{"data":{"id":"us/5-cfr-531.504","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"5 CFR 531.504","heading":"Level of performance required for quality step increase.","body":"A quality step increase shall not be required but may be granted only to—\n(a) An employee who receives a rating of record at Level 5 (“Outstanding” or equivalent), as defined in part 430, subpart B, of this chapter; or\n(b) An employee who, when covered by a performance appraisal program that does not use a Level 5 summary—\n(1) Receives a rating of record at the highest summary level used by the program; and\n(2) Demonstrates sustained performance of high quality significantly above that expected at the “Fully Successful” level in the type of position concerned, as determined under performance-related criteria established by the agency.","path":["Title 5—Administrative Personnel","CHAPTER I—OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT","SUBCHAPTER B—CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS","PART 531—PAY UNDER THE GENERAL SCHEDULE","Subpart E—Quality Step Increases"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-5.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:23:53Z","sha256":"0e8c14ade2d5bb1442b3aba07cbd4b8eb7f3d0438f6b1d7783c982eb7961b5de","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/5-cfr-531.503","next":"us/5-cfr-531.505"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}