Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart I— - Miscellaneous › Chapter CHAPTER 101— - FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY PERSONNEL › § 10104
The Agency can pay a hiring bonus to bring people into jobs that would be hard to fill. Once the Agency finishes its strategic human capital plan, bonuses must follow that plan. The Agency head sets the amount, but it can never be more than 25 percent of the job’s yearly basic pay. Bonuses are paid as a one-time lump sum and are not part of basic pay. A person must sign a written agreement saying how long they must work to keep the bonus and what happens if they leave early. Bonuses cannot go to Presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate, noncareer Senior Executive Service appointees, or jobs excepted from the competitive service for confidential or policy-making reasons. The authority to pay bonuses ends 5 years after the law was passed. Each year for those 5 years, the Agency must report to the relevant congressional committees how it used the bonus authority, including numbers and dollar amounts by pay grade and whether the bonuses worked.
Full Legal Text
Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
5 U.S.C. § 10104
Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73