{"id":17878,"date":"2018-02-12T21:08:50","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T21:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/12\/trump-budget-will-cost-federal-employees-in-pay-and-benefits\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:39:38","slug":"trump-budget-will-cost-federal-employees-in-pay-and-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2018\/02\/12\/trump-budget-will-cost-federal-employees-in-pay-and-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump budget will cost federal employees in pay and benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2019 presidential budget<\/a> proposal includes a pay freeze for federal employees for the federal fiscal year, and documents the administration\u2019s intention to rely more on \u201cpay for performance\u201d structures than the standard pay increase schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existing federal salary structure \u201crewards longevity over performance,\u201d according to budget documents, which pointed specifically to tenure-based \u2018step-increase\u2019 promotions \u201cthat white-collar workers receive on a fixed, periodic schedule without regard to whether they are performing at an exceptional level or merely passable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee union groups, however, have labeled the pay-for-performance structure, and the corresponding removal of poor performers, as an attack on due process for federal employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFederal workers shouldn\u2019t be hired or fired on the whims of political appointees whose allegiance is to their political party, not the country\u2019s best interests,\u201d said American Federation of Government Employees national president J. David Cox Sr. \u201cBy stripping employees of their due process rights and firing those who reject his politics, President Trump is opening the door for rampant corruption, discrimination, and worker intimidation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s due process and there\u2019s over process,\u201d said Robert Shea, principal at Grant Thornton and former associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, pointing to a table included in the 2019 budget proposal that details the complex process employees already have for reporting improper punishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trump’s 2019 budget proposal includes a chart illustrating how federal employees can review major disciplinary actions. (Source 2019 budget proposal analytical perspectives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 2019 budget proposal relies on employee compensation cuts and changes to reduce the deficit<\/a> by more than $70 billion by 2028. Much of this comes from reducing the government\u2019s contributions to retirement and health programs and eliminating some programs such as special retirement supplements<\/a> and the Federal Employee Retirement System cost of living adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2019 budget proposal estimates that adjustments to government contributions to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program will reduce the deficit by $192 million in 2021 and achieve a total reduction of nearly $2.8 billion by 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the 2019 budget proposal estimates that changes to federal retirement benefits will reduce the deficit by nearly $2.6 billion in 2019 and add up to more than $68 billion in reductions by 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changes to federal employee retirement benefits include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n