By BCT Reporter David Levinsky -

 

The long-standing issue of civilian pay disparity on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst may be closer to getting solved, thanks to a recommendation from a federal advisory committee.

 

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee voted earlier this month to recommend that the entire joint base be included in the higher-paying New York wage area, rather than split between New York and the lower-paying Philadelphia wage area.

The split and wage disparity was caused when the joint base was formed in 2009 from the formerly separate installations of Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base and Lakehurst Naval Engineering Station.

Workers at Lakehurst, which is in Ocean County, earn higher salaries or hourly wages because that portion of the base is in the New York pay area. Fort Dix and McGuire employees with the same jobs earn lower pay because their formerly separate installations are considered in the Philadelphia area.

The issue first was addressed in 2009 by Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th of Robbinsville, and others, including former Rep. Rob Andrews, of the 1st Congressional District, and late Rep. John Adler, of the 3rd District. The trio pressured the federal Office of Personnel Management to agree to raise the salaries of civilians working on McGuire and Dix to the higher Lakehurst rate.

The change was approved only for salaried workers. The disparity for more than 500 "wage scale" employees has remained despite requests to the Office of Personnel Management to make the change for the remaining employees.

Smith has introduced legislation to mandate the disparity be corrected on the joint base and any other installation where a similar disparity occurs as a result of an installation merger or reorganization.

The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-3rd of Toms River, and is  pending before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The advisory committee's recommendation may offer a faster path for the disparity issue to be resolved.

The 11-member committee is charged with studying the federal government's prevailing rate system and issuing recommendations to the Office of Personnel Management about potential changes and other related issues.

The committee voted 5-4 on Oct. 15 to recommend that the entire joint base be included in the New York area. The committee previously recommended that the issue be resolved at the joint base and several other locations across the country with pay disparity issues.

Steve Landis, president of the Local Association of Civilian Technicians chapter on the joint base and a member of the advisory committee, said getting a recommendation solely for the joint base could be a breakthrough.

"The issue with the joint base is totally unique," Landis said. "We're happy it's finally going through. A lot of people (at the joint base) may be getting some long-overdue raises."

Smith, who represents a portion of the joint base, also called for the Office of Personnel Management to act on the committee's recommendation.

“The Advisory Committee’s recommendation to end the pay disparity at JB MDL is long-overdue but still, a welcomed step to bring fairness to the men and women who are paid at a lower rate for the same jobs performed across the base,” Smith said Monday. “I urge (OPM's) Acting Administrator Cobert to immediately approve of FPRAC’s recommendations and issue the regulations that put them in effect as soon as possible—the Administrator can end this outdated and unfair policy and I am hopeful she will use her authority to do so in a timely manner.”

Originally published at: http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/local/advisory-committee-end-pay-disparity-on-joint-base-pay-higher/article_6fce3446-7c0c-11e5-ad04-7f44c9b349fa.html