Pay Systems
General Schedule System
The General Schedule (GS) System is a pay system used to set pay for employees who work in positions classified in the administrative, clerical, professional and technical occupational categories. The pay plan designator is "GS". The GS system is comprised of 15 grade levels – GS-1 through GS-15 and each grade level has a salary range of ten steps. Employees can advance to a higher step within the grade if they meet time and performance requirements.
GS Steps
Under the GS system, the average step increase is roughly equivalent to 3 percent of your basic salary. If your performance is rated as "meets expectations", you will be granted within-grade step increases at specific intervals. Following are the waiting periods for GS full time employees:
- For advancement to steps 2, 3 and 4 – 52 calendar weeks
- For advancement to steps 5, 6 and 7 – 104 calendar weeks
- For advancement to steps 8, 9 and 10 – 156 calendar weeks
Employees who are on a part-time schedule or who have periods of non-pay status that exceeds allowable amounts will have their waiting periods extended.
