The Federal Job Grading System is the classification framework that covers blue collar trades, craft, and labor positions in the federal government. While the better known General Schedule governs white collar work, the Federal Wage System is the parallel structure for positions where the paramount requirement is a particular trade, craft, or labor skill. Understanding the history, legal foundation, and scope of this system is the starting point for anyone who classifies these positions.
- Federal Wage System positions cover trades and labor work including painters, carpenters, motor vehicle operators, and other blue collar occupations.
- Public Law 92 392, signed after a 1965 presidential directive, established the coordinated Federal Wage System and the principle of equal pay for equal work.
- Common job standards, wage policies, and grading criteria apply across every federal department and agency, which ensures consistency across the executive branch.
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The sections below cover the history of the Federal Wage System, the kinds of positions it serves, and the agencies where these positions are most commonly found. Together they provide the context that every classifier needs before moving into the details of job grading standards and evaluation methods.
White Collar Versus Blue Collar Classification
The federal government maintains two parallel classification structures. The first is the General Schedule, which covers white collar positions and uses a GS pay plan. The second is the Federal Wage System, which covers blue collar positions where the paramount requirement is trade, craft, or labor knowledge and experience. Recognizing which system applies to a position is the first step in any classification action, because the standards, grading criteria, and pay tables are entirely different between the two.
The History of the Federal Wage System
In 1965, the President directed department and agency heads to work with the Civil Service Commission, which is now the Office of Personnel Management, to develop a coordinated wage system for federal employees in trades, craft, and labor jobs. That work led to Public Law 92 392, which formally established the Federal Wage System. The law was designed to bring consistency to how blue collar federal employees were paid and classified, and it built on the same equal pay for equal work principle that underlies the General Schedule.
Equal Pay and Prevailing Rates
Equal pay for equal work is the core principle of the Federal Wage System. Pay rates for blue collar federal positions are set to be consistent and comparable to the rates paid for similar work in the local area where the positions are located. These locally determined rates are known as prevailing rates, and they ensure that federal blue collar workers are compensated in line with their private sector counterparts in the same geographic region.
Where Federal Wage System Positions Live
The majority of Federal Wage System positions are found in two agencies, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. These positions often include non appropriated fund employees, who work in roles that support military and veteran services. Other agencies also employ Federal Wage System workers, but the concentration in these two organizations is significant enough that any classifier working in them will encounter Federal Wage System classifications regularly.
Common Standards Across the Executive Branch
One of the most important outcomes of Public Law 92 392 was the requirement that common job standards, wage policies, and practices apply across the executive branch. Federal Wage System jobs are graded using the same job standards and grade level criteria regardless of the department or agency, which means that a motor vehicle operator at one agency is classified using the same framework as a motor vehicle operator at another agency. This consistency protects employees and supports fair treatment across the federal workforce.
