Federal civilian employees will get a pay raise equal to that approved for military personnel.

After the House and Senate agreed on a 2.1 percent military pay raise in the FY2017 Defense Authorization bill, the president was urged by some in Congress and federal labor groups to provide the same raise for federal civilian employees.

President Obama responded by notifying Congress that he intended to reverse the alternative pay plan he announced in August that the combined civilian across-the-board pay raise and locality pay should not exceed 1.6 percent. 

Because the Congress decided to give military personnel a 2.1 percent pay raise, the president told Congress he was changing his original plan.  Under his revised alternative pay plan for federal civilian employees, the combined raise includes a 1.0 across-the-board pay raise and varying locality pay increases that will equal 2.1 percent of basic payroll.

Each year the president is required under Title 5 U.S.C., sections 5303(b) and 5304a, to present an alternative pay plan for across-the-board pay and locality pay adjustments. Because Congress did not act to counteract the president’s alternative proposal, the 2.1 percent pay raise will go into effect automatically in January