WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04) introduced two bills to bring federal employees back into the office, end telework abuse and eliminate unfair bonuses in retirement. The Federal Employee Return to Work Act would exclude certain federal employees who telework at least one day a week from receiving raises and special locality bonuses for their office location being in a high-cost-of-living area despite working from home. The Federal Employee Locality Accountability in Retirement Act would exclude locality bonuses when calculating retirement payments for federal employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
“Federal employees get paid extra to work in higher-cost cities. But why should they get paid that rate if they don’t go into work and live somewhere other than D.C.?” said Dr. Cassidy. “If you don’t show up for work, your pay should reflect that.”
“For the last four years, D.C. bureaucrats have abused telework policies and exploited locality bonuses while our federal agencies’ buildings sit empty. This legislation is very clear; show up to where you are being paid to work so we can end this abuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Representative Newhouse.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that 17 of the 24 federal agencies were using 25% or less of their headquarters building’s capacity at the beginning of 2023. GAO identified six agencies that were on average 91% vacant while their employees still received a 16.44% locality bonus compared to the rest of the country, regardless of their in-office attendance. These agencies included the Social Security Administration, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The amount an employee receives through the FERS is determined in part by the average of the individual’s highest three consecutive years of base pay. Civil servants who receive higher locality pay will also receive more benefits in retirement. Currently, nearly 1.2 million retired civil servants are receiving FERS annuity, and the average payout is $2,126 per month.
Background
Cassidy has long called for all federal employees to return to work after COVID precautions had been lifted. He grilled U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on why most of his department had not returned to work. He also demanded transparency from HHS on when their staff intends to return to work.
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