Date of Entitlement Determination for Within-Grade Increase

A determination was requested on behalf of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee as to the date of his entitlement to a within-grade increase. The employee was transferred from WG to GS classification. Under his WG classification, the employee's compensation included a night differential amounting to about $700 annually. His new GS classification was assigned (based on an interpretation of his WG pay including night differential) as GS-9, step 7, the lowest step rate of the classified position that would not represent a lower rate of compensation, as prescribed by FAA regulations. After 3 years without a promotion in this GS classification, the employee filed a grievance, claiming entitlement to a promotion based on fulfillment of the statutory time limit with satisfactory performance ratings, without a step increase. FAA claims that the $324.72 compensation increase received by the employee at the time of his reclassification constituted a boost greater than a step increase, because FAA did not regard his night differential as base pay. The employee was entitled to the step increase since his night differential should be considered a component of his base pay.