Every Federal Wage System job grading standard follows a consistent structure. Classifiers who know what each section contains and why it is there can move through a standard quickly and confidently, which is essential for accurate classification. The motor vehicle operator standard, Wage Grade 5703, is a useful reference point because it illustrates every element of a typical job grading standard.
- Job grading standards are the Federal Wage System equivalent of classification standards and are developed along occupational lines from fact finding studies.
- Every standard includes a common set of sections that identify what work is covered, what work belongs to a different standard, and how positions should be titled and graded.
- The note to users section describes the functions and organizational context of the occupation, which gives classifiers a working orientation for positions they may not know well.
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The sections below walk through the elements of a job grading standard in the order they typically appear. Reading a standard with these elements in mind makes it easier to find the criteria needed for a particular classification action.
Why Job Grading Standards Exist
OPM develops and publishes common job grading standards to protect the integrity of the Federal Wage System and to ensure consistent wage rates across agencies. Each standard includes instructions that provide criteria for grading, titling, and coding positions, and the criteria are based on fact finding studies conducted in representative work situations. Because trades and labor jobs involve different duties, skills, and knowledge depending on the occupation, standards are usually developed along occupational lines rather than broadly across the entire Federal Wage System.
Work Covered
The work covered section defines the scope of the standard by summarizing the kind of work for which directly applicable grade level criteria are provided. It is usually no more than a paragraph, and it focuses on the duties and major work activities characteristic of the occupation. The motor vehicle operator standard covers non supervisory work involved in operating gasoline, diesel, or electric powered wheeled vehicles to haul cargo, transport passengers, tow or recover equipment, and perform similar duties on government installations, public roads, or cross country conditions.
Work Not Covered
The work not covered section calls out occupations or special cases that might be confused with the work in the current standard but actually belong to a different one. For the motor vehicle operator standard, this includes the operation of electric, diesel, or gasoline powered forklift trucks used to move, stack, and load materials in warehouses or on loading docks. That work falls under the forklift operator standard, series 5704. This section is a safety net for classifiers, because it redirects them to the right standard when a position does not quite fit where it first appeared to.
Titles and Grade Levels
The titles section identifies the official titles authorized by OPM for properly classified positions under the standard. Every job grading standard also includes grade level information, but the grade levels described do not cover every possible grade at which a position could be established. Standards leave room for classifiers to evaluate positions above or below the described grade levels when the work differs substantially from the skill, knowledge, or other requirements in the standard.
The Note to Users
The note to users section is similar to the occupational information section in a General Schedule classification standard. It describes the functions performed by the occupation and the organizational situations that may exist for positions in that line of work. For the motor vehicle operator standard, the note to users explains that factors like gross vehicle weight, load capacity, number of forward speeds, and passenger capacity have traditionally been used as primary criteria for grade determination, but it also notes that these indicators alone are not sufficient because they do not account for the four grade determining factors of skill and knowledge, responsibility, physical effort, and working conditions. Gross vehicle weight is retained as a framework for analyzing straight inline vehicles.
