PART THREE
Technical Notes
Definitions one or more major life activities, or is
regarded as having such impairment or has a
Effective Date. Effective dates for data in record of such an impairment.
this report are as of September 30th of the
year in reference. All data are extracted from EEOC Specified Disability. In addition
the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF). to the standard definition of disability, the
See Data Base Population Coverage for Equal Employment Opportunity
information regarding CPDF Status files. Commission (EEOC) has identified certain
impairments that classify employees as
Agency. An agency is any department or severely disabled. The following are among
independent establishment of the Federal those impairments which are listed as EEOC
Government, including a Government- specified disabilities: total deafness in both
owned or controlled corporation, whose ears (with or without understandable
civilian employees are paid from speech); blindness in both eyes; missing
appropriated funds. All tables with agency- arms or legs; paralysis; convulsive disorders
level data also include selected agency sub- (e.g., epilepsy); mental retardation; and
elements shown below department or major mental or emotional illness.
agency level. Sub elements are bureaus or
the first administrative subdivision of an Veterans. Veterans are defined by either
agency. Veterans Preference or Veterans Status.
Veterans Preference indicates an employees
Minority. The minority race/national origin entitlement to statutory types of preference
groups for Federal statistics and program ad- in the Federal service based on active
ministrative reporting are defined as follows: military service that ended honorably.
Veterans Status indicates whether an
* American Indian or Alaska Native. A employee is a veteran as defined by 38
person having origins in any of the original U.S.C. 101 (i.e., a person who served in the
peoples of North America, and who active uniformed military service of the
maintains cultural identification through United States and who was discharged or
tribal affiliation or community recognition. released from service under conditions other
than dishonorable). Individuals can be
* Asian or Pacific Islander. A person recognized as veterans under the Veterans
having origins in any of the original peoples
Status authority even though they may not
of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian
qualify for Veterans Preference under 5
subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This
area includes, for example, China, India, U.S.C. 2108.
Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, and
Samoa. * All Veterans. Employees who claim a 5
point non-disability veterans preference, a
* Black (not of Hispanic origin). A 10-point veterans preference due to a
person having origins in any of the black service-connected disability, or who qualify
racial groups of Africa. as veterans under 38 U.S.C. 101.
* Hispanic. A person of Mexican, Puerto * Vietnam Era Veterans. Veterans who
Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or served any time during the Vietnam era, i.e.,
Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
from August 5, 1964, through May 7, 1975.
Disabled. For the purposes of Federal
employment and this report, a person is * Non-Vietnam Era Veterans. Veterans
disabled if he or she: has a physical or who did not serve during the period August
mental impairment which substantially limits 5, 1964, through May 7, 1975.
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* Non-Veterans. Employees who are not the subject matter of work, the level of
entitled to veterans preference and do not difficulty or responsibility involved, and the
otherwise qualify as veterans under 38 educational requirements of each occupation.
U.S.C. 101. PATCO categories are defined as follows:
* Disabled Veterans. Employees who * Professional. Occupations that require
claim 10-point veterans preference due to a knowledge in a field of science or learning
service-connected disability. typically acquired through education or
training pertinent to the specialized field, as
* Thirty Percent or More Disabled distinguished from general education. The
Veterans. Veterans who claim a 10-point work in a professional occupation requires
preference due to a compensable service- the exercise of discretion, judgment, and
connected disability. personal responsibility for the application of
an organized body of knowledge that is
Work Schedule. The time basis on which constantly studied to make discoveries and
an employee is scheduled to work. Work interpretations, and to improve the data,
schedule identifies full-time, part-time, and materials, and methods.
intermittent employees as follows:
* Administrative. Occupations that
* Full-time. Employees who are regularly involve the exercise of analytical ability,
scheduled to work the number of hours and judgment, discretion, personal
days required by the administrative work responsibility, and the application of a
week for their employment group or class. strong body of knowledge of principles,
Most full-time employees have an concepts, and practices applicable to one or
administrative work week of 5 days of 8 more fields of administration or
hours each. management. While these positions do not
require specialized educational majors, they
* Part-time. Employees who are regularly do involve the type of skills (analytical,
scheduled to work less than the number of research, writing, judgment) typically
hours and/or days required by the gained through a college level general
administrative work week for their education, or through progressively
employment group or class. responsible experience.
* Intermittent. Employees who work on * Technical. Occupations involving work
an irregular or occasional basis, whose which is non-routine in nature and is
hours or days of work are not on a typically associated with, and supportive of,
prearranged schedule, and who receive a professional or administrative field. Such
compensation only for the time actually occupations involve extensive practical
employed or for services actually rendered. knowledge gained through on-the-job
experience, or specific training less than
that represented by college graduation.
On-board Employment. All employees in Work in these occupations may involve
pay status at a given point in time, regardless substantial elements of the work in a
of work schedule or tenure. professional or administrative field, but
requires less than full competence in the
White-Collar Occupational (PATCO) field involved.
Category. White-collar occupations are
classified according to five major * Clerical. Occupations that involve
occupational categories referred to as structured work in support of office,
PATCO (Professional, Administrative, business, field, or fiscal operations. Duties
Technical, Clerical, and Other). The are performed in accordance with
definitions of these categories are based on established policies and require training,
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experience, or working knowledge related Institutes of Standards and Technology
to the tasks to be performed. (NIST) whose grades are related to GS
grades based partly on the GS grades that are
* Other. Miscellaneous white-collar encompassed by a pay band and partly on the
occupations that do not fall into the above salary-to-grade relationship within the pay
Professional, Administrative, Technical, or band. GS and related pay plans are used for
Clerical categories. statistical purposes only and are not
sanctioned by the Office of Personnel
Blue-Collar Occupation. Occupations Management for administrative use.
comprising the trades, crafts, and manual
labor (unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled), Grade. An indicator of hierarchial
including foreman and supervisory positions relationships among positions covered by the
entailing trade, craft, or laboring experience same pay plan. For example, the General
and knowledge as the paramount Schedule is divided into 15 grades, with a
requirement. salary range of 10 steps for each grade.
Grade data in this publication are for GS and
Pay Plan. A particular table or array of pay related pay plans.
rates prescribed by law or other authoritative
source that establishes the basic pay rates for Average Grade. The weighted average is
most employees. obtained by multiplying each grade times
employment in that grade, summing all such
General Schedule (GS). The basic products, and dividing that sum by the total
compensation schedule for most Federal number of employees.
civilian white-collar employees. The General
Schedule was established by the Senior Pay Levels. A pay category which
Classification Act of 1949 and amended by 5 includes the following pay plans: Senior
U.S.C. 51. GS data also include employees Executive Service, Executive Level, Senior
in the GM pay plan; these employees were Foreign Service, pay plans equivalent to the
formerly classified under the Performance Senior Executive Service, Administrative
Management and Recognition System (Merit Law Judges, Board of Contract Appeals,
Pay) which was abolished in 1993. The Senior Level (formerly GS 16-18), Foreign
Performance Management and Recognition Service Chiefs of Mission, and Scientific and
System Termination Act of 1993 called for a Professional (5 U.S.C. 3104). Also included
are employees paid more than the salary rate
gradual transition from the GM to the GS
for GS grade 15, step 10, who are in the
pay plan. The GW pay plan which covers following pay plans: Administratively
employment under the Youth Opportunity Determined, Statutory Rate, Senior
Stay-in-School Program was terminated and Biomedical Service, and Defense Nuclear
those employees are now reported in the GS Facilities Safety Board Executive Service.
pay plan.
Other White-Collar. White-Collar pay
GS and Related Pay Plans. (1) Pay plans plans which do not fall into the General
that follow the GS grade structure and job Schedule, GS and Related or Senior Pay
evaluation methodology; (2) Foreign Service Level pay categories.
pay plans whose grades are converted to GS
grades based on job evaluation or statute; Wage Systems. The Federal Wage System
(3) Department of Veterans Affairs pay plans (FWS) covers most blue-collar employees
for physicians, dentists, podiatrists, and who are generally paid at rates prevailing in
optometrists whose grades are converted to the localities where they are employed.
GS grades based on job evaluation or statute;
(4) pay plans, such as those in demonstration
projects in Navy, Air Force, and National
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Average Salary. The average salary figures Data Base - Population
in Part Two, Table 3 of this report are
derived by calculating the arithmetic means
Coverage
from employees adjusted base salaries.
Data Base. All data used in this study are
Adjusted base salaries include annualized
drawn exclusively from the Central
base salaries plus locality adjustments and
Personnel Data File (CPDF). The following
law enforcement officer (LEO) adjustments
is the scope of coverage in CPDF as of
authorized under the Federal Employees Pay
September 30, 2004:
Comparability Act of 1990. Excluded from
salary data are pay for Sundays, holidays, or Executive Branch All agencies except the
nightwork; expense payment for employees U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate
in travel status; extra pay for hazardous Commission, Central Intelligence Agency,
working conditions or post differentials to National Security Agency, Tennessee Valley
certain employees; premium pay for Authority, White House Office, Office of the
overtime; awards; cost-of-living allowances; Vice President, Board of Governors of the
uniform expenses; and severance pay. Federal Reserve System, National Imagery
Annualized salaries are computed by and Mapping Agency, and Defense
multiplying an individual's hourly pay rate Intelligence Agency.
by the number of hours in a full-time work
year, generally 2,087 hours. This procedure Legislative Branch Includes only the
leads to somewhat inflated salaries for part- Government Printing Office, U.S. Tax Court,
time and intermittent employees covered in and selected commissions. The CPDF also
this report. excludes Government Accountability Office,
members and employees of Congress,
Congressional Budget Office, Library of
The Central Personnel Data File Congress, Architect of the Capitol, U.S.
(CPDF) Botanic Gardens, and the Office of
Technology Assessment.
The Central Personnel Data File (CPDF),
Judicial Branch Excluded.
which was established in 1972, is the Federal
Government's primary source of detailed Other Exclusions Nonappropriated fund
information about its employees. The CPDF employees in Defense activities,
is an automated file covering about 96 Commissioned Corps employees, and
percent of all Federal civilian non-Postal Foreign Nationals employed outside of the
Executive Branch employees. The data U.S. or its territories.
elements in CPDF include those reflected on
the employee's Standard Form 50, Population Coverage. This publication
Notification of Personnel Action. The CPDF covers total employment, including full-
system includes information about time, part-time, and intermittent workers in
individuals such as date of birth, sex, those Executive Branch agencies
race/national origin (maintained along with participating in the CPDF. This population
disabled data under strict precautions to coverage differs from the 2004 annual
protect identification of individuals in Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment
personnel records), service computation date, Program (FEORP 5 U.S.C. 7201) which
tenure, educational level, veterans covers full and part-time permanent
preference, geographic location of duty, pay employees in non-Postal Federal Executive
plan, grade, salary, occupational series, and Branch agencies participating in the CPDF.
supervisory status. FEORP coverage is further limited to only
General Schedule and Related pay plans,
selected wage pay plans, and the senior pay
level category of employees. All pay plans
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and grades were covered in this study. It Within the White House, Executive
should be noted that the coverage here varies Residence at the White House. Within the
considerably in agency participation, Armed Forces Retirement Home, Gulfport
geographic distribution, and work schedules and Washington. Within the Department of
of employees from previous annual surveys Veterans Affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary
on equal employment opportunity. for Security and Law Enforcement, and the
Shared Service Center. National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the
Agencies Added to or Deleted U.S.
from the CPDF
Newly established or terminated agencies are Data Collection and Editing
processed as part of the CPDF data base.
Some independent agencies were created or Before September 1986, the CPDF system
terminated since September 30, 2002. The was maintained by the U.S. Office of
newly created agencies were: Department of Personnel Management (OPM) via monthly
Homeland Security Staff, Commission for agency submissions of Notification of
Presence of America’s Heritage Abroad, Personnel Action transaction data. Input was
Valles Caldera Trust, Office of Dept. Equal either in hardcopy form (keyed or data entry)
Employment Opportunity, Commission or, for 99 percent of employment, in
Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, automated form (punched cards or magnetic
Millennium Challenge Corporation, tape). All input transactions were edited for
Commission on Revitalization of Overseas validity. If errors were found in the control
Military Structure, Antitrust Modernization fields or date of birth or social security
Commission. Within the Department of Air number, the transaction was rejected. All
Force, C2 and Intelligence, Surveillance and transactions not rejected in validity edits
Recon, Real Property Agency, Manpower were further examined through relationship
Agency, Headquarters U.S. European edits. Functional blanks were inserted into
Command. Within the Department of the data fields having errors detected by these
Army, U.S. Army South Command, U.S. later edits, but transactions containing usable
Army Chemical Materials Agency, U.S. data fields were not rejected. A master file
Army Research, Development and was created following each monthly update
Engineering Command. Within the of the CPDF. Starting in October 1986, the
Department of Defense, DOD Test Resource CPDF was redesigned with a change in
Management Center, Defense Technical reporting procedures. Input is automated
Information Center. Within the Department with agencies submitting current status data
of the Navy, Naval Education and Training, replacement files each month along with
Department of Veterans Affairs, Deputy transaction data. Editing procedures like
Assistant Secretary For Security those described above are incorporated in the
Preparedness, Deputy Assistant Secretary for new system with greater emphasis on
Security and Law Enforcement, Deputy agencies' editing before submission.
Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs.
The Housing and Urban Development Office Collection of Race/National Origin Data.
of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight was Please note that the revised 1997 OMB
added in December 2003 and deleted in Race/National Origin Standards are not
April 2005. Several departments and incorporated in this study. The collection
agencies sub-organizations have been and coding of Race/National Origin (RNO)
deleted since 2002. Within the Department follow the requirements of the Statistical
of Agriculture, the Alternative Agriculture Policy Handbook (U.S. Department of
Research and Commercialization Center. Commerce Directive 15). In 1981, this
245
standard, which was also used by the Bureau experience difficulty in obtaining,
of the Census in the 1980 and 1990 maintaining or advancing in employment.
Decennial Census, replaced the previous The records of those choosing not to indicate
Minority Group Designator Code for the whether they had a reportable disability,
Federal civilian workforce. A detailed OPM along with records with erroneous (missing)
research study showed that a computer disability data, are grouped together and
conversion of codes for active employees to shown as Not Identified which accounted for
the new structure was accurate and was the 2.6 percent of the covered workforce.
most economical and effective methodology
for implementation. Because of the emphasis Study Edits. For this report, the records for
in the new standard definitions on cultural active employees (excluding those in the
and national origin, employee self- Summer Aid pay plan) were extracted from
identification was considered the most the CPDF. These records underwent an
appropriate and reliable mode of data additional set of validity edits on data fields
collection. Therefore, agencies notified considered critical for this survey. Critical
data fields for this survey were: pay plan,
employees that a new race and national
sex, race/national origin, and occupation.
origin definition was being recorded and However, a few records do exist in Blue-
provided the opportunity for employees to Collar occupations, but have White-Collar
review and voluntarily self-identify (code) pay plans. Records with blanks in any
their RNO record status, thus verifying and critical field were rejected. About 0.2 percent
further correcting data in the converted of total records were rejected by the
records. (See Proceedings of the American combined validity edits.
Statistical Association, Houston, 1980:
Race/Ethnic Data Collection in the Federal Acknowledgments
Civil Service.) Using the Standard Form
181, employee self-identification is now the This report was prepared by Theresa E. Neal
primary method for collecting the data on under the direction of Dr. Gary Lukowski,
new and transferring employees. The new Chief, Workforce Information and Planning
standard also provided, for the first time, the Group. Questions concerning the data in this
means for collecting RNO data on report should be addressed to Theresa E.
employment in Hawaii and Guam. Neal at 202-606-2942 or email at
Fedstats@opm.gov.
OPM instructed agencies to report ethnicity
and race base on the revised 1997 Office of We gratefully acknowledge the contributions
Management and Budget standards of Carol Goodroe, the Applications
beginning in 2006. Programming Section, Macon Data
Processing Center.
Collection of Reportable Disability Data.
The collection of handicap data into the
CPDF also follows self-identification
methodology. Using the Standard Form 256,
employees are provided the opportunity
either to identify or choose not to identify
whether they have a reportable disability. No
inference can be made as to disability or
non-disability status for employees choosing
not to identify. In case of multiple
disabilities, the employee is asked to choose
the code which describes the impairment
most likely to cause the employee to
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