OPM in rules published in the November 26 Federal Register broadened the situations in which federal employees may be paid retention incentives, addressing an issue that has arisen in recent years as some agencies have made greater use of the authority than others–use of the payments to prevent an employee from leaving to work at another federal agency, versus to prevent the employee from leaving government altogether.
Defense, VA, DHS, State and HHS are the heaviest users of the incentive payments.
In its rules, OPM said that agencies may pay an incentive to an employee who would be likely to leave for a different position in the federal service before the closure or relocation of the employee’s office, facility, activity, or organization.
In soliciting comments on retention incentives policy, OPM had raised the possibility of using the payments more broadly to prevent agency-to-agency loss of employees but heard concerns from a number of commentators about possible bidding wars and increased costs, OPM said. Commentators were similarly negative to a possible policy that retention incentives could be paid only to employees rated at the highest level in the performance evaluation system applying to them, and that idea was not adopted.
However, OPM said there was no controversy over allowing the incentives in closure or relocation situations.