TOPICS
TOPICS
Interim regulations released for new incentives
The Office of Personnel Management announced interim regulations Thursday to increase the size and flexibility of inducements that agencies can use to improve recruitment and retention.
As a result of the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, federal agencies already were able to use bonuses and to encourage key employees to relocate to vital areas. The new incentives are a result of the 2004 Federal Workforce Flexibility Act, which was signed into law last October.
"The regulations we are issuing today replace the regulations that were previously in place," said Donald Winstead, OPM's deputy associate director for pay and performance policy.
Employees who are in service agreements under the old provisions will be grandfathered into the new arrangement, according to Winstead. OPM posted the interim regulations on its Web site Thursday, and the regulations will go into effect Friday, when they are published in the Federal Register.
The new rules will increase the options that agencies have for paying out incentives and will increase the potential amount of certain of them. Under the old recruitment and relocation bonus rules, employees could receive a maximum of 25 percent of their annual salary, not counting locality pay. Under the new interim regulations, employees can receive up to 100 percent of their pay - including locality pay - for recruitment and relocation bonuses.
OPM officials briefed agency chief human capital officers on the release of the interim regulations.
"We got in touch with them earlier this week," Winstead said. "Next week, we are going to be having an opportunity for agency human resources officials to sit down with us and hear about more of the details and get some practical examples of how these authorities can be applied."
OPM decided not to include one of the law's provisions in the interim regulations. It would have allowed the awarding of incentives for recruitment between agencies in the federal government. OPM officials said they were concerned that the process could be detrimental to the government.
Ron Sanders, OPM associate director for strategic human resources policy, said he believes the law gives his agency the discretion to exclude the provision from the interim rules. He said also that OPM officials will brief congressional staff on the regulations in the near future.
COMMENTS
- taxpayer, If you are so totally against anything related to the military, why in the world did you take a job with DoD? I am unaware of any business that takes employee shopping availability into its choice for location. Meals, maybe, but I've never been to a base that didn't have restaurants (fast food types, bar & grill of some kind, and usually a fairly good O club) that I could eat at. And where do you go inside the beltway in the kind of time constraints that we fed workers have? Or was this just a rant to make yourself feel better because you don't want to move? Curious Posted May 19, 2005 8:09 AM
- This is all a bunch of crap! To state that the bonus will be able to be increased from 25% of salary to 100% of salary is ridiculous. The way the civilian personnel in the services get bonuses is a joke! Everyone should get the same thing based on our great managers. However, because of pay for performance those that are rated unacceptable no longer get much of a bonus (they should get none!). Likewise, those rated acceptable share a meager pool so the bonus may amount to less than .5% percent of salary (and I am rated outstanding). Where is the 25%? DoD and services believe in equality - everyone gets the same thing regardless of contribution unless they are unacceptable. But pay for performance means the bonuses of the acceptables will vary from about .2% to about .7% The bonus does not even pay 3 months of parking - that we now have since being moved out of the pentagon. Now Sec Def wants to move us so we will lose access to metro and VRE and the subsidies paid for commuting. A move to a military base means no access to shopping or decent lunches during lunch hour. No civilian should have to move to a military base - even in DoD! I did not volunteer for the military! I work here to help the military but I do not want a life style similar to the military. If the Sec Def wants to move us he should obtain new office buildings around the beltway near metro stops and not jump on major construction for military bases. Buildings on military bases are poorly maintained and horribly furnished! We already have working space smaller than recommended for government employees and no one cares! Military bases are far greater targets for terrorists. This is one of the stupidist recommendations the DoD has every proposed and Congress should stop it cold! This is not a factor in base closure and should be dropped from the BRAC commission considerations. Rummy threw it there simply because it is an all or nothing list and has the greatest chance of passing so that he can move everyone to a military base. This is a bunch of political crap fostered by Rummy to penalize civilian empolyees of the services. This comes right in line with pay for performance so if you do not move you do not get paid! How is that for generating yes men! taxpayer Posted May 17, 2005 7:27 AM
- I see a new market for plastic surgeons. It will involve artificially enlarging the lips of federal workers to enhance their chances of receiving one of those incentives. They will have to be real good at kissing butt. Also, I hear Satan is installing ATMs in federal buildings to make it easier for federal employees to sell their souls. More workers than ever will have to do so to have any chance of getting the incentives. OPM just doesn't want to admit that nothing will change. This is just another attempt to avoid reality. The bottom line is that it's not the lack of incentives that keeps the federal government from hiring and retaining skilled workers. It is the utter lack of professionalism. Skilled workers, or any workers for that matter, do not like being lied to and mislead by bad management. They want careers in the fields they went to college for. They want respect for their professional skills. They want to know that they will be recognized for their contributions and they don't want to have to kiss butt and play the games to advance. OPM, your tactics are old news and you won't fool many people except maybe,..... yourselves. Robert M. Posted May 13, 2005 10:25 PM
