Some federal law enforcement personnel may see a 6.7% raise next year

By Drew Friedman

As most civilian federal employees are on track for a pay freeze next year, the Trump administration is expanding the number of law enforcement personnel who will receive a raise.

The Office of Personnel Management is adding more law enforcement positions to its list of those entitled to a pay raise in 2027. Many law enforcement personnel are expected to get a 3.8% raise beginning in January, but some could see a 6.7% increase, OPM said Friday in a memo sent to agencies.

The larger 6.7% pay increase would be provided to positions OPM is making newly eligible for the special salary rate. It encompasses the 3.8% raise that other personnel are expected to receive, plus a catch-up adjustment for those who did not receive the law enforcement pay raise in 2026. OPM is using its special salary rate authority to grant raises to law enforcement employees next year.

The plan comes as President Donald Trump’s budget would implement a pay freeze for most civilian federal employees, but grant the law enforcement raise and up to a 7% increase for active military members.

Around 140,000 eligible employees in law enforcement roles saw a 3.8% raise for 2026 and are expected to receive an additional 3.8% for 2027.

Democrats plan last-ditch attempt at a federal pay raise in 2027

For 2027, OPM is adding the following General Schedule positions to the special salary rate group:

• Certain law enforcement officer positions as defined under federal statute, excluding those listed based only on “frequent direct contact with detained suspected/convicted criminals.”
• Police officers in the 0083 occupational series (except for those at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has its own special rate that will be handled separately).
• Security administration employees in the 0080 occupational series, “who regularly perform both physical security and law enforcement duties and have arrest authority.”
• Criminal investigation employees in the 1811 occupational series, including those working in inspector general offices.

“Without this extended special rate coverage, the government may find it difficult to recruit and/or retain the number of law enforcement personnel needed to enforce federal laws or otherwise protect the public safety,” OPM said.

The additional positions will automatically become eligible for the special salary rate unless an agency contacts OPM requesting an exemption. Pay rates are still subject to the government’s statutory pay cap, which is set at $197,200 for 2027.

OPM said it’s also considering making agricultural inspectors at Customs and Border Protection and “certain firefighters” eligible for the special salary rate.

“While not law enforcement occupations, these categories of protective positions are essential to public safety,” the memo states. “OPM staff will contact agencies with such positions by email to gather the staffing data and information required for OPM to consider establishing special rates where needed to address existing or likely recruitment or retention challenges.”

In most years, presidents’ alternative pay plans indicate the final pay raises federal employees receive the following calendar year, but nothing is final until an executive order is signed, which usually happens in December.

It’s also possible for Congress to intervene, and some lawmakers are already circulating plans to attempt to do so. The last time lawmakers altered a president’s federal pay raise plans was during the 2018-2019 shutdown, when they overrode a pay freeze that Trump, at the time, had implemented just months earlier.

Democratic leaders on the Federal Workforce Caucus have said they intend to push for legislation to be included in 2027 spending negotiations to provide for a 4.1% raise for all federal employees under the FAIR Act, or “at least” 3.8% to put other employees in line with law enforcement personnel.

Federal employee advocates contend that all civilian federal positions, not only law enforcement personnel, deserve a pay raise to help with rising costs of living, as well as to support workforce recruitment and retention.

“The Trump administration knows that competitive pay is essential to recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers,” Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) said in a statement to Federal News Network. “The same is true for the public servants who care for our veterans, deliver Social Security benefits and protect our national security.”