FERS Bill Introduced

Bill Crediting FERS Employees for Sick Leave Introduced!

Over the past several months, the Federal Managers Association (FMA) has been working with Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va.) and his staff to introduce legislation which would credit employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for unused sick leave at the time of retirement. During FMA’s 70 th annual National Convention, Congressman Moran unveiled the details of his proposal.

The bill, H.R. 5573, would provide FERS employees with a lump sum payment at the time of retirement for accumulated sick leave. Currently, FERS employees do not receive any credit for sick leave, while employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) are able to convert unused sick leave at retirement into an increase in their annual annuity.

“Our current use-it or lose-it system under FERS hurts productivity and increases training costs,” said Moran. “We need to be incentivizing the accrual of sick leave, not keeping a policy in place that encourages people to call in sick in the weeks leading up to retirement. OPM estimates that this flawed policy is costing taxpayers $68 million per year.” 

Under the legislation, employees would receive a cash payout worth 15 percent of all the accrued sick leave at their final salary up to $10,000. A minimum of 500 hours is necessary to receive the payment in order to encourage employees to save a bank of leave in the event of a short-term disability.

“The cost of sick leave used by federal employees continues to rise, and the loss of productivity becomes more apparent as there is no incentive for federal employees to conserve sick leave,” commented FMA National President Darryl Perkinson. “By placing a value on sick leave, FERS employees are encouraged to use their leave responsibly. I thank Congressman Moran for recognizing the problem manager’s face and acting to correct it.”

For more information on the legislation, please visit: thomas.loc.gov or contact FMA’s National Office at info@fedmanagers.org.