation of the bill to the Presi-
dents financial program. While
this left the administrations atti-
tude -committal, it was regarded
at the Capitol as favorable sign.
1t is possible the committee may
wait for a report on the McCarran
measure also before holding hear
ings.