United States Department of Agriculture

2020 Annual Pay Raise

The 2020 Annual Pay Raise is quickly approaching, and it is time to start our coordinated efforts. The National Finance Center (NFC) has not received official notification from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regarding a January 2020 pay increase for Federal employees, but we must be prepared to begin work on short notice.

The 2020 Annual Pay Raise Project has been assigned NFC Project Number 39669 for tracking purposes. The (14) links below include project information regarding this year's pay raise process. Please complete all forms and return by the stated deadlines on the 2020 Annual Pay Raise TIMELINE. The project documents are as follows:

1. 2020 Annual Pay Raise Activities TIMELINE
2. 2020 Annual Pay Raise Customer Procedures
3. 2020 Annual Pay Raise Agency Status Report
4. 2020 Annual Pay Raise Agency Contacts List NOTE: List not available online, see official email dated 11/19/19.
5. 2020 Annual Pay Raise Agency Contact Information Form
6. 2020 Annual Pay Raise Agency Test Participation (SSN File) Form
7. 2020 Annual Pay Raise Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form
8. INSTRUCTIONS for Completing the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form
9. File Layout - TMGT Table 029, PAY TABLE RATES (for Pay Raise)
10. File Layout - TMGT Table 029, PAY TABLE RATES(for Wage Grades-Hourly Rates ONLY)
11. File Layout - TMGT Table 098, SALARY RANGES (Pay Bands) (for Pay Raise)
12. INSTRUCTIONS for Completing the Three File Layouts
13. “2019” Annual Pay Raise Bulletin
    NOTE: Published May 10, 2019, but effective January 6, 2019-Pay Period 01, due to theRetroactive Pay Raise (for reference only)
14. “2019” Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (for reference only)
15. “2019” Process Improvements (for reference only)

The pay raise process has a very short turnaround and early attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Only Agency requirements submitted by your Agency approved point(s) of contact (POC), using the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form, will be accepted. Since requirements may differ by pay plan, separate Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Forms will be required (i.e., only one pay plan per form is allowed). All unique requirements, specifications, and/or instructions must be clearly stated in Section G, Special Requirements, on the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form to ensure that each item is properly addressed.

As a process improvement from 2019, the following changes were implemented as it relates to the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form (see the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Customer Procedures for additional information):

• Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Forms for the current year are required ONLY if customers have special pay raise requests for the current year. This process improvement is being implemented to eliminate the large volume of unnecessary forms being received from Agencies. Only an email from the Agency approved POC will be required if there are no requirements changes for the current year. 
• Customers with special requirements/letters/memos MUST include the information in Section G, Special Requirements, of the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form to be processed. Supporting documentation will NOT be accepted as separate documents submitted along with the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form. This process improvement is being implemented to avoid processing errors, such as incomplete forms and missing requirements. 

Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Forms will not be required for the Pay Plans identified in the “2019” Annual Pay Raise Bulletin as being automatically processed by NFC or automatically bypassed by NFC. NFC will perform these actions by default as stated in the bulletin. Any Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Forms received listing pay plans that will be automatically processed by NFC or automatically bypassed by NFC will be rejected and returned to the submitter. See the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Customer Procedures for additional information.

It is very important that all Agencies who wish to participate, complete Section C, NFC Processing Action, on the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form, which includes the following options:

• NFC generates standard pay raise personnel actions.
• NFC generates pay raise personnel actions per Agency special requirements.
• NFC updates TMGT Table only.
• Agency generates personnel actions—no action required by NFC.
  

All TMGT updates relative to the January 2020 pay increase must be submitted for processing, regardless of whether NFC has to handle specific Agencies/pay plans in a special manner. Only Agency-requested pay table updates submitted using the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form will be accepted. Also, Section G, Special Requirements, on the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form must be completed to ensure that NFC is aware of your table update requirements. Due to the short timeframe for pay raise processing, NFC does not have the available resources to reformat TMGT data for any Agency. Improperly formatted data will not be processed and will be returned to the requester. Please be reminded that GESD Payroll Operations will not accept any TMGT updates submitted directly to them relating to the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Project. See the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Customer Procedures for additional information.

Pay increase activities for wage grade employees under the Federal Wage System (FWS) will be accepted on the Agency Requirements/TMGT Tables Form. Please follow your normal Agency process to submit wage grade pay schedules to NFC for processing for Pay Period 01 (PP01) 2020. Wage grade pay schedules beginning with W*, H*, K*, and X* (handled internally) should be submitted directly to the Table Management Mailbox at NFC.TMGT@usda.gov, with specific verbiage in the Subject line, and a CC to the Annual Pay Raise Mailbox at Annual.PayRaise@usda.gov. This will allow the Pay Raise Requirements Team the opportunity to review all forms for Agency-specific wage grade requirements to be implemented in PP01/2020. See SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS-Federal Wage System Adjustments (Wage Grades) in the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Customer Procedures for additional information.

If your Agency would like to participate in the testing phase of 2020 Annual Pay Raise, you will be required to use the Business Service Management ServiceNow Customer Self-Service Portal to request security access to the testing environment utilizing the AD 3100-P Form. To ensure access, Agency Security Officers will need to submit Agency Security Access Requests via ServiceNow, as is the standard NFC Access Management business process.  Please utilize ServiceNow, Employee Self-Service Request option, when submitting Agency Security Access Requests. See the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Customer Procedures for additional information.

NFC will conduct a “Kickoff” conference call with Agencies, which will be held from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. central standard time (CST)/1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. eastern standard time (EST) on Thursday, November 21, 2019. If you are no longer the contact for this annual project, please have your Agency submit the 2020 Annual Pay Raise Agency Contact Information Form to the Annual Pay Raise Mailbox, Annual.PayRaise@usda.gov, with the new POC’s information.

A follow-up conference call with Agencies will be held from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m CST/1:00pm-2:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 2, 2020, to ensure that everyone is prepared for the upcoming pay raise processing activities for PP01/2020.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this notification, please send an email to the Annual Pay Raise Mailbox, Annual.PayRaise@usda.gov.