The Office of Personnel Management this week outlined how it plans to implement President Trump’s controversial plan to provide federal law enforcement personnel with a 3.8% across-the-board pay increase, compared to only a 1% raise for other civilian workers.
Announced last weekend, the additional 2.8% for law enforcement officials is in line with the president’s proposal to grant military servicemembers with a 3.8% pay raise next year. In an FAQ document, OPM indicated the initiative would take the form of a special pay rate, an authority typically set aside for positions that are difficult to recruit for and retain.
“Certain front-line law enforcement personnel are critical to implementing the president’s strategy to secure the border, protect our country and keep Americans safe,” OPM wrote. “Without special pay rates, the government may find it difficult to recruit and/or retain the number of these personnel needed to properly enforce our borders, uphold our immigration laws and protect law-abiding citizens.”
While the exact list of jobs will not be compiled until the federal government’s dedicated HR agency consults with various other agencies, OPM said those consultations will consider Border Patrol agents, CBP officers and air and marine interdiction agents within U.S. Customs and Border Protection; criminal investigators, detention and deportation officers and technical enforcement officers at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. Secret Service’s Uniformed Division, special agents and technical law enforcement personnel; Federal Protective Service officers; correctional officers at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons; FBI special agents; Drug Enforcement Administration agents; U.S. Marshals, U.S. Park Police officers, and special agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The additional 2.8% pay increase for law enforcement officers will take effect at the same time as new pay rates across the General Schedule for the first full pay period of 2026, and positions will remain subject to the same annual salary caps, which OPM projects will sit at $197,200 next year, as the rest of the civil service.
Federal employee groups blasted the bifurcated pay raise plan this week, arguing instead that all federal workers should receive the same 3.8% increase next year.
“As this administration continues to press ahead with large-scale reductions in the federal workforce, and prices continue to rise, a below-market, 1% pay increase fails to keep up with inflation and is inadequate compensation for the increased workload placed upon the remaining federal employees,” said William Shackelford, national president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. “I urge Congress to reject this pay plan and authorize at least a 3.8% market-rate federal pay increase, in line with recent private sector pay increases and the expected increase to military pay rates and for federal law enforcement. With OPM predicting 300,000 federal workers by the end of the year, those remaining will be asked to fulfill their missions with less support.”
And Federal Managers Association President Craig Carter railed against the administration’s effort to further dilute the pay parity that has long been a bipartisan priority on Capitol Hill.
“Maintaining the traditional pay parity between federal employees and the uniformed military is essential to ensuring fairness, stability and the recruitment and retention of a highly skilled civilian workforce,” he said. “Federal employees take the same oath to the Constitution and work side by side with military personnel in supporting national security, public safety and critical government services, and their contributions should be valued equally. Breaking the long-standing practice of parity undermines morale and creates unnecessary disparities, sending the wrong message about the worth of civilian service.”