Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay
Jan 6, 2021
Signed by: Donald Trump
Signed on: Dec 31, 2020
Published on: Jan 6, 2021
Jan 6, 2021
Signed by: Donald Trump
Signed on: Dec 31, 2020
Published on: Jan 6, 2021
Summary
Sets the new pay rates and salaries for many federal government workers, including the military, judges, and senior executives, starting in 2021.
What problem does this solve?
Federal law requires regular updates to the pay scales for government employees to keep up with the cost of living. This order puts those new pay rates into effect for 2021 across different parts of the government.
What does this order do?
Updates statutory pay systems
Sets the 2021 pay rates for employees under the General Schedule, the Foreign Service Schedule, and some schedules for the Veterans Health Administration.
Updates pay for uniformed services
Sets the monthly basic pay rates for members of the uniformed services, as well as for cadets and midshipmen, for 2021.
Adjusts salaries for top government officials
Sets the 2021 salaries for officials on the Executive Schedule, the Vice President, members of Congress, and federal justices and judges.
Implements locality-based pay adjustments
Authorizes locality-based comparability payments to adjust federal pay based on the cost of living in different geographic areas.
Sets pay ranges for the Senior Executive Service
Establishes the new ranges for basic pay for senior executives in the Senior Executive Service (SES).
Sets pay for administrative law judges
Establishes the new rates of basic pay for administrative law judges.
Supersedes the previous year's pay order
Replaces Executive Order 13901 from 2019 with these new pay schedules for 2021.
Who does this affect?
- Federal government employees
- Members of the uniformed services
- Federal judges and high-level officials
What is the real world impact?
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Fulfills a legal requirement
Adjusts federal pay rates as required by law to account for the cost of living. This is a standard administrative action taken by the President each year to ensure government salaries are updated.
When does this start?
The new pay rates have different start dates, with military pay changing on January 1, 2021, and other pay schedules changing shortly after.
Uniformed services pay adjustment
The new pay rates for members of the uniformed services are effective January 1, 2021.
Other federal employee pay adjustments
All other pay schedules take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period that begins on or after January 1, 2021.