Effective December 24, 2011, the salary cap for individu- als funded via Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) grants and other extramural funding mechanisms has been reduced from Executive Level I of the Federal Ex- ecutive Pay Scale to Executive Level II
Please use this document as your guidance for how the re- quired salary cap changes will be implemented. It is critical that at the time of award set-up, any salary amounts calcu- lated as over the cap be designated to a non-sponsored source of funds.
I. Agencies under the DHHS umbrella:
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality (AHRQ)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra- tion (SAMHSA)
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
• Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF)
• Administration on Aging (AoA)
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATS- DR)
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Indian Health Service (IHS)
II. DHHS Salary Cap Comparison
| New Cap
(Executive II) |
Old Cap
(Executive I) |
Difference
(100% Effort) |
|
| Annualized Salary | $179,700 | $199,700 | $20,000 |
III. Applying the DHHS Salary Cap for Salary Planning
The Executive Level I salary cap was applied to NIH, AHRQ, and SAMHSA awards is- sued prior to December 23, 2011. The Executive Level II salary cap, for awards issued on or after December 23, 2011, pertains to ALL DHHS awards.
For all DHHS New or Competing Awards, and Non-competing Awards, the applicable salary cap is determined by the Award Issue Date stated in the FY12 Notice of Award. The applicable cap will take effect on the Project Start Date for new and competing awards, and the FY12 Budget Start Date for non-competing awards.
| Agencies | Budget Start | Applicable Cap | Effective Date for
Applying the Cap |
| NIH, AHRQ, and
SAMHSA only |
On or before Dec 22,
2011 |
Exectutive Level I,
$199,700 |
Same salary cap may be applied to both current and prior Project/Budget periods |
| ALL DHHS Agencies | On or after Dec 23, 2011 | Executive Level II,
$179,700 |
Apply new cap per
Project/Budget Start Date |
For DHHS Flow-through awards, the applicable date will be determined by the Effective Date (if provided) or the Budget Start Date, unless we are able to determine the award issue date from the prime or prime award notice.
| Agencies | Budget Start | Applicable Cap | Effective Date for
Applying the Cap |
| NIH, AHRQ, and
SAMHSA only |
On or before Dec 22,
2011 |
Exectutive Level I,
$199,700 |
Same salary cap may be applied to both current and prior Project/Budget periods |
| ALL DHHS Agencies | On or after Dec 23, 2011 | Executive Level II,
$179,700 |
Apply new cap per
Project/Budget Start Date |
IV.Considerations when reviewing Effort starting in the second quarter,
2012 (Dec 2011 to Feb 2012)
• The same smartkey may have two salary caps depending on the award issue date and project/budget start date.
• If the award issue date and budget start date are identified, the appropriate salary cap can be applied based on the award issue date and budget start date as stated under Section III, Applying the DHHS Salary Cap for Salary Planning.
• If the award issue date and budget start date are unknown or cannot be obtained, please apply the lower cap, $179,700.
• In ERS, there will be a “CAP” flag beside the smartkey for any faculty who have salaries over the Executive Level II cap and are paid from any DHHS project. The system does not currently have a way of differentiating between cap levels, so the flag will represent an individual that MAY be subject to the cap.
V.Salary Cap Calculator
A spreadsheet calculator is available on the Effort Reporting System (ERS) website and on the OGCA website (www.ogca.emory.edu/Cost_Studies/effort.cfm) to assist departments in calculating the impact of the new Executive Level II salary cap.
VI.References
NIH Notice: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-12-035.html
VII.Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding the implementation of the cap and the impact
it may have on your awards, please contact Josh Rosenberg at (404) 727-1677 or via e-mail at josh-rosenberg@emory.edu.