PRIA Logo™
Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-110

§3522 Agency Plans; Approval

Title 5 › PART III — EMPLOYEES › Subpart B — Employment and Retention › CHAPTER 35 — RETENTION PREFERENCE, VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS, RESTORATION, AND REEMPLOYMENT › SUBCHAPTER II — VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS › § 3522

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Agency heads must submit a plan to the Office of Personnel Management before spending money on voluntary separation incentives. The plan must list five things, such as which jobs or functions will end, which employees may be offered payments, when and how many payments will be made, and how the agency will operate afterward. The OPM Director will review and may change the plan after consulting the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and must approve it first.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §3522

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Before obligating any resources for voluntary separation incentive payments, the head of each agency shall submit to the Office of Personnel Management a plan outlining the intended use of such incentive payments and a proposed organizational chart for the agency once such incentive payments have been completed.
(b)The plan of an agency under subsection (a) shall include—
(1)the specific positions and functions to be reduced or eliminated;
(2)a description of which categories of employees will be offered incentives;
(3)the time period during which incentives may be paid;
(4)the number and amounts of voluntary separation incentive payments to be offered; and
(5)a description of how the agency will operate without the eliminated positions and functions.
(c)The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall review each agency’s plan an may make any appropriate modifications in the plan, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. A plan under this section may not be implemented without the approval of the Directive of the Office of Personnel Management.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 60 days after Nov. 25, 2002, see section 1313(a)(4) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 3521 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 3522

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110