(iii) The rates of pay recommended for a Senator, a Member of the House of Representatives, the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, a Delegate to the House of Representatives, a judge of a district court of the United States, a judge of the United States Court of International Trade, and each office or position under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code (relating to level II of the Executive Schedule,) respectively, shall be equal.

(B) Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to require that the rate recommended for any office or position by the President under subsection (h) be the same as the rate recommended for such office or position by the Commission under subsection (g).

(m) ADDITIONAL FUNCTION.-The Commission shall, whenever it conducts a review under subsection (f), also conduct a review under the subsection relating to any recruitment or retention problems, and any public policy issues involved in maintaining appropriate ethical standards, with respect to any offices or positions within the Federal public service. Any findings or recommendations under this subsection shall be included, by the Commission as part of its report to the President under subsection (g).

(n) PROVISION RELATING TO CERTAIN OTHER PAY ADJUSTMENTS.—

(1) A provision of law increasing the rate of pay payable for an office or position within the purview of subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of subsection (f) shall not take effect before the beginning of the Congress following the Congress during which such provision is enacted.

(2) For purposes of this subsection, a provision of law enacted during the period beginning on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November of an even-numbered year of any Congress and ending at noon on the following January 3 shall be considered to have been enacted during the first session of the following Congress.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to apply with respect to any pay increase

(A) which takes effect under the preceding subsections of this section; (B) is based on a change in the Employment Cost Index (as determined under section 704(a)(1) of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989) or which is in lieu of any pay adjustment which might otherwise be made in a year based on a change in such index (as so determined); or

(C) which takes effect under section 702 or 703 of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989.

SUBCHAPTER III—GENERAL SCHEDULE PAY RATES

§ 5331. Definitions; application

(a) For the purpose of this subchapter, "agency", "employee", "position", "class", and "grade" have the meanings given them by section 5102 of this title.

(b) This subchapter applies to employees and positions to which chapter 51 applies, other than Senior Executive Service positions, positions in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service, and positions to which section 5376 applies.

§ 5332. The General Schedule

(a)(1) The General Schedule, the symbol for which is "GS", is the basic pay schedule for positions to which this subchapter applies. Each employee to whom this subchapter applies is entitled to basic pay in accordance with the General Schedule.

(2) The General Schedule is a schedule of annual rates of basic pay, consisting of 15 grades, designated "GS-1" through "GS-15", consecutively, with 10 rates of pay for each such grade. The rates of pay of the General Schedule are adjusted in accordance with section 5303.

(b) When payment is made on the basis of an hourly, daily, weekly, or biweekly rate, the rate is computed from the appropriate annual rate of basic pay named by subsection (a) of this section in accordance with the rules prescribed by section 5504(b) of this title. § 5333. Minimum rate for new appointments

New appointments shall be made at the minimum rate of the appropriate grade. However, under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management which provide for such considerations as the existing pay or unusually high or unique qualifications of the candidate, or a special need of the Government for his services, the head of an agency may appoint, with the approval of the Office in each specific case, an individual to a position at such a rate above the minimum rate of the appropriate grade as the Office may authorize for this purpose. The approval of the Office in each specific case is not required with respect to an appointment made by the Librarian of Congress.

§ 5334. Rate on change of position or type of appointment; regulations

(a) The rate of basic pay to which an employee is entitled is governed by regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management in conformity with this subchapter and chapter 51 of this title when

(1) he is transferred from a position in the legislative, judicial, or executive branch to which this subchapter does not apply;

(2) he is transferred from a position in the legislative, judicial, or executive branch to which this subchapter applies to another such position;

(3) he is demoted to a position in a lower grade;

(4) he is reinstated, reappointed, or reemployed in a position to which this subchapter applies following service in any position in the legislative, judicial, or executive branch;

(5) his type of appointment is changed;

(6) his employment status is otherwise changed; or

(7) his position is changed from one grade to another grade. For the purpose of this subsection, an individual employed by the Appalachian Regional Commission under section 106(2) of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 (40 U.S.C. App.), who was a Federal employee immediately prior to such employment by a commission and within 6 months after separation from such employment is employed in a position to which this subchapter applies, shall be treated as if transferred from a position in the executive branch to which this subchapter does not apply.

(b) An employee who is promoted or transferred to a position in a higher grade is entitled to basic pay at the lowest rate of the higher grade which exceeds his existing rate of basic pay by not less than two step-increases of the grade from which he is promoted or transferred. If, in the case of an employee so promoted or transferred who is receiving basic pay at a rate in excess of the maximum rate of his grade, there is no rate in the higher grade which is at least two step-increases above his existing rate of basic pay, he is entitled to

(1) the maximum rate of the higher grade; or

(2) his existing rate of basic pay, if that rate is the higher. If an employee so promoted or transferred is receiving basic pay at a rate saved to him under subchapter VI of this chapter on reduction in grade, he is entitled to—

(A) basic pay at a rate two steps above the rate which he would be receiving if subchapter VI of this chapter were not applicable to him; or

(B) his existing rate of basic pay, if that rate is the higher. (c) An employee in the legislative branch who is paid by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, and who has completed two or more years of service as such an employee, and a Member of the Senate or House of Representatives who has completed two or more years of service as such a Member, may, on appointment to a position to which this subchapter applies, have his initial rate of pay fixed(1) at the minimum rate of the appropriate grade; or

(2) at a step of the appropriate grade that does not exceed the highest previous rate of pay received by him during that service in the legislative branch.

(d) The rate of pay established for a teaching position as defined by section 901 of title 20 held by an individual who becomes subject to subsection (a) of this section is deemed increased by an

amount determined under regulations which the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe for the determination of the yearly rate of pay of the position. The amount by which a rate of pay is increased under the regulations may not exceed the amount equal to 20 percent of that rate of pay.

(e) An employee of a county committee established pursuant to section 590h(b) of title 16 may, upon appointment to a position subject to this subchapter, have his initial rate of basic pay fixed at the minimum rate of the appropriate grade, or at any step of such grade that does not exceed the highest previous rate of basic pay received by him during service with such county committee.

(f) An employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105(c) who moves, without a break in service of more than 3 days, to a position in the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively, that is subject to this subchapter, may have such employee's initial rate of basic pay fixed at the minimum rate of the appropriate grade or at any step of such grade that does not exceed the highest previous rate of basic pay received by that employee during the employee's service described in section 2105(c). In the case of a nonappropriated fund employee who is moved involuntarily from such nonappropriated fund instrumentality without a break in service of more than 3 days and without substantial change in duties to a position that is subject to this subchapter, the employee's pay shall be set at a rate (not above the maximum for the grade, except as may be provided for under section 5365) that is not less than the employee's rate of basic pay under the nonappropriated fund instrumentality immediately prior to so moving. § 5335. Periodic step-increases

(a) An employee paid on an annual basis, and occupying a permanent position within the scope of the General Schedule, who has not reached the maximum rate of pay for the grade in which his position is placed, shall be advanced in pay successively to the next higher rate within the grade at the beginning of the next pay period following the completion of

3;

(1) each 52 calendar weeks of service in pay rates 1, 2, and

(2) each 104 calendar weeks of service in pay rates 4, 5, and 6; or

(3) each 156 calendar weeks of service in pay rates 7, 8, and 9;

subject to the following conditions:

(A) the employee did not receive an equivalent increase in pay from any cause during that period; and

(B) the work of the employee is of an acceptable level of competence as determined by the head of the agency.

(b) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, the benefit of successive step-increases shall be preserved for employees whose continuous service is interrupted in the public interest by service with the armed forces or by service in essential non-Government civilian employment during a period of war or national emergency.

(c) When a determination is made under subsection (a) of this section that the work of an employee is not of an acceptable level of competence, the employee is entitled to prompt written notice of that determination and an opportunity for reconsideration of the determination within his agency under uniform procedures prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management. If the determination is affirmed on reconsideration, the employee is entitled to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board. If the reconsideration or appeal results in a reversal of the earlier determination, the new determination supersedes the earlier determination and is deemed to have been made as of the date of the earlier determination. The authority of the Office to prescribe procedures and the entitlement of the employee to appeal to the Board do not apply to a determination of acceptable level of competence made by the Librarian of Congress.

(d) An increase in pay granted by statute is not an equivalent increase in pay within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section. (e) This section does not apply to the pay of an individual appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(f) In computing periods of service under subsection (a) in the case of an employee who moves without a break in service of more than 3 days from a position under a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105(c) to a position under the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively, that is subject to this subchapter, service under such instrumentality shall, under regulations prescribed by the Office, be deemed service in a position subject to this subchapter.

§ 5336. Additional step-increases

(a) Within the limit of available appropriations and under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, the head of each agency may grant additional step-increases in recognition of high quality performance above that ordinarily found in the type of position concerned. However, an employee is eligible under this section for only one additional step-increase within any 52week period.

(b) A step-increase under this section is in addition to those under section 5335 of this title and is not an equivalent increase in pay within the meaning of section 5335(a) of this title.

(c) This section does not apply to the pay of an individual appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

[§ 5337. Repealed. Pub. L. 95-454, title VIII, § 801(a)(2), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1221.]

§ 5338. Regulations

The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations necessary for the administration of this subchapter.