Under New Pay Policy, Some Defense Workers Could Come Up Short on Raises, COLA
October 17, 2007
Some defense workers could see much lower raises than they had anticipated if the Pentagon fails to delay a new pay policy that will change the way many of them receive the 2008 governmentwide pay and cost-of-living increase. The 110,000 employees who were moved into NSPS in Spiral 1 would be affected.
Unless the Pentagon stops it, half of the money allocated for 2008 pay increases will be spent as usual, with an adjustment to employees' base salary (provided they receive an acceptable performance rating). The other half, however, will be put into performance pay pools and distributed based on management's assessment of employees' quality of work.
The pay scheme will come as a surprise to many employees, who are expecting to receive the normal across-the-board pay increase in January as well as an additional performance raise, as was the case for 2007 payouts.
Several Congressman—Tom Davis, R-Va., Frank Wolf, R-Va., and James Moran, D-Va.—wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, raising concerns they and their constiuents have and urging the Pentagon to ensure that employees receive the "normal" raises they are expecting.