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As civilian federal employees continue to face uncertainty surrounding their jobs, there could be more challenges on the way, this time impacting their bottom lines.
For the first time in more than a decade, federal employees could face a pay freeze in 2026. It has been reported that draft budget documents indicate President Donald Trump may propose a pay freeze for civilian federal employees, and if enacted, would be the first time they would not receive a pay increase since 2013. Former President Barack Obama, in 2010, instituted a freeze in civilian pay for federal employees for two years, 2011 and 2012, in which he stated that the pay freeze would save $2 billion for the remainder of FY 2011, $28 billion over the following five years, and more than $60 billion the next 10 years after that.
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During his first term, President Trump attempted to freeze pay increases multiple times for federal employees but was unsuccessful. Ultimately, federal employees ended up receiving pay increases in the range of 1.4% to 2.6% during his term.
The only instance President Trump has supported a pay increase for federal employees was approved in 2020 when he proposed a 1% increase across the board.
In addition to a possible Trump Administration pay freeze, proposed legislation introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in January 2025 calls for a one-year pause on pay increases for federal employees and would instead direct agencies to cap their workforces spanning a three-year period in an effort to decrease the overall size of the federal workforce. This legislation would exclude certain employees that are deemed necessary such as law enforcement, national security, public safety, and public health services.
General schedule pay system
The general schedule (GS) pay system, law enforcement officer pay schedules, and the executive employee pay schedule determine most salaries for federal government employees. The GS pay system covers about 1.5 million civilian, white-collar, federal employees in professional, technical, clerical and administrative roles, according to USA FACTS. The GS has 15 grades, and each consecutive grade corresponds to increasing job difficulty, responsibility and required qualifications.
The GS schedule is adjusted annually in January and, when there is no pay freeze, usually includes across-the-board pay raises that consider changes in the cost of wages and salaries of private industry workers. Additionally, many federal employees also receive locality pay increases, calculated based on geographic areas and with the intention of reflecting the pay levels of non-federal employees in the specific regions.
Actions against federal employees
The move to implement a pay freeze comes as President Trump has initiated a multitude of actions targeted at federal employees to reduce the size of the federal workforce since taking office in January 2025. Some of those initiatives include the Deferred Resignation Program, Return to
Office directives, and termination of probationary employees. In March 2025, President Trump also signed an executive order ending the right to collectively bargain for two-thirds of federal employees. The executive order also discontinued union dues being deducted from employees’ paychecks.
In furtherance of these efforts, the Trump Administration also recently issued a memorandum that extends the freeze on hiring federal civilian employees through July 15, 2025. The memorandum does not apply to military personnel of the Armed Forces or to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety, and does not apply to the executive office of the president.
Ryan C. Nerney, Esq. is the Managing Partner of the Ladera Ranch office of Tully Rinckey PLLC, where he focuses his practice primarily on national security law, with experience in federal employment and military matters. Ryan represents clients who have security clearance issues against agencies such as the CIA, NSA, DIA, DOD, NRO, and DOE, among others. He has represented numerous clients in security clearance revocation proceedings and has a proven record of saving clients’ jobs, as well as anticipating and resolving potential future issues with their security clearances.
Ryan currently serves as Secretary for the National Security Lawyers Association (NSLA) and was awarded the 2022 Security Clearance Lawyer of the Year award by the NSLA. He has also been selected as a 2022, 2023,2024, and 2025 Rising Star from Superlawyers in Southern California. He can be reached at [email protected] or at (888) 570-6828.
Nora Ezzat Cozzillio, Esq. is an Associate Attorney at Tully Rinckey, PLLC and a DMV native. She is a first-generation Arab American and a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park and The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.
Nora has dedicated her legal career to assisting others who face threats to their livelihoods or careers as a result of severe civil rights violations on behalf of their employers, mentors, or supervisors. While that has been her primary practice field, Nora’s legal experience is quite expansive and includes practice in human and labor trafficking law, military justice, sexual assault, immigration, family, international business, privacy law, and labor and employment.
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