chloe kaczenski humbert

Government Executive – A Senate bill targeting teleworkers’ locality pay now has its companion in the House Legislation introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., would bar federal workers from receiving locality pay if they telework at least once per week, a move that could amount to a 30% pay cut for many feds. October 22, 2024 05:19 PM ET Erich Wagner Despite popular misconceptions, locality pay is not designed to supplement federal workers’ income if they live in high-cost areas; rather, the goal is to reduce pay disparities within a region between federal and private sector workers to within 5%, so that agencies can better compete for talent. Additionally, remote workers—that is, federal employees who are not generally expected to commute to work—already are granted locality pay for where they live rather than the location of an official work site. And federal HR leaders have repeatedly testified before Congress that they conduct oversight to ensure feds do not take advantage of telework agreements to receive more locality pay than they are entitled. And while the bill makes exceptions for federal employees with disabilities, members of federal law enforcement and the Foreign Service and active duty military, it would also apply to the 85% of the federal workforce whose homes and official worksites are outside of the Washington, D.C. area.