Evening star., 1942-12-07
Senate Group
.Favors Bill 10
Raise u. 5. Pay
Boost for Workers
In Higher Brackets
Is Scaled Down
By ], A, O'IEARY,

mittee today ordered a favorable
report on the temporary Gov
ernment pay increase bill, after
rewriting it to scale down the
raise in the higher salary
brackets.
Instead of uniform 20 per cent
increase on that part of a salary
not in excess s. of $4,000, Senator
Mead, Democrat, of New York, an
nounced adoption of the following
new schedule: -
A 20 per cent increase for all
under $2,100 year. AZ
A Is per cent increase above the
$2,100 salary level. but only on that
part of the salary not in excess Of
$4,000. -
No increase would be granted on
salaries of $4,000 or over.
In other words, the maximum in
crease for the first group would be
s420 on a S2,100 salary. The max.
imum for any salary above S2,l00
would be $435. Committee members
said they construed the $4,000 CELL
ing to mean that if an employe was
up near the top of $4,000 bracket he.
could be increased only to $4,000,
even though the Is per cent raise
would put him above that figure.
Period Is Limited. ~
The committee limited the in
creases to the period from now
until June 80, on the theory that the
new Congress meeting in January
would try to work out more COM
prehensive pay adjustment act. =
Senator Mead said the committee
also eliminated the section OF the
bill that gave the Civil Service Com
mission authority to adjust in
equalities as between per annum
employees and those paid by Wage
Board agreement for comparable
work. Presumably, this was left
out for more thorough study next
year.
The committee wrote into the new
bill provision requiring all Gov
ernment agencies to present to the
Budget Bureau in January such in
formation as the bureau may request
to justify the present number of en-
ployes in each agency. 1t would en-
power the budget director to make
a reduction in the personnel of any
agency in which he deemed the
present number of workers un-
justified.
The modified bill still applies to
all employees in the executive, legisla-
tive and judicial branches, except
heads of departments, elected officials
! and employees whose pay Is fixed by
wage boards on the basis of prevail
ing rates in each community.
1,199,0OO Affected.
The bill applies to approximately
1,199 900 employees. AS originally in
troduced, with the uniform 20 per
cent raise, the cost was estimated
at $270,831 900, but the graduated
| scale adopted by the committee has
reduced this cost figure substantially.
The proposed increase is coupled
with establishment of 48-hour
week in the Government during the
war emergency. This is accom-
plished by suspending the Saturday
half-holiday law and the compensa.
tory time of postal workers for Sat-
urday work. y
This bill replaces the general
overtime bill, previously approved
by the committee on October 20,
which sought to make A hours the
basic work week in the Government,
but with time and a half for all
hours above 40.
Byrde Sees Personnel Cut.
Senator Byrd, Democrat, of Vir-
ginia, said the effect of the bill as
amended would be to deny the in
crease to employees in any agency
unless the bureau head moves to
get along with fewer employees. on
the theory that the lengthening Of
the work week to 48 hours would
make reduction in personnel pos
sible.
In some agencies connected with
the war effort, however-notably
War and Navy-employes are al
ready working 48 hours. Some of
them were receiving overtime paw
under temporary laws that expired
December l, but otherss have been
working that long without addi-
tional compensation. No effort is
being made to re-enact the expired
overtime laws in view of the effort
to pass this more general straight
pay increase measure.
Senator Mead said he will confer
with the Civil Service Commission
tomorrow on the question of what
to do about District school teachers,
who are not covered by the bill as
it now stands. In the local munici-
pal government the percentage in.
crease applies only to employees un-
der the Classification Act, which
leaves out policemen, firemen, school
teachers and per diem workers. The
police and firemen have a separate
pay bill pending, and the per diem
workers have recently had their
rates reviewed by Wage Board proc
ess.
Efforts will be made to get the bill
up in the Senate later this week.
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