Federal Manager's Daily Report

The GAO has raised several issues with the use by federal agencies of the “special government employee” authority, which allows them to temporarily employ individuals with specialized expertise outside normal civil service personnel policies.

GAO found an annual average of about 2,,000 such employees–with a peak of about 3,100 in 2009 and a low of about 500 in 2013–serving as experts or consultants in roles similar to that of full-time federal employees; larger numbers of other such employees worked in only limited capacities for various boards and commissions.

However, agencies are inconsistent in deciding who should be given that designation, what’s needed to process the designation and in their reporting to the Office of Government Ethics, GAO said.

“This is worrisome because if the government isn’t properly tracking who has the designation, it may not be looking at whether anyone has a conflict of interest with government service and a private sector job,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who requested the review.

GAO also found—in a review focusing on State, Justice, HHS, NRC and NSF—that appointments sometimes exceed the 130-day per year time limit set in law. Grassley said he may sponsor legislation to reinforce the restrictions on such appointments, including the time limit.