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Pay at a Glance
    
  
Payday
General Schedule (GS) and Federal Wage System (FWS) employees are paid
every 2 weeks. Though official paydays are on alternate Tuesdays, direct
deposits arrive in the employee's bank or credit union account on the
preceding Friday. Pay periods begin on a Sunday and end two weeks later
on a Saturday. There are normally 26 pay periods in a year.
Employees receive an earnings and leave statement at the work place.
This statement tells the amount of pay for the current pay period as well
as cumulatively since the beginning of the year. It shows the kinds and
amounts of pay received such as base pay,
overtime pay, or various differential
pays; Federal and state taxes which have been deducted; deductions
for retirement, social security, health or life insurance benefits; and
any voluntary allotments such as those for savings bonds or for the Combined
Federal Campaign. The earnings and leave statement also describes leave
balances and tells how much leave was used during the pay period and since
the beginning of the year.
Rate of Pay and Pay Systems
For most Clinical Center employees, the rate of pay is based on the number
of hours worked during the pay period and depends on the pay
plan and the grade and step within the pay plan. The General Schedule
(GS) pay system is the main pay system of the Federal government and covers
most professional, administrative, technical, clerical and other "white
collar" positions. The Federal Wage System (FWS) is the major pay system
covering trade, craft, skilled, semiskilled or unskilled manual labor
occupations in the Federal Government. There are several other pay systems
in use at the Clinical Center, each with its own pay rates and rules for
payment.
Locality Pay
Starting in 1994 locality pay was implemented for GS employees to address
a gap between Federal and non-Federal salaries in localities throughout
the US All Clinical Center GS employees (except those who are covered
under special salary rates) receive the locality differential applicable
to the Washington-Baltimore area.
This differential is added to the nationwide GS base pay rate.
Special Salary Rates
Some Clinical Center employees are paid special salary rates because
they are in occupations where there have been serious recruitment and/or
retention problems. Pay tables for
these occupations apply only to the particular occupation and the covered
grade levels. Special salary rates that are authorized under NIH's Title
38 authority apply only within NIH. Employees paid Title 38 special salary
rates do not receive locality pay, but are paid at rates that equal or
exceed the rates payable for the same grades and steps under the locality
pay system. Special salary rates authorized under Title 5 of the US Code
apply to employees in other Federal agencies as well as NIH. Employees
paid under Title 5 special salary rates
receive either their special salary rate or the locality rate of pay,
whichever is greater.
Annual Pay Increase
For GS employees . . . Congress usually grants pay rate increases
for GS employees once a year. These increases are normally effective on
the first day of the first full pay period in January. For those employees
covered by locality pay, any change in the locality pay percentage is
also effective at the same time.
For GS employees covered by special salary rates . . . Pay scales
for employees covered by special salary rates are usually adjusted annually,
effective at the same time as increases for other GS employees.
For FWS employees . . . The hourly pay rate for FWS employees
is usually adjusted once a year to be consistent with the prevailing wages
in the local area. The effective date of the pay change may vary from
year to year.
For other pay plans . . . Annual pay increases may be granted
to employees in other pay plans in use in the Clinical Center. Typically
these increases are at the discretion of a designated approving official.
General Schedule employees are eligible for within grade increases
at the following intervals:
- To steps 2, 3, and 4: one year
- To steps 5, 6, and 7: two years
- To steps 8, 9, and 10: three years
The length of waiting period for employees in the Federal Wage System
is:
- To step 2: six months
- To step 3: 1-1/2 years
- To steps 4 and 5: two years
Within Grade Increase
Within grade increases apply to General Schedule and Wage System employees
only. A within grade, or "step" increase is a periodic increase in the
rate of basic pay from one step of the grade to the next. The terms "periodic
step increase," WIGI," and "within grade increase" are used interchangeably.
Permanent GS or FWS employees with an acceptable level of competence are
eligible for step increases. Temporary Wage System employees are also
eligible for within grade increases.
Premium Pays
Based on their pay plan and level or kind of work, Clinical Center employees
may be eligible for special premium pays for night, weekend, holiday,
on-call, and overtime work. (See Overview
of Premium Pays)
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