Claim by NASA Employees for Compensation at Maximum Rate of General Schedule

Employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) submitted claims for payment, retroactive to February 20, 1977, for the difference between their rates of pay and $47,500 which represents the statutory maximum payable to General Schedule employees in grade GS-18, effective February 16, 1977. The employees, whose rates of pay were established under the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, are only entitled to the salaries of their excepted positions. The fact that other NASA employees holding positions with the same titles are receiving the higher compensation does not entitle the claimants to the same compensation since NASA pay-setting authority permits pay distinctions based on factors other than organizational level.