Federal Salary Council

The Federal Salary Council (FSC) is an advisory body of the executive branch of the United States Government. The FSC was established under the provisions of the Section 5304(e)(1) of Title 5 of the United States Code, to provide recommendations on the locality pay program created by the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA). The locality pay program provides for localized pay differentials (also known as comparability payments) for Federal employees paid under the General Schedule (GS) who work in the United States and its territories and possessions. (Section 1911 of P.L. 111-84, the Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act of 2009, phased in locality pay for employees in the non-foreign areas as identified in 5 C.F.R. 591.205. Alaska and Hawaii are separate locality pay areas with separate pay tables. Other non-foreign areas are included as part of the Rest of U.S. locality pay area.)

By law, the President of the United States appoints the members of the FSC, which is established to include three experts in labor relations and pay policy and six representatives of Federal labor unions and other employee organizations representing large numbers of GS employees. The FSC submits recommendations on the locality pay program to the President's Pay Agent. The FSC's recommendations cover the establishment or modification of pay localities, the coverage of salary surveys (conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) used to set locality pay, the process for making pay comparisons, and the level of comparability payments that should be made. The FSC's recommendations are advisory only and are not binding on the President. The President's Pay Agent makes the final determination as to the establishment or disestablishment of locality pay areas and also makes the final recommendation to the President regarding locality pay percentages that would go into effect under FEPCA.

Under Executive Order 12764 of 5 June 1991, the United States Office of Personnel Management provides administrative support for the FSC.

The President establishes the Council to include three seats for experts in labor relations and pay policy and six for employee organizations representing large numbers of General Schedule employees. President Donald J. Trump appointed three expert members to the Council: Chairman Ronald P. Sanders, Director and Clinical Professor School of Public Affairs, University of South Florida; Ms. Jill Nelson, Federal Salary Council Vice Chair and Chair of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee; and Ms. Katja Bullock, Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel. Current union members on the Council are Mr. Louis P. Cannon, National Trustee, Fraternal Order of Police; Mr. J. David Cox, National President, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); Mr. Randy L. Erwin, National President, National Federation of Federal Employees; Mr. Anthony M. Reardon, National President, National Treasury Employees Union; and Ms. Jacqueline Simon, Public Policy Director, AFGE.