| Description |
An agency may pay a lump-sum
recruitment bonus of up to 25 percent of the
annual rate of basic pay to an employee newly
appointed to a difficult-to-fill position.
|
| Covered Positions
|
Recruitment bonuses may be paid
to eligible individuals who are appointed to a
General Schedule (GS) position or to another type
of position for which such payments have been
approved by the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM). By regulation, OPM has approved coverage
of certain positions, including prevailing rate (wage),
senior-level and
scientific or professional (SL/ST), Senior
Executive Service (SES), and Executive Schedule positions (except agency heads). OPM approves
other categories upon written request from the
head of the employing agency.
|
| Qualifying Appointments
|
Recruitment bonuses may be paid
to an employee who is "newly appointed"
to the Federal Government, including an employee
reappointed with a 90-day break in service. An
individual who receives a temporary appointment
may be eligible as long as the appointment lasts
at least 6 months. (See "Service
Agreement," below.)
|
| Service Agreement |
Before receiving a recruitment
bonus, an employee must sign a written agreement
to complete a specified period of employment with
the agency. The minimum allowed service period is
6 months.
|
| Agency Plan |
Before paying a recruitment
bonus, an agency must establish a plan that
designates the officials with authority to review
and approve payment of recruitment bonuses. The
plan must include criteria to be met or
considered in authorizing bonuses (including the
amount of a bonus), procedures for paying
bonuses, requirements for service agreements, and
documentation and recordkeeping requirements.
|
| Criteria for Approving
Bonus |
Before the employee enters on
duty, the agency must determine in writing that,
in absence of the bonus, the agency would
encounter difficulty in filling the position. The
agency must consider the following, as
applicable: the success of recent efforts to
recruit candidates for similar positions, recent
turnover in similar positions, labor-market
factors, special qualifications needed in the
position, and the practicality of using the
superior qualifications appointment authority
alone or in combination with a recruitment bonus.
|
| Groups of Employees
|
An agency may target groups of
positions that have been difficult to fill in the
past or that are likely to be difficult to fill
in the future and may make the required written
determination to offer a recruitment bonus on a
group basis.
|
| Approval Level |
A recruitment bonus must be
approved by an agency official who is at a higher
level than the official who recommended the
bonus, unless there is no official at a higher
level. To make a timely offer of employment, a
higher level official may establish specific
criteria to allow the recommending official to
offer a recruitment bonus without further review
or approval.
|
| Payment |
A recruitment bonus must be
calculated as a percentage of the employee's
starting annual rate of basic pay (excluding
locality pay) at the time of appointment, not to
exceed 25 percent. The bonus is paid in a lump
sum. A bonus may be paid to an individual not yet
employed who has received a written offer of
employment and signed a written service
agreement.
|
| Basic Pay |
A recruitment bonus is not
considered part of an employee's rate of basic
pay for any purpose.
|
| Repayment |
If an employee fails to complete the
agreed-upon service period, he or she must repay
the portion of the bonus attributable to the
uncompleted period. Exception: No repayment is
required if the employee is involuntarily
separated (for reasons other than misconduct or
delinquency).
|
| References |
5 U.S.C. 5753
5 CFR part 575, subpart A |
