Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. §§ 5311–5318) is the system of salaries given to the highest-ranked appointed officials in the executive branch of the U.S. government. The president of the United States appoints individuals to these positions, most with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. They include members of the president's Cabinet, several top-ranking officials of each executive department, the directors of some of the more prominent departmental and independent agencies, and several members of the Executive Office of the President.

There are five pay rates within the Executive Schedule, denoted with a Roman numeral with I being the highest level and V the lowest. Federal law lists the positions eligible for the Executive Schedule and the corresponding level. The law also gives the president the ability to grant Executive Schedule IV and V status to no more than 34 employees not listed.[1]

Certain job titles tend to be placed at certain levels of the Executive Schedule. For example, in the executive departments, secretaries are on Level I; deputy secretaries are on Level II; under secretaries are mostly on Level III; and assistant secretaries, general counsels, inspectors general, chief financial officers, and chief information officers are mostly on Level IV. The directors of departmental and independent agencies vary widely in their placement, and are represented in every level from I to V, with their subordinates being placed on levels below them. A few agencies have general counsels, inspectors general, chief financial officers, or chief information officers on Level IV along with their departmental counterparts, although agency officials with these titles may instead be on another pay scale such as the Senior Executive Service.

Calculation of pay rate

(Effective as of January 2024)[2]
Level I $246,400
Level II $221,900
Level III $204,000
Level IV $191,900
Level V $180,000

Many political appointees have had their pay rate frozen at lower levels.[3] According to 5 U.S.C. § 5318, at the beginning of the first pay period for any position under the Executive Schedule, the amount of pay will be adjusted and rounded to the nearest multiple of US$100. If this amount is found to be midway between multiples of $100, then it will be rounded to the next highest multiple of $100.

Section 738 of division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141, March 23, 2018), continued the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels through January 5, 2019. The failure to enact new appropriations legislation may allow the freeze to expire. However, the officially established and posted pay rates (or pay ranges) for 2018 are in effect and used for determining pay for other employees. For more information, please see Compensation Policy Memorandum 2018-08 at https://chcoc.gov/content/continued-pay-freeze-certain-senior-political-officials-2.

Executive Schedule rates indirectly affect the rates of pay for other pay scales such as the General Schedule, Senior Executive Service, Senior Level, Senior Foreign Service, and other federal civilian pay systems, as well as the pay of uniformed military personnel, because various federal laws establishing those pay systems normally tie the maximum amount payable to various levels of the Executive Schedule. For example, no one paid on the General Schedule may earn more than the rate for Level IV of the Executive Schedule. Because of these pay caps and freezes to the Executive Schedule, federal workers at the top of their pay bands are often unable to receive pay increases, resulting in salary compression.[4][5]

Level I

5 U.S.C. § 5312 lists the positions that receive the amount of pay determined by Chapter 11 of Title 2. Since January 2023, the annual rate of pay for Level I is $235,600. There exist 21 positions, which are as follows:

Department secretaries

Executive Office of the President

Independent agencies

Level II

5 U.S.C. § 5313 lists positions given the rank of executive schedule II. Deputy secretaries of cabinet-level agencies usually have this rank. Since January 2022, the annual rate of pay for Level II is $203,700. The 54 positions are:

Department deputy secretaries

Other department officials

Defense

Homeland Security

Transportation

Executive Office of the President

Independent agencies

Intelligence Community

Other independent agencies

Level III

5 U.S.C. § 5314 lists 125 positions granted the rank of level III. Since January 2022, the annual rate of pay for Level III is $187,300. The positions are:

Department under secretaries

Other department officials

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Justice

Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury

Note: The Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision was level III before that office was abolished by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.

Executive Office of the President

Independent agencies

Directors

Deputy directors

Boards and commissions

Obsolete positions

Level IV

5 U.S.C. § 5315 lists 346 non-obsolete positions with the rank of executive schedule level IV. Since January 2022, the annual rate of pay for Level IV is $176,300. The positions are:

Department assistant secretaries

General counsels

Inspectors general

Chief financial officers

Chief information officers

Other department officials

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of Transportation

Other independent agency officials

United States Agency for International Development

Other independent agencies

Executive Office of the President

Boards and commissions

Obsolete positions

Level V

5 U.S.C. § 5316 lists the 143 positions that receive the amount of pay determined by Chapter 11 of Title 2. Since January 2022, the annual rate of pay for Level V is $165,300. The positions are as follows:

Agency directors

Other officials

Presidential authority to place positions at levels IV and V

Per 5 U.S.C. § 5317, the president can at any time appoint no more than 34 individuals to pay rates Level IV and V, provided that they are viewed as a necessary change to organization, management responsibility, or workload within a specific agency. This figure is in addition to Level IV and V positions specifically authorized in the bill. However, Senate consent is required and the pay rate takes effect only upon a new appointment to that position. All actions taken during this process are to be published in the Federal Register, except when it is deemed that such publication would stand in conflict to national security. The president may not take action under this section with respect to a position, the pay for which is fixed at a specific rate by this subchapter, or by statute enacted after 14 August 1964.

The following positions are granted Level IV pay status of the Executive Schedule:

The following positions are granted Level V pay status:

References

  1. ^ (5 U.S.C. § 5317)
  2. ^ "Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule" (PDF). Office of Personnel Management. 2024-01-01. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  3. ^ "Rates of Pay for the Executive Schedule" (PDF). 2016 Executive & Senior Level Employee Pay Tables. OPM.
  4. ^ Thornton, David (23 January 2017). "Some feds miss out on pay raise as salary compression worsens". Federal News Network. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  5. ^ Curtis W. Copeland (23 October 2008). The Executive Schedule IV Pay Cap on General Schedule Compensation (Report). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  6. ^ "Former Presidents: Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits" (PDF). www.senate.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. ^ "5 U.S. Code § 5313. Positions at level II". Legal Information Institute. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  8. ^ The position of Administrator of the DEA was placed in Level III of the Executive Schedule under the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, dated 28 March 1973.
  9. ^ a b c "Ex-Im :: Board of Directors". Archived from the original on 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  10. ^ The BNDD was abolished and its functions transferred to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), effective 1 July 1973, under the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, dated 28 March 1973.
  11. ^ The position of Deputy Administrator of the DEA was placed in Level V of the Executive Schedule under the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, dated 28 March 1973.

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