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Title 5

Displaying title 5, up to date as of 9/02/2026. Title 5 was last amended 9/02/2026.
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Special Rules for GM Employees

§ 531.241 Retaining and losing GM status.

(a) An employee retains status as a GM employee (as defined in § 531.203) when detailed to any position or when reassigned to another GS position in which the employee continues to be a supervisor or management official (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 7103(a)(10) and (11)).

(b) An employee permanently loses status as a GM employee if he or she is promoted (including a temporary promotion), transferred, demoted, reassigned to a position in which the employee will no longer be a supervisor or management official, has a break in service of more than 3 days, or becomes entitled to a retained rate under 5 CFR part 536. (A retained grade is not considered in determining whether a GM employee has been reduced in grade. See 5 CFR 536.205.)

§ 531.242 Setting pay upon loss of GM status.

(a) On loss of status as a GM employee under § 531.241 (except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section), an employee must receive his or her existing payable rate of basic pay, plus any of the following adjustments that may be applicable on the effective date of the loss of status, in the order specified:

(1) The amount of any annual adjustment in GS rates under 5 U.S.C. 5303, and the amount of any adjustment in locality payments or special rate supplements, to which the employee otherwise would be entitled on that date;

(2) The amount of any within-grade increase to which the employee otherwise would be entitled on that date under 5 U.S.C. 5335 and subpart D of this part;

(3) The amount resulting from a promotion effective on that date (consistent with § 531.243(c));

(4) In the case of an employee who loses GM status without a change of grade and whose GS rate falls between two steps of a GS grade, the amount of any increase needed to pay the employee the rate for the next higher step of that grade; and

(5) In the case of an employee whose resulting GS rate is below the minimum rate of a GS grade, the amount of any increase needed to pay the employee the minimum rate for that grade.

(b) For an employee who loses status as a GM employee as a result of a demotion, pay must be set as provided in § 531.215. A GM employee's off-step GS rate at the grade before demotion is not converted to a GS step rate before the demotion, but the employee must be placed on a GS step rate when pay is set in the lower grade.

§ 531.243 Promotion of a GM employee.

(a) Upon promotion, an employee's status as a GM employee ends, as provided in § 531.241(b).

(b) When an employee loses status as a GM employee because of a temporary promotion and is returned to the lower grade upon expiration or termination of the temporary promotion under § 531.215(c)(1), he or she will be deemed to have been placed at the lowest step rate that equals or exceeds the employee's former GS rate (as a GM employee) on the effective date of the temporary promotion, before applying any other step increases based on his or her service during the temporary promotion.

(c) A GM employee's GS rate is used as the existing rate of pay in applying the promotion rule in § 531.214. A GM employee's off-step GS rate in the grade before promotion is not converted to a GS step rate in applying the promotion rule, but the employee must be placed on a GS step rate in the post-promotion grade.

§ 531.244 Adjusting a GM employee's rate at the time of an annual pay adjustment.

(a) On the effective date of an annual pay adjustment under 5 U.S.C. 5303 or similar authority, an agency must set the new GS rate for a GM employee as follows:

(1) For a GM employee whose GS rate equals a regular GS step rate, set the employee's rate at the new step rate in the adjusted General Schedule that corresponds to the employee's grade and step as in effect immediately before the effective date of the pay adjustment.

(2) For a GM employee whose GS rate is below the minimum rate of the GS rate range for the employee's grade, increase the existing GS rate by the same percentage as the annual pay adjustment for the GS rate range applicable to the employee's grade, with the result rounded to the nearest dollar (not to exceed the minimum rate of the range).

(3) For a GM employee whose GS rate is between GS step rates, apply the following method:

Step A Using the rates and ranges in effect immediately before the annual pay adjustment, find the difference between the GM employee's GS rate and the minimum rate of the GS rate range for the employee's grade.
Step B Find the difference between the maximum rate and minimum rate of the GS rate range in effect immediately before the annual pay adjustment. (If the GS maximum rate was not payable because of the EX level V pay limitation in 5 U.S.C. 5303(f), use the uncapped maximum rate.)
Step C Divide the result from step A by the result from step B. Carry this result to the seventh decimal place and truncate, rather than round, the result. This decimal factor represents the employee's relative position in the rate range.
Step D Using rates and ranges in effect after the annual pay adjustment, find the difference between the maximum rate and minimum rate of the new GS rate range for the employee's grade. (If the GS maximum rate was not payable because of the EX level V pay limitation, use the uncapped maximum rate.)
Step E Multiply the result from step D by the factor derived from step C.
Step F Add the result from step E to the minimum rate of the employee's current GS rate range and round to the next higher whole dollar. The resulting rate is the GM employee's new GS rate (subject to the EX level V pay limitation).

(b) [Reserved]

[70 FR 31291, May 31, 2005, as amended at 73 FR 66153, Nov. 7, 2008]

§ 531.245 Computing locality rates and special rates for GM employees.

Locality rates and special rates are computed for GM employees in the same manner as locality rates and special rates for other GS employees. The applicable locality payment or special rate supplement is added on top of the GM employee's GS rate.

§ 531.246 Within-grade increases for GM employees.

GM employees are entitled to within-grade increases as provided under subpart D of this part. A within-grade increase may not cause a GM employee's GS rate to exceed the maximum GS rate of his or her grade. GM employees may receive quality step increases as provided in subpart E of this part.

[73 FR 66153, Nov. 7, 2008]

§ 531.247 Maximum payable rate rule for GM employees.

(a) A rate received by a GM employee may qualify as a highest previous rate under § 531.222.

(b) As provided in §§ 531.221(a) and 531.241(b), if an employee loses status as a GM employee because of a transfer, promotion, demotion, or reassignment to a position in which the employee will no longer be a supervisor or management official, and if the employing agency after the action chooses to apply the maximum payable rate rule, the agency must follow the rules in § 531.221.

(c) If an employee retains GM status after an action that allows application of the maximum payable rate rule in § 531.221 to set the employee's pay, the rules in § 531.221 must be applied in accordance with the following special provisions:

(1) In comparing the employee's highest previous rate to an applicable rate range for the grade in which pay is being set, do not identify the lowest step rate that equals or exceeds the highest previous rate. Instead, identify the rate in the rate range that equals the highest previous rate unless that highest previous rate is below the range minimum or above the range maximum. If the highest previous rate is below the range minimum, identify the minimum rate (step 1) of the grade. If the highest previous rate is above the range maximum, identify the maximum rate (step 10) of the grade.

(2) In applying § 531.221(b) for an employee whose highest previous rate is a GS rate, the highest previous rate must be compared to the GS rate range for the grade in which pay is currently being set, but which was in effect at the time the highest previous rate was earned. If the highest previous rate was earned while the current GS rate range was in effect, the rate identified under paragraph (c)(1) of this section is the maximum payable GS rate. Otherwise, based on the rate identified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the agency must determine the corresponding rate in the current GS rate range for the grade in which pay is currently being set. That corresponding rate is the maximum payable GS rate. If the highest previous rate was above the range minimum and below the range maximum, the corresponding rate in the current GS rate range must be derived as follows:

Step A Find the difference between the employee's highest previous rate and the minimum rate for the GS rate range (for the employee's current grade) in effect at the time the highest previous rate was earned.
Step B Find the difference between the maximum rate and the minimum GS rate for the rate range identified in step A. (If the GS maximum rate was not payable because of the EX level V pay limitation, use the uncapped maximum rate.)
Step C Divide the result from step A by the result from step B. Carry this result to the seventh decimal place and truncate, rather than round, the result. This decimal factor represents the employee's relative position in the rate range.
Step D Using the current GS rate range (for the employee's current grade), find the difference between the maximum rate and the minimum rate. (If the maximum GS rate was not payable because of the EX level V pay limitation, use the uncapped maximum GS rate.)
Step E Multiply the result from step D by the factor derived under step C.
Step F Add the result from step E to the minimum rate for the employee's current GS rate range and round to the next higher whole dollar. This rate is the maximum payable GS rate the agency may pay the employee (subject to the EX level V pay limitation).

(3) In applying § 531.221(c) for an employee whose highest previous rate is a special rate, the highest previous rate (after any geographic conversion) must be compared directly to the current highest applicable rate range for the employee's position of record and official worksite after reassignment. Thus, the rate identified under paragraph (c)(1) of this section is the maximum payable rate of basic pay.

[70 FR 31291, May 31, 2005, as amended at 73 FR 66153, Nov. 7, 2008]