WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Se. John Fetterman, D-Pa., applauded the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for publishing a rule that will end a decades-long pay disparity affecting more than 2,100 hourly federal workers in Pennsylvania and nearly 14,500 across the country. The reform, which will take effect Oct. 1, will raise wages for hourly federal employees who have been paid according to different locality pay areas than their salaried colleagues. The rule will deliver an estimated $23.1 million in additional wages to Pennsylvanians in the first year alone.
“For three decades, hourly federal workers across Pennsylvania have been shortchanged by a system that pays them differently than their salaried coworkers. This new rule will eliminate that pay gap for thousands of these workers,” said Senator Fetterman. “This is about so much more than just a paycheck––this is about treating workers with the dignity and respect they deserve. I’m proud to stand with the union members across our commonwealth who have fought for years to make this happen. I made a commitment to join them in this fight and I’m proud that we finally got it done.”
OPM’s final rule is the culmination of more than a year of advocacy by Fetterman and a broad coalition of allies, including affected workers, labor unions, and colleagues in Congress. Despite decades-long efforts to fix this issue, federal agencies had never taken effective action to fix the pay gap – until now.
