Defense Bill Bars Federal Workers' Pay Raises

Legislation expected to pass in the House of Representatives would bar pay raises for poorly performing federal employees. The provision is tucked into the annual Defense Authorization bill, The Washington Post reports.

Darrell Issa

Federal employees are rated annually on a scale with four or five levels and their rank is used for promotions or awards. However, annual raises are generally paid across the board regardless of how poorly the employee ranked on the scale.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, failed earlier this year to get a performance-related pay system enacted.

“Americans believe in pay for performance. The federal pay system is not a pay for performance system. This provision moves us in the right direction, because it stops rewarding nonperformers,” he said.

The Defense Department enacted a pay system tied to performance during the George W. Bush administration but a 2009 law repealed it.

Any measure passed this year would not have any effect until 2013 because the federal pay schedule has been frozen under a two-year pay freeze enacted in 2010.