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Broadcasting Board Offers Buyouts
The application period runs through May 29, and this is the final round the agency will offer in fiscal 2015.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors announced on Friday that it is offering buyouts to eligible employees through May 29, the last such round the agency will offer in fiscal 2015.
The agency will allow employees to apply for a buyout or early retirement package from April 20 through May 29. Employees approved for buyouts can leave BBG as early as June 30, and no later than Sept. 30.
To be eligible for a Voluntary Early Retirement Authorization (early out), employees must have 20 years of service and be at least 50 years old, or have at least 25 years of service -- this applies to those covered under the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System. Buyouts, or Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments, are cash incentives of up to $25,000 for eligible employees and can be offered along with an early out or separately.
BBG’s authority to offer buyouts and early retirement packages expires on Sept. 30, 2015, the end of the current fiscal year. “There is no guarantee that either of these authorities will be available after that date,” the April 17 memorandum to employees said.
The part-time board of the Broadcasting Board of Governors oversees a complicated and some say overly bureaucratic organization that includes the International Broadcasting Bureau, Voice of America, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty among others -- each with their own layers of senior leadership. The Government Accountability Office in a 2013 report found significant overlap within the agency. BBG is an independent federal agency overseeing all government-supported, civilian international media and employs about 1,650 workers.
VOA’s Director David Ensor recently announced his resignation after four years at the service. In March, brand-new BBG CEO Andy Lack left to return to NBC News.
BBG was ranked second to last of mid-sized agencies in the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service’s 2014 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report, which is based on the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Its score dropped about 5 percentage points between 2013 and 2014.
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