§10105 Retention bonuses

Summary

The agency head can give a one-time retention bonus to an employee when the person has very special skills or the agency really needs their work, and the agency leader thinks the person would likely leave federal service or move to a different federal job without the bonus. The employee must sign a written agreement saying how long they will stay in return for the bonus and what happens if they leave early. The bonus can be up to 25 percent of the job’s annual basic pay, paid in one lump sum, and it is not part of basic pay. The bonus cannot cover the same time already covered by a recruitment bonus. It also cannot be paid to Presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate, certain noncareer Senior Executive Service appointees, or jobs excepted from competitive hiring for confidential or policy-making reasons. Once the agency finishes its strategic human capital plan, bonuses must follow that plan. The authority to give these bonuses ends 5 years after the law was passed. For the first 5 years, the Office of Personnel Management must send yearly reports to Congress showing how the bonuses were used, how many and how much by pay grade, and whether the bonuses met their purpose.