{"data":{"id":"us/5-cfr-591.202","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"5 CFR 591.202","heading":"Why does the Government pay COLAs?","body":"The Government pays COLAs as additional compensation to certain civilian Federal employees in specified nonforeign areas in consideration of higher living costs in the local area compared with living costs in the Washington, DC, area.","path":["Title 5—Administrative Personnel","CHAPTER I—OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT","SUBCHAPTER B—CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS","PART 591—ALLOWANCES AND DIFFERENTIALS","Subpart B—Cost-of-Living Allowance and Post Differential—Nonforeign Areas"],"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":"96e80066c6fc4a5676daebf4a5f69aaf683929f5cef1da3a8404698c24bdf5d0","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/5-cfr-591.201","next":"us/5-cfr-591.203"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}