Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act changes locality pay treatment for Bureau of Prisons employees. If a BOP employee's official worksite is otherwise in the Rest of U.S. locality pay area, the worksite is treated as located in the nearest other locality pay area established under title 5. If more than one non-Rest-of-U.S. locality area is within 200 miles, the worksite uses the locality with the highest comparability payment. Employees whose worksites are not within 200 miles of another locality area remain excluded. The rule applies notwithstanding other law and includes prevailing rate employees. It starts for pay periods beginning on or after 180 days after enactment. The bill is designed to raise pay for correctional workers at BOP sites near higher-pay locality areas but still classified under the lower Rest of U.S. rate.
Who Benefits and How
Bureau of Prisons employees benefit if their Rest of U.S. worksite is within 200 miles of a higher locality pay area. BOP prevailing rate employees benefit because the bill expressly includes them in the locality treatment. Federal correctional officers benefit from potentially higher comparability payments at qualifying worksites. BOP recruitment managers benefit if higher locality pay improves hiring and retention at hard-to-staff prisons.
Who Bears the Burden and How
BOP payroll staff must identify qualifying worksites, nearest locality areas, and highest comparability payments within 200 miles. Federal taxpayers bear higher salary costs at qualifying Bureau of Prisons facilities. BOP worksites beyond 200 miles from another locality area do not receive the new treatment. OPM pay policy staff may need to coordinate implementation across locality and prevailing-rate systems.
Key Provisions
- Provides nearest non-Rest-of-U.S. locality pay treatment for qualifying BOP employees.
- Requires use of the highest comparability payment if multiple locality areas are within 200 miles.
- Excludes worksites not within 200 miles of another locality area.
- Includes prevailing rate employees.
- Applies beginning with pay periods at least 180 days after enactment.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Treats Bureau of Prisons employees whose worksites are otherwise in the Rest of U.S. locality pay area as located in the nearest other locality pay area within 200 miles, using the highest comparability payment if multiple locality areas are within 200 miles, excluding worksites not within 200 miles of another locality area, including prevailing rate employees, and applying to pay periods beginning at least 180 days after enactment.
Key Policy Areas
Federal Workforce, Corrections, Pay
Primary Purpose
Treats Bureau of Prisons employees whose worksites are otherwise in the Rest of U.S. locality pay area as located in the nearest other locality pay area within 200 miles, using the highest comparability payment if multiple locality areas are within 200 miles, excluding worksites not within 200 miles of another locality area, including prevailing rate employees, and applying to pay periods beginning at least 180 days after enactment.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Bureau of Prisons employees
- BOP prevailing rate employees
- Federal correctional officers
- BOP recruitment managers
Identified Costs
- BOP payroll staff
- Federal taxpayers
- BOP worksites beyond 200 miles
- OPM pay policy staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Weber of Texas (for himself, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Fitzpatrick, …
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
BOP payroll staff, BOP recruitment managers, OPM pay policy staff
BOP prevailing rate employees, Bureau of Prisons employees
BOP worksites beyond 200 miles, Federal correctional officers
Positive-direction: Federal correctional officers
Negative-direction: BOP worksites beyond 200 miles
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology