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Pay & Leave Recruitment, Relocation & Retention Incentives

 

Overview

Recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives (3Rs) are compensation flexibilities available to help Federal agencies recruit and retain a world-class workforce. The 3Rs are administered under 5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5754 and 5 CFR part 575, subparts A, B, and C.

Memos & Reports

Compensation Policy Memoranda

Reports to Congress

Section 101(c) of the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-411, October 30, 2004) requires the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to submit an annual report to specified committees of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives on agencies' use of the recruitment, relocation, and retention incentive authorities in 5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5754 during calendar years 2005-2009. The report provides data on and describes each agency's use of the incentives during the calendar year.

Calendar Year 2009

Previous Calendar Years

Fact Sheets

Non-GS Employees

Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention Incentives: Coverage of Non-General Schedule Employees Under Single-Agency Pay Systems

Upon the request of the head of an executive agency, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may approve coverage under the recruitment, relocation, and retention incentive authorities of one or more categories of non-General Schedule employees in a single agency. (See 5 U.S.C. 5753(a)(1)(B) and 5754(a)(1)(B) and OPM regulations at 5 CFR 575.103(a)(7), 575.203(a)(7), and 575.303(a)(7).)

Agencies with one or more categories of non-General Schedule employees who are not specifically covered by the 3Rs regulations or an OPM approval may not provide 3Rs to these employees unless the agency has a separate statutory authority to do so. The statute must provide authority for the agency to grant payments similar to the 3Rs or additional compensation. A statute that only provides an agency with the authority to fix rates of basic pay for a category of employees would generally not be interpreted as providing authority to pay 3Rs payments because 3Rs are not considered rates of basic pay.

The following list shows the categories of employees OPM has approved to be covered by the 3Rs under 5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5754. The original approval date is in brackets after each category of employees.

Agriculture

AD (administratively determined) employees paid under 7 U.S.C. 426a, b, and c and appointed under 5 CFR 213.3113(a)(1) [04/27/1995]

Commerce

NOAA marine wage employees [10/23/1992]

AD and GG employees (Census Bureau) [05/05/1998]

Corporation for National Service

AD employees paid under 42 U.S.C. 12653h(c)(3) [09/15/1993]

Employees under Corporation for National Service alternative personnel system authorized by the National Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-82) [12/01/1995]

Defense

Employees appointed under enabling legislation for National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and Civilian Intelligence Personnel Management System [11/17/1991]

Employees appointed under enabling legislation for USNA, Naval War College, Naval Postgraduate School, Army War College, Air Force Institute of Technology, and Air University [12/31/1991]

Navy marine wage employees [06/25/1992]

Faculty and staff of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) [10/19/1992]

Employees of section 6 schools [01/15/1993]

Employees under the Department of the Navy's Space and Warfare Command and Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division alternative personnel system [05/30/2001]

Professional educators in the Department of Defense Education Activity paid under 20 U.S.C. chapter 29 [12/04/2001]

Employees of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) Faculty Personnel System covered by 10 U.S.C. 1595 [02/18/2005]

Employees of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) covered by 10 U.S.C. 1595 [06/07/2005]

Employees appointed under 5 U.S.C. 3161(b) in the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction [01/18/2006]

Employees of the Department of Defense National Defense University (including the Africa Center for Security Studies, the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, and the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies) and the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies whose pay is administratively determined under 10 U.S.C. 1595 [04/10/2006]

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency employees whose pay is administratively determined under 10 U.S.C. 1601 [02/23/2007]

Employees appointed under 5 U.S.C. 3161(b) in the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction [03/29/2010]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

Professional and technical personnel paid under Section 161d of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as amended by Public Law 101-510) [01/02/2008]

Education

Senior managers and technical and scientific employees in the Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs appointed and paid under the Higher Education Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-44) [09/30/1999]

Election Assistance Commission

Employees paid in accordance with section 204(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 [10/08/2004]

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Energy

Power system dispatchers [01/15/1993]

Wage board employees of the (1) Bonneville Power Administration whose pay is negotiated under the Bonneville Project Act of 1937 (16 U.S.C. 8321); (2) Southwestern Power Administration whose pay is negotiated under the Department of Interior secretarial Order No. 19865, August 31, 1943; and (3) Western Area Power Administration whose pay is negotiated under section 9(b) of Public Law 92-392 and section 704 of Public Law 95-454 [01/13/2000]

Scientific, engineering, technical, and professional employees paid under section 621(d) of the Department of Energy Organization Act (pay plan EJ), section 3161 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (Public Law 103-337) (pay plan EK), and section 3241 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2000 (Public Law 106-65) (pay plan EN) [05/22/2001]

Employees in the ER and ET pay plans established for Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) [05/22/2012]

Environmental Protection Agency

Employees appointed to a position under the administratively determined (AD) pay authority established by the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments (Public Law 95-190, November 16, 1977) [08/21/2002]

Health and Human Services

Employees appointed to the Senior Biomedical Research Service under 42 U.S.C. 237 [04/20/1999]

Interior

Prevailing rate employees whose pay is negotiated under section 9(b) of the Government Employees Prevailing Rate Systems Act, Public Law 92-392, and section 704 of the Civil Service Reform Act, Public Law 95-454 [05/04/2001]

International Broadcasting Bureau

Non-U.S. citizen employees appointed under 22 U.S.C. 1474(1) and the Smith-Mundt Act (Public Law 80-402). Employees are excepted service paid under chapter 18 of title 22, United States Code (Public Law 101-249, February 16, 1990) [03/24/2003]

Justice

U.S Attorneys, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Trustees, and Assistant U.S. Trustees [08/19/1991]

Immigration judges paid under section 371(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 [12/26/1996]

Millennium Challenge Corporation

Employees who are paid in accordance with section 617(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-199, Division D), and who are not among the 30 for which pay is administratively determined under section 617(c) of the Act [03/24/2004]

Morris K. Udall Foundation

AD employees paid under 20 U.S.C. 5608(a)(1) [01/15/2009]

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

AD employees paid under 42 U.S.C. 2473(c) [09/18/1991]

National Science Foundation

Employees appointed under 42 U.S.C. 1864a and 1873(a) [10/22/1991]

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

AD employees paid under 22 U.S.C. 2193(d) [08/07/1991]

State

Employees appointed under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and U.N. Participation Act of 1945 [09/03/1991]

Treasury

National Taxpayer Advocate appointed and compensated under 7803(c)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 1102(a) of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 [08/08/1998]

Employees appointed and compensated under the streamlined critical pay authority at 5 U.S.C. 9503, as established by section 1201(a) of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 [08/08/1998]

Police officers in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the U.S. Mint paid under 5 U.S.C. 5378 [10/19/2000]

USAID

Employees appointed under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and section 625(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [07/31/1992]

Veterans Affairs

Part-time and temporary positions appointed under 38 U.S.C. 7405 and listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(1) (i.e., part-time and temporary physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, nurses, physician assistants, and expanded-function dental auxiliaries) [01/19/2001]

Part-time and temporary hybrid positions appointed under 38 U.S.C. 7405 and listed in 38 U.S.C. 7405(a)(1)(B) (i.e., part-time and temporary certified or registered respiratory therapists, licensed physical therapists, licensed practical/vocational nurses, pharmacists, and occupational therapists) [01/19/2001]

Executive clinical positions appointed under 38 U.S.C. 7306 [01/19/2001]

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Authority and Regulations

Extensions of Authority

View the categories of non-General Schedule employees in a single agency approved by OPM for 3Rs coverage.

Law and Regulations

  • 5 U.S.C. 5753 and 5754
  • 5 CFR part 575, subparts A, B, and C

FAQs

  • There is no set period of employment under a retention incentive service agreement.
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  • Before paying a recruitment or relocation incentive, an agency must establish a plan for using the authority.  (See 5 CFR 575.107 and 575.207.)  The plan must include the designation of officials with authority to review and approve the payment of recruitment or relocation incentives, the designation of officials with authority to waive the repayment of a recruitment or relocation incentive, the categories of employees who are prohibited from receiving recruitment or relocation incentives, the required documentation for determining that a position is likely to be difficult to fill, requirements for determining the amount of an incentive, the payment methods that may be authorized, requirements governing service agreements (including criteria for determining the length of a service period, the conditions for terminating a service agreement, and the obligations of the agency and the employee if a service agreement is terminated), and documentation and recordkeeping requirements.   Unless the head of the agency determines otherwise, agency recruitment and relocation incentive plans must apply uniformly across the agency.
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  • Yes.  See 5 CFR 575.309(i) and the definition of aggregate compensation at 5 CFR 530.202.
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  • An agency must consider the following factors, as applicable in the case at hand, in making a retention incentive determination for an individual employee or a group or category of employees likely to leave the Federal service:
    • Employment trends and labor market factors, such as the availability and quality of candidates in the labor market possessing the competencies required for the position and who, with minimal training, cost, or disruption of service to the public, could perform the full range of duties and responsibilities of the employee’s position at the level performed by the employee;
    • The success of recent efforts to recruit candidates and retain employees with qualifications similar to those possessed by the employee for positions similar to the position held by the employee;
    • Special or unique competencies needed for the position;
    • Agency efforts to use non-pay authorities to help retain the employee instead of or in addition to a retention incentive, such as special training and work scheduling flexibilities or improved working conditions;
    • The desirability of the duties, work or organizational environment, or geographic location of the position;
    • The extent to which the employee’s departure would affect the agency's ability to carry out an activity, perform a function, or complete a project the agency deems essential to its mission;
    • The salaries typically paid outside the Federal Government; and
    • Other supporting factors.
    (See 5 CFR 575.306(b) and 575.306(c).)
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  • A relocation incentive may be paid to an employee who must relocate to a different geographic area (permanently or temporarily) to accept a covered position in an agency when the position is likely to be difficult to fill and is an employee of the Federal Government immediately before the relocation.   Also, a relocation incentive may be paid only when the employee’s rating of record (or an official performance appraisal or evaluation under a system not covered by 5 U.S.C. chapter 43 or 5 CFR part 430) for the position held immediately before the move is at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent.  (See 5 CFR 575.205.)
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  • A relocation incentive is an incentive an agency may pay to a current employee who must relocate to a position in a different geographic area that is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of such an incentive. In return, the employee must sign an agreement to fulfill a period of service of not more than 4 years with the agency. In addition, the employee must establish a residence in the new geographic area prior to payment. (See 5 U.S.C. 5753; 5 CFR part 575, subpart B; and the Relocation Incentives fact sheet.)
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  • Yes. An agency may pay a relocation incentive to an employee who is voluntarily or involuntarily relocated to a different geographic area, assuming all other conditions are met.
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  • No. Under 5 CFR 575.205(b), an employee must establish a residence in the new geographic area before the agency may pay a relocation incentive.
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  • An agency must address the following factors when documenting a determination to pay a retention incentive:
    • The factors for authorizing a retention incentive for an individual employee described in 5 CFR 575.306(b) or for a group or category of employees described in 5 CFR 575.306(c);
    • The extent to which the employee’s departure for a different position in the Federal service would affect the agency's ability to carry out an activity, perform a function, or complete a project the agency deems essential to its mission before and during the closure or relocation period (e.g., the agency‘s need to retain the employee to ensure minimal disruption in the performance of mission-critical functions, continuity of key operations, or minimal disruption of service to the public before and during the closure or relocation; to train new employees who will move with the organization to the new geographic location; to assist with the actual closure or relocation of the office, facility, activity, or organization; or to perform similar mission-essential functions before or during the closure or relocation);
    • The competencies possessed by the employee that are essential to retain; and
    • The agency (which may be in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch) for which the employee would be likely to leave in the absence of the retention incentive.
    (See 5 CFR 575.315(d)(2) and (3).)
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  • Once an agency authorizes a recruitment or relocation incentive, payment of the incentive is considered a non-discretionary payment.
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  • An authorized agency official may request that OPM waive the 25 percent cap based on a critical agency need. The agency must determine that the competencies required for the position are critical to the successful accomplishment of an important agency mission, project, or initiative (e.g., programs or projects related to a national emergency or implementing a new law or critical management initiative). Under such a waiver, the total amount of recruitment or relocation incentive payments paid to an employee in a service period may not exceed 50 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of the employee at the beginning of the service period multiplied by the number of years (including fractions of a year) in the service period. However, in no event may a waiver provide total incentive payments exceeding 100 percent of the employee’s annual rate of basic pay at the beginning of the service period. (See 5 CFR 575.109(c) and 575.209(c).)
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  • An agency must reduce or terminate a retention incentive authorization when no service agreement is required whenever conditions change such that the original determination to pay the retention incentive no longer applies (such as when the agency assigns the employee to a different position that is not within the terms of the original determination) or payment at the level originally approved is no longer warranted.  An agency must terminate a retention incentive authorization if the employee is demoted or separated for cause (i.e., for unacceptable performance or conduct) or the employee receives a rating or record of less than "Fully Successful" or equivalent.   (See 5 CFR 575.311(f)(3) and (5).)
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  • A recruitment incentive may be paid to an employee who is newly appointed to an eligible category of position that is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of such an incentive. An agency may target groups of similar positions that have been difficult to fill in the past or that may be difficult to fill in the future (except positions covered by 5 CFR 575.103(a)(2),(a)(3) or (a)(5), or in similar categories approved by OPM) and make the required determination to offer a recruitment incentive to newly-appointed employees on a group basis. (See 5 CFR 575.105.)
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  • For hourly rate employees who do not have a scheduled annual rate of basic pay, compute the annual rate by multiplying the applicable hourly rate in effect at the beginning of the service period by 2,087 hours. (See 5 CFR 575.109(b)(2) and 575.209(b)(2).)
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  • Under 5 CFR 575.208(a)(2), agencies must authorize payment of relocation incentives on a case-by-case basis for each employee. However, 5 CFR 575.208(b) allows agencies to waive the case-by-case approval requirement when a group of employees is subject to a mobility agreement and the agency determines that relocation incentives are necessary to retain these employees to ensure a continuation of operations, or when a major organizational unit of the agency is relocated to a new duty station and the agency determines that relocation incentives are necessary for a group of employees to ensure the continued operation of that unit without undue disruption of an activity or function that is deemed essential to the agency's mission or without undue disruption of service to the public. All requirements in the regulations and the agency's relocation incentive plan must be met to pay a relocation incentive to an individual employee in the covered group. For example, agencies may authorize relocation incentives of up to 25 percent of basic pay, and each employee must relocate to a difficult-to-fill position, establish a residence in the new geographic area prior to payment of the incentive, and sign a service agreement.
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  • Agencies may not pay a recruitment or relocation incentive to an employee in a position (1) to which the individual was appointed by the President; (2) in the Senior Executive Service as a non-career appointee; (3) which has been excepted from the competitive service by reason of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character; (4) designated as the head of an agency, including an agency headed by a collegial body composed of two or more individual members; or (5) in which the employee is expected to receive an appointment as the head of an agency. (See 5 CFR 575.104 and 575.204.)
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  • No. An agency may not offer a retention incentive (or authorize the payment of a retention incentive) to recruit an employee from another agency or to recruit a job candidate. A retention incentive may not be offered or authorized prior to the individual's employment with the agency. (See 5 CFR 575.309(f).)
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  • An installment payment is derived by multiplying the rate of basic pay the employee earned in the installment period by a percentage not to exceed the incentive percentage rate established for the employee. (See 5 CFR 575.309(c)(1).) If an employee is in nonpay status during the full installment period, then he or she has earned no basic pay in the installment period, and therefore would receive no retention payment for the period of time he or she is in a nonpay status. If an employee is in a nonpay status for part of the installment or service period, the employee’s retention incentive must be computed based on the amount of basic pay earned.
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  • An agency must narrowly define a targeted category of employees using factors that relate to the group or category‘s unusually high or unique qualifications (i.e., competencies) or the agency‘s special need for the employees‘ services and the high risk that a significant number of the employees will leave the Federal service or for a different Federal position in the absence of a retention incentive.   Factors that may be appropriate include the following:  occupational series, grade level, distinctive job duties, unique competencies required for the position, assignment to a special project, minimum agency service requirements, organization or team designation, geographic location, and required rating of record.  (While a rating of record of higher than "Fully Successful" may be a factor used in defining the targeted category, a rating of record by itself is not sufficient to justify a retention incentive.)  Each retention incentive authorized for a group of employees likely to leave for another Federal position may cover no more than one occupational series.   (See 5 CFR 575.306(c)(2) and 575.315(d)(4).)
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  • An agency must terminate a retention incentive service agreement when conditions change such that the original determination to pay the retention incentive no longer applies (such as when the agency assigns the employee to a different position that is not within the terms of the service agreement) or when payment is no longer warranted.  In such cases, the employee is entitled to retain any retention incentive payments attributable to completed service and to receive any portion of retention incentive payment owed by the agency for completed service. An agency also must terminate a service agreement if an employee is demoted or separated for cause (i.e., for unacceptable performance or conduct), receives a rating of record of less than "Fully Successful" or equivalent, or otherwise fails to fulfill the terms of the service agreement.  In such cases, the employee is entitled to retain any retention incentive payments attributable to completed service.  The agency is not obligated to pay the employee any outstanding incentive payment attributable to completed service unless such payment was required under the terms of the retention incentive service agreement. An agency must notify an employee in writing when it terminates a retention incentive service agreement.  (See 5 CFR 575.311.)
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Total Count: 112, Number of Pages: 6, Page: 5