| Description |
An agency may pay a lump-sum
relocation bonus of up to 25 percent of the
annual rate of basic pay to an employee who must
relocate to accept a difficult-to-fill position
in a different commuting area.
|
| Covered Positions
|
Relocation bonuses may be paid
to eligible employees who are serving in a
General Schedule (GS) position or in 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 (excluding agency heads). OPM approves
other categories upon written request from the
head of the employing agency.
|
| Employee Coverage |
Only current employees
serving in covered positions may receive a relocation bonus.
Newly appointed employees are not eligible. (See Recruitment
Bonuses fact sheet.)
|
| Service Agreement |
Before receiving a
relocation bonus, an employee must sign a written agreement to
complete a specified period of employment with the agency. There
is no minimum service period required by OPM regulations;
however, agencies may establish a minimum period under their
relocation bonus plans.
|
| Agency Plan |
Before paying a relocation bonus,
an agency must establish a plan that designates the officials
with authority to review and approve payment of relocation
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 in the position to which relocated, 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, and special qualifications needed in the position.
Important: Approval of the bonus is contingent on the employee's
changing his or her place of residence in conjunction with
acceptance of a position in a different commuting area.
|
Case-by-Case
Determinations |
Agency determinations to pay a
relocation bonus normally must be made on a
case-by-case basis. However, it is appropriate for an agency to
identify groups of positions that have been difficult to fill in
the past or that may be difficult to fill in the future and to
use a group-targeted approach in identifying candidates for
bonuses.
|
| Groups of Employees |
Under certain conditions,
an agency may waive the case-by-case approval requirement for
employees with a rating of at least "Fully Successful"
(or equivalent)--for example, when these employees are part of a
major organizational unit that is being relocated to a different
commuting area. (Note: These groups must be approved using the
same criteria that apply to individuals.)
|
| Approval Level |
A relocation bonus must be
approved by an official of the agency who is at a higher level
than the official who recommended the bonus, unless there is no
official at a higher level.
|
| Payment |
A relocation bonus must be calculated
as a percentage of the initial annual rate of basic pay
(excluding locality pay) for the employee's new position, not to
exceed 25 percent. The bonus is paid in a lump sum. The agency
may not pay the relocation bonus until the employee establishes a
residence in the new commuting area.
|
| Law Enforcement Officers |
An agency may pay a
relocation bonus of up to the greater of $15,000 or 25 percent of
basic pay to a law enforcement officer (as defined in 5 U.S.C.
5541(3)) paid under the General Schedule.
|
| Basic Pay |
A relocation 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 relocation bonus attributable to the uncompleted period of
service. Exception: No repayment is required if the employee is
involuntarily separated (for reasons other than misconduct or
delinquency) or if the employee is involuntarily relocated to a
different commuting area.
|
| References |
5 U.S.C. 5753
5 CFR part 575, subpart B
|
