DoD civlians subject to pay freeze Published Jan. 12, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Chyenne A. Adams Public Affairs Air Force District of Washington -- President Barack Obama's proposal for a two-year pay freeze for Federal civilian employees was signed into law Dec. 22, 2010. "As I said (Nov. 29, 2010), Federal workers are not just a line in a budget. They are public servants who, like their private sector counterparts, may be struggling in these difficult economic times," said the president in an official memorandum. "Despite the sacrifices that I knew a pay freeze would entail for our dedicated civil servants, I concluded that a two-year freeze in the upward statutory adjustment of pay schedules is a necessary first step in our effort to address the challenge of our fiscal reality." The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management have both released subsequent guidance. The pay freeze affects all Federal employees who would otherwise receive an annual pay adjustment. OSD guidance extended the freeze to similar pay adjustments for all pay systems for which OSD has administrative discretion. The freeze will also apply to the Air Force civilian faculty pay system. The pay freeze will not apply to promotions, within-grade or step increases, bonuses or awards, or other performance-based increases for most employees, according to Ryan Ferrell, Air Force District of Washington Manpower, Personnel and Services director. However, special restrictions in the legislation suspend all pay increases for senior executives and senior level employees unless those increases result from a change in position accompanied by a substantial increase in responsibility or promotion. Employees can find the OPM compensation policy memorandums at www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo. Pay charts for 2011 are also available on the OPM website at www.opm.gov/oca/11tables/index.asp. For more information, AFDW civilian employees can contact Shelia Relerford, AFDW/A1, at 240-857-1449.