2 U.S.C. § 297 — Appointments and reclassifications to high-

Page 134 TITLE 2—THE CONGRESS § 297 (1) to steps 2, 3, and 4, respectively—at the beginning of the first pay period following the completion, without break in service of more than thirty months, of one year of satisfactory service in the next lower step; (2) to steps 5, 6, and 7, respectively—at the beginning of the first pay period following the completion, without break in service of more than thirty months, of two years of satisfac- tory service in the next lower step; (3) to steps 8, 9, and 10, respectively—at the beginning of the first pay period following the completion, without break in service of more than thirty months, of three years of satisfac- tory service in the next lower step; and (4) to steps 11 and 12, respectively—at the be- ginning of the first pay period following the completion, without break in service of more than thirty months, of five years of satisfac- tory service in the next lower step. (b) The receipt of an increase in compensation during any of the waiting periods of service specified in subsection (a) of this section shall cause a new full waiting period of service to commence for further step increases under such subsection. (c) Any increase in compensation granted by law, or granted by reason of an increase made by the committee in the rates of compensation of the House Employees Schedule, to employees within the purview of subsection (a) of this sec- tion shall not be held or considered to be an in- crease in compensation for the purposes of sub- section (b) of this section. (d) The benefit of successive step increases under subsection (a) of this section shall be pre- served, under regulations prescribed by the com- mittee, for employees whose continuous service is interrupted by service in the Armed Forces of the United States. (e) The committee shall establish and main- tain, and, from time to time, may revise, a sys- tem of automatic advancement, by successive step increases in compensation, on the basis of satisfactory service performed, without break in service of more than thirty months, for employ- ees subject to the House Wage Schedule (HWS). In the operation of such system of step increases the committee may prescribe regulations to the effect that— (1) the receipt of an increase in compensa- tion during any of the waiting periods of serv- ice required for advancement by step increases under such system shall cause a new full wait- ing period of service to commence for further step increases under such system; (2) any increase in compensation granted by law, or granted by reason of an increase made by the committee in the rates of compensation of the House Wage Schedule, to employees within the purview of such system of step in- creases shall not be held or considered to be an increase in compensation for the purposes of subparagraph (1) of this subsection; and (3) the benefit of successive step increases under such system of step increases shall be preserved, under regulations prescribed by the committee, for employees whose continuous service is interrupted by service in the Armed Forces of the United States. (Pub. L. 88–652, § 7, Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1081.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1965, see section 17 of Pub. L. 88–652, set out as a note under section 291 of this title. § 297. Appointments and reclassifications to high- er compensation levels (a) Each employee in a compensation level of the House Employees Schedule (HS), who is ap- pointed to a position in a higher compensation level of such schedule, or whose position is placed in a higher compensation level of such schedule pursuant to a reclassification of such position, shall be paid compensation in such higher compensation level, in accordance with the following provisions, whichever is first ap- plicable in the following numerical order of precedence: (1) at the rate of the lowest step for which the rate of compensation equals the rate of compensation for that step, in the compensa- tion level from which he is appointed, which is two steps above the step in such level which he had attained immediately prior to such ap- pointment; (2) at the rate of the lowest step for which the rate of compensation exceeds, by not less than two steps of the compensation level from which he is appointed, his rate of compensa- tion immediately prior to such appointment; or (3) at the rate of the highest step of such higher compensation level, or at his rate of compensation immediately prior to such ap- pointment, whichever rate is the higher. (b) The committee may provide by regulations for the payment of compensation, at an appro- priate compensation step determined in accord- ance with such regulations, to each employee subject to the House Wage Schedule (HWS) who is appointed to a position in a higher compensa- tion level of such schedule or whose position is placed in a higher compensation level of such schedule pursuant to a reclassification of such position. (Pub. L. 88–652, § 8, Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1082.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1965, see section 17 of Pub. L. 88–652, set out as a note under section 291 of this title. § 298. Reductions in compensation level Each employee in a position of a compensation level of the House Employees Schedule (HS) or the House Wage Schedule (HWS), whose employ- ment in such position and level is terminated and who is reemployed, with or without break in service, in a position in a lower compensation level (HS level or HWS level) of such schedule, or whose position is placed in a lower compensa- tion level of such schedule pursuant to a reclas- sification of such position, shall be placed by the committee in such step of such lower compensa- tion level as the committee deems appropriate. (Pub. L. 88–652, § 9, Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1083.)