The notice said the government annually spends more than $1.2 billion on relocation allowances. Image: Kate Scott/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe GSA has finalized a new form of reimbursement for “temporary quarters subsistence expenses” for federal employees reassigned in the government’s interest, saying it expects the new system “will be the preferred TQSE reimbursement method for agencies to offer to employees.”
The “temporary quarters subsistence expenses-lodgings-plus” system finalized in a May 7 Federal Register notice will generally mirror the policies for reimbursing federal employees on temporary duty travel: reimbursement of actual lodging expenses up to a maximum by local area, as supported by receipts, and a meals and incidental expense allowance which may be paid without itemization.
Use of the new method “will increase employee satisfaction with the relocation process and significantly reduce the agency and employee administrative burden of maintaining, submitting and reviewing all subsistence expenses receipts and claims,” it said. However, agencies can continue to use the two traditional methods, under which employees are reimbursed for their actual expenses up to a limit, or under a lump-sum reimbursement method.
The notice said the government annually spends more than $1.2 billion on relocation allowances to reimburse an average of 28,800 employees who are transferred: between official duty stations within the U.S.; from a foreign area to an official duty station in the U.S.; or assigned to a temporary official station and/or permanently assigned to a temporary official station within the U.S.
The final rule also makes various technical changes to reimbursement policies.
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