Collins Leads Call for the End to Wage Disparities Among Federal Workers at Army and Navy Installations

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Bob Casey (D-PA) led a bipartisan group of eight Senators, including Senator Angus King, in sending a letter to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to implement a policy recommendation issued by the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC) that would end the wage disparities for federal workers, including those at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). Currently, salaried employees at PNSY are included in a higher paying locality pay area than their hourly employee counterparts. If implemented, FPRAC’s recommended policy would align hourly federal employees pay with salaried workers.  

Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Katie Britt (R-AL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ed Markey (D-MA) also joined Senators Collins and Casey in sending the letter to OPM.

“The [Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee’s] recommended regulation will enhance military readiness during a time of global turmoil and establish fairness for the federal workforce, overcoming years of division that has undermined the sense of fairness and equity between the two major pay systems. We urge you to swiftly accept the recommended regulation,” the Senators wrote.

As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Defense, Senator Collins secured a 5.2 percent pay increase for servicemembers and Department of Defense civilian employees through the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations package that was signed into law in March.  

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