Employees impacted by the L.A. fires can receive transfers to paid leave
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a final rule on standardizing locality pay rates and an emergency leave transfer program in response to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County.
The Jan 15 memo applies to federal employees impacted by the wildfires from January 7, 2023, through the current crisis. The final rule aims to address a pay inequity gap between the General Schedule and the Federal Wage System, which will be standardized for both pay systems.
The standardization of maps will benefit an estimated 15,000 Federal Wage System employees, with their salaries set to increase by Oct. 1. The General Schedule locality maps are updated annually, while the Federal Wage System maps are based on post-World War II domestic military installations.
Reports have tallied the multiple fires having burned more than 40,000 acres and killing at least 27 people. The emergency leave transfer program was initiated in response to these wildfires, allowing impacted employees to utilize donated leave without having to use their own.
Employees wishing to donate their leave should contact their own agencies and not OPM. The donated leave is collected in agency leave banks, and employees seeking to become emergency leave recipients must apply in writing to their agencies or through a personal representative.
It's important to note that the pay inequity gap between the two systems was not directly addressed in response to any specific emergency or crisis. The pay inequity issues developed within the Federal Wage System itself, with the Federal Wage System locality pay being determined by a government formula to determine the prevailing wage for private sector work in the region. In contrast, the General Schedule locality pay is determined in part by the gap between private sector salaries of the regions federal employees are in and basic federal pay.
The last authority to exercise flexibility on January 15 to support federal employees affected by the Los Angeles wildfires was the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The memo, penned by then-acting OPM director Robert Shriver, allows other federal employees to donate unused annual leave to impacted employees.
This emergency leave transfer program is the fourth such initiative in the last five months, following responses to hurricanes Beryl in July, Helene in October, and Milton in October. The OPM's emergency leave transfer program is designed to provide support and flexibility for federal employees affected by emergencies and crises.
However, the final rule does not mention any specific application process for federal employees affected by the standardization. It is recommended that affected employees reach out to their agencies for more information regarding the application process.
In conclusion, the OPM's final rule and emergency leave transfer program provide much-needed support for federal employees affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. The standardization of locality pay rates will address pay inequities between the General Schedule and the Federal Wage System, while the emergency leave transfer program allows impacted employees to utilize donated leave without having to use their own.
