The General Schedule pay system is a classification and pay system that applies to the majority of federal white-collar employees. The schedule operates on a sliding scale from 1-15 with GS-1 being the lowest grade and GS-15 being the highest. The grades have 10 step rates within them, and grade step increases are based upon performance and longevity of service. The minimum waiting period for grade step increases is 52 weeks for pay steps 2 through 4, 104 weeks for pay steps 5 through 7, and 156 weeks for pay steps 8 through 10.