Government Employees: Time to Revise Your Salary Scales!
Government employees, time to revise your salary scales! Have you been hearing this from the higher-ups lately? But what does this mean and why are they making you do it?
Don’t worry we’re going to explain everything you need to know about scale revisions in the federal government. First, let’s take a look at what scale revisions are and how they came about in order to better understand why this is happening now.
A Brief Look Back
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first major legislation passed by Congress that attempted to eliminate wage discrimination. The act prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages and created protections for women who are paid less than men for performing equal work.
In 1967, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was amended with provisions
prohibiting discrimination against employees on the basis of sex with regard to
minimum wages, overtime pay, and child labor.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. It also includes provisions that forbid retaliation against someone who complains about job discrimination; these protections have been strengthened since their initial enactment.
For example, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 protects pregnant workers from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Under this statute, employers may not discriminate against a woman because she is or may become pregnant; require her to take leave if she has a pregnancy-related condition such as morning sickness, or deny her fringe benefits such as health insurance coverage because of her pregnancy.
A woman may not be treated
unfairly because she needs time off to recover from childbirth.
The Problem with the Current Scaling Scheme
There is a big problem with the current salary scale in the government sector. The problem is that the structure of the pay scale does not take into account factors like cost of living, education, and experience.
For example, a bank manager who has been working for five years will make about $34k less than someone who has been working for 15 years. This can be seen as unfair and it may discourage people from staying in their jobs for long periods of time or pursuing more education and training.
If a person doesn't have enough money to live on then they won't be able to spend as much time with their family or pursue other interests because they'll need to focus on making ends meet.With this type of structure, it also means that an individual will be pushed out of the job market prematurely if they don't work hard enough or get lucky. With lower levels of education and a lack of work experience, these individuals are already disadvantaged but this type of scaling structure just exacerbates the issue.
A person with a high school diploma could theoretically retire after one year of service and earn close to the same amount as someone who holds a college degree.
One way to address this is by placing emphasis on
qualitative characteristics such as productivity, creativity, collaboration,
leadership skills, etc. These types of qualities are harder to quantify so it's
difficult to put them on scales or grades but they're incredibly important
nonetheless.
Some Examples of Changes That Can Be Made To The Current
Government Pay Scale Structure:
It would be great if all workers were rewarded based on how
well they contribute to society and what needs society has rather than
what credentials they hold. Achieving this goal would require giving workers
access to various opportunities so they can pursue careers that match their
strengths.
No More CAT Grading System
The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that back in the '70s, women earned 54 cents for every dollar earned by men.
In 2016, this statistic has improved to 80 cents per dollar,
which is a whopping 40% increase in the wage gap over the last 46 years. The
BLS also reports that women earn less than men in all but one occupation
category (nonfarm animal caretakers). This is not right and it needs to
change.
The Department of Labor's latest initiative is a revision of salary scales for government jobs and it could be just what we need to close the wage gap forever. A new scale would put an end to outdated CAT Grading Systems and other unfair practices.
The revised scale will take into account more relevant data points such as experience level, cost of living rates, previous promotions/demotions, etc. When deciding on a pay rate, the revised scale will consider the qualifications and salaries of similar positions within the same agency or department.
It won't hurt either if employers are required to show evidence of hiring decisions through job postings online and provide their rationale for any difference in pay rates between employees hired under identical conditions.
Additionally, there should be no tolerance for discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, or disability. Employers should also refrain from retaliation against employees who raise concerns about violations of equal pay laws.
Issues with Inter Scale TransfersThe scale revise in government jobs? Is the only way to prevent the huge discrepancies between salaries that are caused by the different salary scales?
The current salary scales were created with little consideration for how they affect employees, and they have been revised many times since then. Now is the time for a change-scale revision in government jobs?
Government employees need to work together to create new rules for scaling so that everyone has the same opportunities for growth and development. The process of creating new rules needs to be transparent and inclusive.It should also take into account factors such as performance reviews and training progressions in order to provide equal opportunity for all employees. With these changes, both public-sector employers and public-sector employees can make up some ground on this issue of differential pay scales within their own organizations.
What is the rule of scale revised in government jobs?
The revised salary scales are expected to improve efficiency and effectiveness. For example, it has been observed that for many years, employees were being compensated on the basis of their rank or qualification level rather than on their performance.
This has led to considerable resentment among the staff who feel that they had been deprived of due recognition and rewards for their efforts. The revision is expected to address this issue through a shift from rank-based salary grades to a performance-based compensation system.
In addition, there will be some adjustments made in monthly rates so as to take into account various factors like inflation and increased cost of living. It is also believed that the amended rules will enable greater participation by women in senior positions.
To prepare for these changes,
supervisors have been given guidelines that can be accessed online. It's now
time to put your old salaries aside and focus on how you can excel with the new
pay grades!
Are there any loopholes left after this revision?
Some loopholes have been left for those who have taken on more responsibility and are performing at a higher level. For example, employees that have attained the rank of Senior Executive Service (SES) will still be paid at the highest rate even if their salary falls below the maximum rates set by the new law.
This exception is granted because members of SES are appointed based on professional qualifications and experience rather than time in service. However, exceptions such as this one do not come without consequences.
A huge downside of this exception is that it may discourage ambitious individuals from aspiring to or applying for positions of leadership within government agencies because they will know that they may not get any extra pay if they attain higher positions.
The result would be an agency full
of less motivated and talented workers which would eventually lead to an
ineffective organization.
Another thing that some people may see as a negative aspect of this revision is how the law only addresses high-ranking executives but does nothing to help those lower-level workers who need the most assistance with rising costs.
The current administration has always talked about helping
out middle-class families but doesn't seem like they care enough about these
families anymore when making decisions such as these. They don't want to help
the poor either, so what's really going on?
It's time for government employees to start revising their salary scales. U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed a federal budget that will cut the budget of departments and agencies by $54 billion.
This is in
addition to the $37 billion in cuts from sequestration in 2013, which means a
total of $91 billion will be lost over the course of this year. These
reductions will force some departments and agencies to eliminate programs,
reduce staff and impose furloughs as they work to meet budgetary targets set by
Congress.
In order for it not to come down on individual employees, government employees should revise their salary scales so that they can take pay cuts if necessary or even just have enough money saved up for an eventual layoff.
Government employees need to know that they may not always get paid what they're worth and need to be prepared for the worst when it comes to compensation.
Make sure you are aware of how much you'll lose based on your position and try to save up as much money as possible before an event like this happens.
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