Executive Schedule

Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. §§ 5311–5318) refers to the system of salaries given to the highest-ranked appointed positions in the executive branch of the U.S. government. The President of the United States, an elected official, appoints incumbents to these positions, most of them with the advice and consent of the Senate. They include members of the President's Cabinet as well as other subcabinet policy makers. There are five pay rates within the Executive Schedule, usually denoted with a Roman numeral with I being the highest level and V the lowest. Congress lists the positions eligible for the Executive Schedule and the corresponding level. Congress also gives the president the ability to grant Executive Schedule IV and V status to no more than 34 employees not listed in the law.

The Executive Schedule is linked to the rates of pay for the General Schedule, Senior Executive Service, Senior Level, Senior Foreign Service, and other Federal civilian pay systems, as well as the pay of uniformed military personnel, because various federal laws establishing those pay systems normally tie the maximum amount payable to various levels of the Executive Schedule.

However, many political appointees have had their pay rate frozen at lower levels. According to 5 U.S.C. § 5318, at the beginning of the first pay period for any position under the Executive Schedule, the amount of pay will be adjusted and rounded to the nearest multiple of US$100. If this amount is found to midway between multiples of $100, then it will be rounded to the next highest multiple of $100.

Per 5 U.S.C. § 5317, the President can at any time appoint no more than 34 individuals to pay rates Level IV and V, provided that they are viewed as a necessary change to organization, management responsibility, or workload within a specific agency. This figure is in addition to Level IV and V positions specifically authorized in the bill. However, Senate consent is required and the pay rate takes effect only upon a new appointment to that position. All actions taken during this process are to be published in the Federal Register, except when it is deemed that such publication would stand in conflict to national security. The President may not take action under this section with respect to a position, the pay for which is fixed at a specific rate by this subchapter, or by statute enacted after 14 August 1964.

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