No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes special base rates of pay for Federal correctional officers (i.e., Bureau of Prisons employees whose positions primarily involve inmate custody, supervision, or routine direct contact in custodial settings) by (1) inserting new section 5332b into subchapter III of chapter 53, title 5, United States Code, which entitles such officers to a special base rate computed by increasing the applicable General Schedule base rate or law enforcement officer special base rate by 35 percent (rounded to the nearest dollar), not to exceed level V of the Executive Schedule; and (2) adding subsection (h) to section 5343, which requires the Attorney General to increase by 35 percent the wage rates for covered prevailing rate employees (i.e., Bureau of Prisons prevailing rate employees in custody-related positions classified no higher than Federal Wage System grade 9), not to exceed the annual rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule. Both the special base rate under new section 5332b and the increased wage rate under section 5343(h) constitute basic pay for purposes including locality pay, severance pay, recruitment incentives, and retirement under chapters 83 and 84.
This section establishes a sunset for the special base pay authorities for federal correctional officers under 5 U.S.C. §§5332b and 5343(h), as added by section 2 of this Act, to terminate 5 years after enactment (with those sections repealed), subject to review. It directs the Department of Justice Inspector General, not later than 180 days before the sunset date, to review and report to Congress on (1) the Bureau of Prisons' progress in reducing or eliminating the use of non-custodial employees for correctional officer duties (augmentation) and in reducing excessive mandatory overtime and (2) the impact of the special pay rates on recruitment, retention, and institutional safety. If the Inspector General determines measurable progress in eliminating augmentation and reducing overtime, the sunset has no force or effect and the authorities continue.