President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday to make the 2.0 percent pay raise for civilian Federal employees in 2025 official, marking a significant decrease from last year’s 5.2 percent pay raise. This executive order is an annual exercise to execute the president’s alternative pay plan for civilian Federal employees, which he issued in August. The pay adjustment will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, or the first day of the first applicable pay period.
The across-the-board base pay raise will be 1.7 percent and locality pay increases will average 0.3 percent, resulting in an overall average increase of 2.0 percent – consistent with President Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget. “This alternative pay plan decision will continue to allow the Federal government to employ a well-qualified Federal workforce on behalf of the American people, acknowledging wage growth in the labor market and fiscal constraints,” the president said in August.
This pay increase will be the smallest since President Biden took office – Federal employees received a 5.2 percent raise in 2024, 4.6 percent in 2023, and 2.7 percent in 2022. While still significant, the 2.0 percent pay raise for civilian employees is less than the 4.5 percent military pay raise, which the president called for in his FY2025 budget.
Earlier this month, a group of 27 Democratic and independent House and Senate lawmakers called on President Biden to enact pay parity across the Federal government for FY2025 – meaning he would equalize civilian government employee pay raises with those for military members. “Although we understand this decision was made under the constraints put in place by the Fiscal Responsibility Act caps, we believe it is imperative you revise your budget to align military and civilian employee pay raises,” they wrote in the Dec. 11 letter.
“Specifically, we request you issue a revised alternative pay plan seeking a 4.5 percent pay increase for the entire Federal workforce, including military and civilian employees alike.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest Federal employee union, also issued a statement today urging President Biden to restore pay parity between civilian and military employees. Their call emphasizes the need for equitable compensation as the workforce faces financial pressures.
On another note, President Biden recently announced Christmas Eve as a day off for the country’s more than 2 million federal employees. The White House announced on Thursday this gesture aims to recognize the efforts of federal employees during the year. "All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government should be closed and their employees excused from duty on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, the day before Christmas Day," according to the White House's announcement.
The Office of Personnel Management told the Federal News Network the pay raise “recognizes the federal workforce’s dedication and service to the American people and positions the federal government to...better compete in the labor market to attract and retain a well-qualified federal workforce.”
With rising costs of living and inflation continuing to impact livelihoods across the board, the effects of the 2.0 percent increase could be significant for many federal employees as they prepare for 2025.
