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Federal Pay: Complexities in Calculating Federal Civilian Firefighters' Pay

GGD-89-131 Published: Sep 29, 1989. Publicly Released: Sep 29, 1989.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal civilian firefighters' compensation to determine whether: (1) pay calculation complexities have resulted in pay errors; (2) promotions to supervisory positions have resulted in pay reductions from lost overtime pay; and (3) legislation would correct these pay problems.

Recommendations

Matter for Congressional Consideration

Matter Status Comments
Congress should enact legislation to change current pay provisions so that firefighters' pay is not reduced upon promotion.
Closed – Implemented
Under P.L. 101-509, Congress gave the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the authority to establish a special pay system for occupations that are not compatible with the general schedule. OPM is studying firefighters' pay regulations, as well as regulations of other protective services, that may not be compatible with the general schedule. GAO therefore considers this recommendation closed.

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should alert officials at Army and Navy payroll offices that are manually calculating firefighters' pay that their pay systems are vulnerable to improper payments resulting from random mistakes and misinterpretations of regulations.
Closed – Implemented
On March 1, 1990, the Assistant Secretary of Defense/Force Management and Personnel sent a letter to all DOD components alerting them that their pay systems are vulnerable to improper payments to firefighters resulting from random mistakes and misinterpretations of regulations.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should direct Army and Navy payroll offices to provide specialized training to their personnel who do the manual calculations.
Closed – Implemented
As of June 29, 1990, the Army and Navy initiated specialized training on firefighter pay calculations in their existing payroll training programs.

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Topics

Accounting errorsCivilian employeesCompensationEmployee promotionsErroneous paymentsFederal employeesFire fightersOvertime compensationPayroll systemsProposed legislation