Position classification in the federal government is guided by the principle that equal pay should be provided for work of equal value, considering both national and local private-sector compensation. The system ensures consistency in job grading across agencies and relies on standards developed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to maintain fairness and compliance.
Key Insights
- The classification system ensures that each General Schedule (GS) grade level represents a consistent level of work across the federal government, regardless of occupational series or agency.
- OPM conducts national and local compensation surveys to align federal pay with private sector standards and supports compliance through locality pay adjustments.
- Supervisors play a critical role in position management by assigning duties, reorganizing work, and understanding classification principles to align positions with organizational missions.
This lesson is a preview from our Federal Position Management Course and Certified Federal HR Business Partner (cFHRBP) Level III Certificate Program. Enroll in a course for detailed lessons, live instructor support, and project-based training.
Let's move on to position classification. And so, some of the underlying principles pertaining to the classification process are that equal pay should be provided for equal work of value, with appropriate consideration for both national and local rates paid by employers in the private sector.
I want to say that again because the basis for our federal classification system is that equal pay should be provided for equal work of equal value, with appropriate consideration for both national and local rates paid by employers in the private sector. What does that mean? That means that if you look at the GS1 through GS15 pay scale, every grade, if you're a GS5, no matter what your series is, no matter what your occupational group is, every GS5 across the federal government should be doing the same level of work, the same level of work. And so, I want that to sink in for a moment.
Equal pay should be provided for work of equal value with appropriate consideration for both national and local rates paid by employers in the private sector. So, what does that mean? That means that the federal government does a survey to study in those occupational groups what's being paid nationally and locally. And so, we want to make sure that our federal government employees are getting what's comparable to those who work in the same occupations in the private sector, all right? And so, the other thing is that since there must be a process that defines equal, OPM was required to develop a process to determine how federal positions are classified.
And so, hence the classification system. And so, those variations of rate and basic pay are paid to different employees in proportion to substantial differences in difficulty, responsibility, and qualification requirements of the work performed. And so, we want to make sure that, to be in compliance with the law, we are paying locality pay over and above the base pay of all of our federal employees.
And so, depending on what region you live in the United States, OPM has developed a process that allows you to define what equal is when it comes to paying their employees, all right? And so, we know now with the application of government-wide classification standards and classification principles that they were established in order to ensure proper pay plans, title series, and grades are assigned to every position. And so, in your classification review during this position management process, there are some things that you should work with the supervisor to ensure. And so, it is the supervisor's responsibility to assign work to a position.
It is the supervisor's responsibility to reorganize the work among several positions to ensure that the mission of the organization is being accomplished. And it is the supervisor's responsibility to improve work methods within their units. And so, the supervisors are making determinations that affect the occupation and the grade level of positions that they supervise.
And so, as position management reviewers, we must understand that classification plays a vital role in the position management process. I'm going to say I said that again. And so, good position management requires consideration of grade levels and correct occupations for positions involved.
And of course, grades should be commensurate with the work that's necessary to accomplish the mission of the organization. And so, everybody should be involved in the position management process. Supervisors must understand the basic principles of classification so that they can ensure that they are creating positions that will contribute to the mission of the organization.
And so, the basic principles of the federal classification system are found in two major guides on OPM's website, the Office of Personnel Management's website. And so, you can go to www.opm.gov, and you can search for the Introduction to the Classification Standards. The Introduction to the Classification Standards outlines OPM's classification policy.
And then you can go again to opm.gov and search for the Classifier's Handbook. Now, the Classifier's Handbook was designed and created to be the technical guide for classifiers. And so, OPM provides all of the technical guidance that classifiers need to ensure that they're classifying positions appropriately.
And so, we're going to look at a few of the principles found in these guides, and they play an important role when it comes to the position management process. The first one is the general rule. And so, the general rule for classifying positions is that the highest level of work assigned to and performed by employees, the majority of the time, which is about 50%, is grade determining.
Some agencies use the term grade controlling. And so, we want to make sure that we understand that the highest level of work assigned to and performed by an employee, the majority of the time, which is 50%, is grade controlling or grade determining. And so, the percentages of the time should be given or should be identified for each task.
And so, those percentages play a significant role in the classification process. The amount of work at a certain grade level directly affects the grade of the position or the occupation. And so, this is why, when you do the job analysis, the percentages of time is important in identifying the major duties of the position.
