Rules on Expanded Incentive Payments Published

The Office of Personnel Management has published rules carrying out a law enacted last year giving agencies expanded authority to pay recruitment, retention and relocation payments. Under the rules, published in the May 13 Federal Register and effective that date, subject to OPM approval recruitment and relocation payments can range up to 50 percent of the employee’s annual basic pay rate at the beginning of the service period, multiplied by the number of years in the service period, not to exceed 100 percent of the employee’s annual basic pay rate at the beginning of the service period. The payments normally are contingent upon the employee entering into a written service agreement to complete a certain period of employment, not to exceed four years. The rules allow the payments to be made in more varied forms and spell out issues such as: new eligibility rules prohibiting receipt by political appointees; requirements and procedures for approving the payments; the terms of the service agreements, including what happens if one is terminated for various reasons; and policies regarding previously approved payments and service agreements.