Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-10-21

tentlon provisions have been
liberalized in two respects. First,
this protection has been ex-
tended to include employees who
are in positions in Grades 16,
II and 10. Second, the require
ment for eligibility for salary
retention-that is, that the en-
ploye served two continuous
years 'in the same grade or
the same and higher grades"
has been changed to Gin any
grade or grades higher than
the grade to which denoted"
@. Will the new law correct
the situation that sometimes
occurred when a supervisor re-
ceived no more or even less
pay than some Of his subordi-
mates paid under another pay
system?
A. Yes. The situation some
times occurred when a super
visor was paid under the CLASH
fication Act and his employees
were paid at wage-board rates.
The new law authorizes raising
his pay to any rate Of his
grade necessary to make his
salary higher than the pay of
his employees.
@. Is any provision made for
higher pay for shortage-cate-
CORY positions?
A. Yes. A more flexible
method is now employed for
attracting candidates for hard
to-fill positions. Instead of
raising entrance pay above the
minimum and leaving the max
imum of the grade at the same
level, method Of pay which
reduced and sometimes elimi-
mated incentives, the new pay
bill provides for raising rates
for the whole grade. For ex-
ample, SEATS is the minimum
and $11,995 the maximum of
GS-12, and if it is decided to
raise the entrance salary for a
certain job to $10,735 (fifth
rate), an increase of 1890,
each succeeding rate would be
raised by the same amount for
a total of the entire nine rates,
making the maximum $13,255.
In no case can the entrance
salary be raised above the sew
enth rate of the grade.
@. Under the new shortage
category salary tables, a pro-
fessional engineer qualified to
begin Federal employment at
GS-11 will be paid $8,575 per
year, while a beginning medical
officer, GS-11, will be paid
$9,105. Please explain why these
starting salaries differ.
Reservation Steps
A. In order to avoid having
entrance rates. in shortage cate
gories drop back below rates
the commission had approved
under its former authority, i'm
mediate action was taken to
preserve these rates by moving
them to the closest rate in the
new schedule. The engineer and
medical officer starting rates
differ because, before the new
pay reform act was signed, an
engineer hired at Grade IL was
entitled to the fourth rate of
the grade, while a medical of
ficer hired at Grade II was
entitled to the sixth rate of
the grade. The difference came
about because Of differences in
recruiting difficulty in the two
professions; to enable the Gov
eminent to hire engineers for
GS-11 jobs 1t was necessary to
pay the fourth rate, and, to
hire medical officers, the sixth
rate of the old scale.
@. Are any changes made in
the limitation on the number
OF positions in Grades GS-l6
II and 10?
A. Yes. Under the law, the
number Of positions authorized
in these grades has been in
creased by Ali, and profess
sional engineering positions pri-
marily concerned with research
and development, and profess
sional positions in the physical
and natural sciences and medi-
cine, are removed from this
control.
@. What happens to Public
Law 313 salaries under the law?
A. Positions, mostly scientific
and professional, formerly paid
under P. L. 313 and similar
statutes, now have their salary
range geared to the range of
Classification Act grades oslo
through GC-18, rather than to
a specific dollar amount such
as mot in excess Of $4,000"
Q. Why are salaries for posi-
lions in grades GS-16, II, and
10 unaffected by the second
phase?
A. The salaries in these three
grades are closely related to
the tote! problem of executive
salaries. The needed salary
adjustments for such positions
are to be studied as a whole.