pay grade

noun — 2 senses

pay grade

noun
1

A level indicating a base salary (in the US applying to military and government employees).

2

Figuratively A level of authority or responsibility (since pay rate, authority and responsibility generally increase similarly).

Related terms
above one's pay grade, beyond one's pay grade

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.