Joyce Matsuo v. United States

Facts

The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (the Act) provides certain federal employees in the contiguous 48 states with what is known as locality pay—an amount they are paid in addition to salary in order to equalize their compensation with that of other employees in the same region. 5 U.S.C. §§ 5301, 5304(f)(1)(A). The Office of Personnel Management establishes the amount of locality pay based on the degree of public-private pay disparity in each region. See 5 C.F.R. §§ 531.601-611. For example, this year federal employees in the New York City area will receive a locality adjustment equal to 27.96% of their base salary, while those in Atlanta will receive 18.55%. U.S. Office of Personnel Mgmt., 2009 General Schedule Locality Pay Tables, http://opm.gov/oca/ 09tables/pdf/saltbl.pdf. Locality pay is included in the calcu- lation of retirement benefits.

Roy Matsuo is a federal employee in Hawaii and is there- fore ineligible for locality pay. 5 U.S.C. § 5304(f)(1)(A). Mat- suo claims that, by denying him this benefit, the Act penalizes him for working in Hawaii, and this unconstitutionally bur- dens his right to travel.

Charles Roberts works in Maryland and, like most…