2027 Federal Pay Freeze Looms, But Law Enforcement and Firefighters May See Exceptions
The chances are growing that federal civilian employees will not see a pay raise in 2027. This as the House Appropriations Committee advanced the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) bill for 2027, without mentioning a raise for federal civilian employees. That followed the budget recommendation from the Trump administration, which also said nothing about a raise for civilian feds.
However, there may be a chance that select law enforcement personnel receive a raise, like this year.
FedWeek notes that a budget document, “Assumes that the administration will ensure a pay increase for certain categories of law enforcement personnel for CY 2027” even amid a general freeze.
The budget does not say how this will be done. In January 2026, law enforcement received a higher raise under “special rate” authority, with many law enforcement officers receiving a 3.8 percent boost compared to a one percent boost for the rest of the civilian workforce. It also does not specify whether the increase would go to the same categories that received the larger 2026 raise.
It’s important to note that nothing is finalized and federal workers may yet receive a raise.
The president is due to release his alternative pay plan in August. Congress could also enact a raise via legislation in the coming months.
Additional Hazard Pay Proposed for Wildland Firefighters
Separately, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed expanding the job tasks eligible for higher “hazard pay” rates for federal wildland firefighters.
Under the proposal, wildland firefighters would earn a 25 percent pay boost when they do work managing or controlling prescribed burns.
Currently, those duties are not eligible for hazard pay, though firefighters already receive premium pay when responding to active wildfires.
“Recent research has heightened awareness of smoke and other environmental risks during prescribed burns. Providing commensurate pay for prescribed fire operations will help with recruiting and retaining,” said OPM.
Comments are due on the hazard pay proposal on or before June 15, 2026.
