Federal News Network – “Salaries for federal employees fall significantly behind the private sector, the Federal Salary Council reported [August 5, 2022]. The council reported the pay disparity between public and private sector employees, on average, was 22.47%. In late 2020, the council calculated the pay gap at 23.11%. The pay disparity is calculated based on wages only, and doesn’t include the value of benefits for the public and private sectors. The report came after some discussions on Capitol Hill over the federal pay raise for 2023. The White House’s request was a 4.6% across-the-board raise, which Democrat lawmakers in both the House and the Senate have supported. With the new data from the council, unions such as the National Treasury Employees Union advocated for a higher 5.1% across-the-board pay raise, a percentage that House Democrats have also pushed for through the FAIR Act…”