By Stephen Barr
Friday, November 23, 2007
Federal agencies that are closing offices or moving to new locations can pay bonuses to their employees to keep them from taking jobs at other agencies, the Office of Personnel Management has decided.
Offering bonuses should help agencies avoid disruption to programs and services by retaining experienced employees and avoiding the costs of hiring and training replacements, according to a rule issued by the OPM this month.
OPM officials have been working on the rule for the past two years, concerned that agencies are engaging in "bidding wars" for talented employees, especially for science, engineering and procurement jobs.
The Defense Department, in particular, is eager to keep skilled employees from jumping ship.
The jobs of tens of thousands of Defense employees, at about 800 bases and installations, will move to new locations because of base-closing recommendations accepted by Congress. Some employees have balked at moving; others have said they are waiting to decide because they want to learn more about neighborhoods and schools near their new bases.
Still other Defense employees are uneasy because of Pentagon warnings that as many as 200,000 contractors and civil service employees could be sent furlough or layoff notices next month if the White House and Congress do not end a dispute over Iraq war funding.
Congress passed legislation in 2004 that permits agencies to pay higher bonuses and incentives to recruit, retain and relocate employees. The OPM issued the first set of rules in May 2005.
In that rule, the OPM said agencies that want to keep highly skilled employees who might be lost to the private sector may offer a retention bonus of up to 25 percent of base pay and can seek permission from OPM to offer as much as 50 percent of base pay.
That rule left open the question of what to do about employees who might be lured away from their federal agency by another agency.
The follow-up rule, issued Nov. 16, said the government's interest is in "avoiding costly and inefficient interagency competition." Bonuses to keep employees should be paid only when a worker is likely to leave to work at another agency and is at an office that is closing, the OPM said.
"The need to retain employees when facilities are closing or relocating is especially acute," the rule said. "Such employees may be more likely than others to seek other federal employment, especially if they will otherwise be separated from federal service when their office or facility closes or if they cannot relocate with their office or facility."
Because offices must stay open until they are shut down, hiring and training replacement employees "may not be viable or cost-effective," the rule said.
Benefits Forum in VirginiaRep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) is sponsoring a symposium on federal employee health benefits from 10 a.m. until noon on Nov. 29 at the Fairfax County Government Center.
The symposium will provide information to help federal employees and retirees select health insurance to meet their needs. The government's open enrollment season for employees and retirees ends on Dec. 10.
The program will include speakers from the Office of Personnel Management, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, and Walton Francis, chief author of the Washington Consumers' Checkbook guide to health plans for federal employees.
The association is co-sponsoring the event, which will be held at 12000 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax.
For more information, call 703-916-9610.
Talk ShowAnthony J. Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president of the U.S. Postal Service, will be the guest on IBM's "Business of Government Hour" at 9 a.m. Saturday on WJFK radio (106.7 FM).
Stephen Barr's e-mail address is barrs@washpost.com.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.