PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

When a federal employee is sent to work for a State or local government under this law, they stay a federal employee. They are treated either as on a temporary detail to their regular job or as on leave without pay. Federal liability rules, like the Federal Tort Claims Act, still cover them. Who supervises the work can be set by agreement between the federal agency and the State or local government. The State or local government may or may not pay back the federal agency for travel, moving, or the worker’s pay; any money paid back goes into the agency’s accounts. If the worker is on leave without pay and the State or local pay is lower than their federal pay, the agency must pay the difference as supplemental pay. They keep earning annual and sick leave as if they stayed in their federal job. They can keep federal health and life insurance if they keep paying their share. Time on the assignment counts toward step increases, retention, leave accrual, and retirement if the worker and the agency put the required retirement payments into the federal retirement fund. For certain federal programs, the service and pay are treated as federal service and wages, and if the work could also qualify for State unemployment, the worker may choose State or federal coverage. If the worker dies or is hurt doing the job, they are treated like other federal employees for injury benefits. If they (or their survivors) can get both State and federal benefits for the same injury or death, they must choose which to accept within one year; that choice is usually final.

Title 5, §3373

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)An employee of a Federal agency assigned to a State or local government under this subchapter is deemed, during the assignment, to be either—

(1)on detail to a regular work assignment in his agency; or

(2)on leave without pay from his position in the agency.

An employee assigned either on detail or on leave without pay remains an employee of his agency. The Federal Tort Claims Act and any other Federal tort liability statute apply to an employee so assigned. The supervision of the duties of an employee on detail may be governed by agreement between the Federal agency and the State or local government concerned.

(b)The assignment of an employee of a Federal agency either on detail or on leave without pay to a State or local government under this subchapter may be made with or without reimbursement by the State or local government for the travel and transportation expenses to or from the place of assignment and for the pay, or supplemental pay, or a part thereof, of the employee during assignment. Any reimbursements shall be credited to the appropriation of the Federal agency used for paying the travel and transportation expenses or pay.

(c)For any employee so assigned and on leave without pay—

(1)if the rate of pay for his employment by the State or local government is less than the rate of pay he would have received had he continued in his regular assignment in the agency, he is entitled to receive supplemental pay from the agency in an amount equal to the difference between the State or local government rate and the agency rate;

(2)he is entitled to annual and sick leave to the same extent as if he had continued in his regular assignment in the agency; and

(3)he is entitled, notwithstanding other statutes—

(A)to continuation of his insurance under chapter 87 of this title, and coverage under chapter 89 of this title or other applicable authority, so long as he pays currently into the Employee’s Life Insurance Fund and the Employee’s Health Benefits Fund or other applicable health benefits system (through his employing agency) the amount of the employee contributions;

(B)to credit the period of his assignment under this subchapter toward periodic step-increases, retention, and leave accrual purposes, and, on payment into the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other applicable retirement system of the percentage of his State or local government pay, and of his supplemental pay, if any, that would have been deducted from a like agency pay for the period of the assignment and payment by the Federal agency into the fund or system of the amount that would have been payable by the agency during the period of the assignment with respect to a like agency pay, to treat his service during that period as service of the type performed in the agency immediately before his assignment; and

(C)for the purpose of subchapter I of chapter 85 of this title, to credit the service performed during the period of his assignment under this subchapter as Federal service, and to consider his State or local government pay (and his supplemental pay, if any) as Federal wages. To the extent that the service could also be the basis for entitlement to unemployment compensation under a State law, the employee may elect to claim unemployment compensation on the basis of the service under either the State law or subchapter I of chapter 85 of this title.

However, an employee or his beneficiary may not receive benefits referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph (3), based on service during an assignment under this subchapter for which the employee or, if he dies without making such an election, his beneficiary elects to receive benefits, under any State or local government retirement or insurance law or program, which the Office of Personnel Management determines to be similar. The Federal agency shall deposit currently in the Employee’s Life Insurance Fund, the Employee’s Health Benefits Fund or other applicable health benefits system, respectively, the amount of the Government’s contributions on account of service with respect to which employee contributions are collected as provided in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph (3).

(d)(1)An employee so assigned and on leave without pay who dies or suffers disability as a result of personal injury sustained while in the performance of his duty during an assignment under this subchapter shall be treated, for the purpose of subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title, as though he were an employee as defined by section 8101 of this title who had sustained the injury in the performance of duty. When an employee (or his dependents in case of death) entitled by reason of injury or death to benefits under subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title is also entitled to benefits from a State or local government for the same injury or death, he (or his dependents in case of death) shall elect which benefits he will receive. The election shall be made within one year after the injury or death, or such further time as the Secretary of Labor may allow for reasonable cause shown. When made, the election is irrevocable unless otherwise provided by law.

(2)An employee who elects to receive benefits from a State or local government may not receive an annuity under subchapter III of chapter 83 of this title and benefits from the State or local government for injury or disability to himself covering the same period of time. This provision does not—

(A)bar the right of a claimant to the greater benefit conferred by either the State or local government or subchapter III of chapter 83 of this title for any part of the same period of time;

(B)deny to an employee an annuity accruing to him under subchapter III of chapter 83 of this title on account of service performed by him; or

(C)deny any concurrent benefit to him from the State or local government on account of the death of another individual.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Tort Claims Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is title IV of act Aug. 2, 1946, ch. 753, 60 Stat. 842, which was classified principally to chapter 20 (§§ 921, 922, 931–934, 941–946) of former Title 28, Judicial Code and Judiciary. Title IV of act Aug. 2, 1946, was substantially repealed and reenacted as section 1346(b) and 2671 et seq. of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, by act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 992, the first section of which enacted Title 28. The Federal Tort Claims Act is also commonly used to refer to chapter 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Tables. For distribution of former sections of Title 28 into the revised Title 28, see Table at the beginning of Title 28.

Amendments

1992—Pub. L. 102–378 substituted “or local” for “and local” in section catchline. 1978—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 95–454, § 603(b), substituted “a Federal” for “an executive” and “Federal agency” for “executive agency”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95–454, §§ 603(b), 906(a)(2), substituted “Federal agency” for “executive agency” wherever appearing, and “Office of Personnel Management” for “Civil Service Commission”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–454 effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective sixty days after Jan. 5, 1971, see section 404 of Pub. L. 91–648, set out as a note under section 3371 of this title.

§3373 Assignment of Employees to State or Local Governments

Summary

Title 5, §3373

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata