NA Not available. 1 Source: Employees--U.S. Postal Service,Annual Report of the Postmaster General.Average pay--U.S. Postal Service,Comprehensive Statement of Postal Operations, annual

Source: Except as noted, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Pay Structure of the Federal Civil Service, annual.

http://www.opm.gov/feddata/html/paystr.htmThe three statutory pay systems for Federalwhite-collar employees are those for the GeneralSchedule, the Foreign Service, and certain employeesin the Veterans Health Administration in theDepartment of Veterans Affairs. Salaries under thesesystems are established by subchapter I of chapter 53of title 5, United States Code.

The General Schedule pay system, as set forth insubchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United StatesCode, covers, with specific exemptions, most "white-collar"positions in the executive branch and in certainagencies of the legislative branch of the FederalGovernment. The General Schedule consists of 15grades, each broadly defined in law in terms of difficultyand responsibility of the work and the qualificationsrequired for its performance. A salary range of 10 stepsis provided for each grade. Within-grade advancement isscheduled after each 52 weeks of service in the firstthree steps in a grade, after 104 weeks in steps 4, 5, and6, and after 156 weeks in steps 7, 8, and 9. To qualifyfor advancement to the next higher step an employeemust demonstrate work at an acceptable level ofcompetence. Employees demonstrating "high qualityperformance" may advance more rapidly through therate range for their grades by being granted additionalstep increases, called "quality step increases." Anemployee may receive only one such increase, however,during any 52-week period.

Foreign Service pay plans and salary schedules forOfficers (pay plan FO) and Personnel (FP) wereestablished under the Foreign Service Act of 1980.Other Foreign Service pay plans which are linked toFederal pay schedules are Ambassadors (FA), linked tothe Executive Schedule, and Senior Foreign Service(FE), linked to the Senior Executive Service.The Veterans Health Administration in theDepartment of Veterans Affairs provides unique payplans for their physicians and dentists (VM), andpodiatrists and optometrists (VP).Other Major Pay Systems

The Wage Systems category, presented in this report,covers employees in pay plans covered only by theFederal Wage System (FWS), the major pay systemcovering trade, craft, and labor occupations in theFederal Government. The pay for these employees isset in accordance with local prevailing rates under thestatutory authority of subchapter IV, chapter 53 of title5, United States Code. Employees in other blue-collarpay plans are placed in the Other Acts andAdministratively Determined category.

The Executive Schedule was established by Congressto cover top officials in the executive branch. Thisschedule, which is codified in subchapter II of chapter53 of title 5, United States Code, has five levels, eachwith a single rate. In 1989, the Ethics Reform Actlinked Executive Schedule increases to increases in theEmployment Cost Index (ECI).Administratively Determined pay systems arethose for which Congress has authorized heads ofagencies to fix the compensation for the entireagency or for particular groups of positions withoutregard to the General Schedule. Some of the agenciesadministratively establish their own schedules ofrates (the AD pay plan is an example of this); othersuse the General Schedule grade and step structurealthough they are not required by law to do so (payplan GG is an example of this). Separate provisionsare also made for stipend payments to certain studentemployees training in Government hospitals, clinics, orlaboratories and for payments to member residents whowork at Federal institutions, such as the Armed ForcesRetirement Home. Nurses employed by the Departmentof Veterans Affairs' Veterans Health Administrationalso have a unique pay plan (VN) whose pay is localitybased.The Senior Executive Service (SES) covers mostmanagerial, supervisory, and policy positions in theexecutive branch which are classified above GS-15 andwhich do not require Senate confirmation. There arecurrently six salary levels in the SES. They are set bythe President at the same time as the annual increasesare authorized for the General Schedule.