Yosemite National Park NPS photo
Fulltime Yosemite employees are losing $8,320 in annual wages from change in administration policy
October 29, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) are urging Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to reverse and restore lost compensation for maintenance and service employees at Yosemite National Park after facing pay reductions of up to $4.00 per hour as a result of a wage-area reclassification.
In January 2025, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final rule revising the boundaries of wage areas for Federal Wage System employees – employees were moved from the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland pay locality to the new Fresno-Madera-Hanford wage area, which resulted in significant pay cuts. While 85% of Federal Wage System employees impacted by these changes received raises, Yosemite employees did not receive pay retention and faced immediate loss in compensation.
“It is unclear to us why Yosemite employees have been left out in the cold…Yosemite is already experiencing substantial operational strain, staffing losses, and risks of facility closures. Reducing compensation for skilled Federal Wage System employees will further impair the National Park Service’s ability to recruit and retain the workforce necessary to maintain the park’s facilities, protect natural resources, and ensure visitor safety,” the Senators wrote.
“Further, the loss of experienced tradespeople with specialized institutional and technical knowledge could further undermine Yosemite’s ability to maintain critical infrastructure and sustain park operations,” the Senators continued.
The Senators are demanding the Department of the Interior provide answers on what steps they are taking to restore lost compensation, how many FWS employees at Yosemite National Park experienced a reduction in pay, why the Yosemite employees who were reclassified under the Fresno pay locality are not eligible for pay retention, and if this issue has been brought to the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee or OPM.
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
Dear Secretary Burgum:
We write to share concerns regarding the significant pay cuts experienced by maintenance and service employees at Yosemite National Park and ask that DOI take immediate action to address these pay cuts.
On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final rule revising the regulatory criteria used to define Federal Wage System wage areas and modifying the boundaries of certain wage areas. This rule was intended to better align Federal Wage System boundaries with General Schedule (GS) locality pay areas and was supposed to better reflect current commuting, employment, and recruitment patterns. The rule took effect in October 2025, and has been implemented in rolling phases, resulting in changes to wage-area designations nationwide.
Despite the intent of the rule, we are concerned how the rule has affected the employees responsible for maintaining Yosemite National Park and keeping it safe for the visiting public. Changes affecting Yosemite’s Federal Wage System employees took place in January 2026. Prior to these changes, employees at Yosemite were grouped with the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland pay locality. The reclassification moved the national park into the new Fresno-Madera-Hanford wage area, resulting in significant pay cuts for the maintenance workers, trail crews, mechanics, and painters employed by the park. Some workers experienced reductions of up to $4 per hour, with higher-wage employees facing even larger cuts. For an employee working 40 hours per week, a $4 per hour reduction amounts to approximately $8,320 in lost annual wages.
Unlike other federal employees affected by the rule, Yosemite employees did not receive pay retention from DOI and therefore experienced immediate reductions in their compensation. This is deeply unfair, given that 85 percent of federal employees affected by the new rule received pay increases, while 11 percent received pay retention to protect them from pay cuts. It is unclear to us why Yosemite employees have been left out in the cold.
The Fresno wage area does not adequately reflect the cost of living around Yosemite National Park. Many Yosemite employees already commute significant distances to reach the park, and further reductions in compensation risk worsening existing recruitment and retention challenges at the national park.
Yosemite is already experiencing substantial operational strain, staffing losses, and risks of facility closures. Reducing compensation for skilled Federal Wage System employees will further impair the National Park Service’s ability to recruit and retain the workforce necessary to maintain the park’s facilities, protect natural resources, and ensure visitor safety. Further, the loss of experienced tradespeople with specialized institutional and technical knowledge could further undermine Yosemite’s ability to maintain critical infrastructure and sustain park operations.
In December 2025, a Department spokesperson stated, “We are coordinating with the Office of Human Capital to understand the impacts and to identify options that may help affected employees.” The Department has had months to act, but it appears that DOI has not taken any meaningful action to protect Yosemite’s employees from pay cuts, even though the final rule from OPM noted that “federal agencies have considerable discretionary authority to provide pay and leave flexibilities to address significant recruitment and retention problems.”
To understand the impacts to the workers at Yosemite and the steps you are taking to protect them, we request responses to the following no later than November 11, 2026:
- What actions is the Department of the Interior taking, or considering taking, to restore lost compensation or otherwise make affected Yosemite employees whole?
- How many Federal Wage System employees at Yosemite National Park experienced a reduction in pay as a result of the January 2026 wage-area reclassification? Please provide the number of employees and their reductions in hourly compensation.
- Why were the Yosemite employees who were reclassified under the Fresno pay locality not eligible for pay retention?
- Has DOI or NPS brought this issue to the attention of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee or OPM?
Thank you for your consideration.
Source: Senator Adam Schiff
