Appointees get fewer awards, but bigger ones, report finds

Political appointees received far fewer cash awards than career employees last year, but those awards were, on average worth more than before, according to a new report from the General Accounting Office. While more than 1 million career employees received cash awards for superior job performance from September 1999 through May 2000, only 244 political appointees received the extra incentive during a similar period, according to the report, "Personnel Practices: Monetary Awards Provided to Political Appointees" (GAO-01-1081R). The average dollar value of awards given to appointees was nearly $2,400, compared with an average of $750 for civil servants. As of September 1999, there were more than 3,000 political appointees governmentwide. More than 1 million career civil servants make up the federal workforce. The government can provide cash and nonmonetary awards to superior employees to encourage them stay in public service. Agencies can also give employees with special skills that the government needs an allowance of up to 25 percent of their base pay. Political appointees, including members of the Senior Executive Service who are not career employees and those in Schedule C positions, who typically serve in confidential roles to key appointed officials, can receive certain incentive awards except during presidential election periods under United States Code Title 5, Section 4508. For the purposes of its report, GAO combined political appointees and their counterparts into three groups: executive-level, SES and other senior-level appointees and employees at GS-13 through GS-15 and GS-12 and below. The report included awards for performance, suggestions, service, time off, gain-sharing and quality step increases. A quality step increase is a one-step increase to base pay within a General Schedule grade. The number of awards given to political appointees and their average dollar amount varied from agency to agency. For example, at the Veterans Affairs Department, one political appointee received two awards in the last year and a half worth an average of $1,500. At the State Department, 10 appointees each received awards of $1,000 on average. The Office of Personnel Management criticized GAO for mixing different types of awards and data in its report, leaving room for confusion. "It [the report] mixes awards granted under different chapters of Title 5 and uses a cash-basis reporting for awards given in the form of both cash and time off-two different 'currencies'-yet they are reported only in terms of cash value," said OPM Director Kay Coles James in a letter to GAO. Agency heads can approve cash awards of up to $10,000 for career employees and appointees. Cash awards exceeding $10,000 are subject to approval by OPM and awards over $25,000 need approval from the President. GAO asked 46 agencies to provide information on awards given to political appointees from Sept. 1, 1999 through April 30, 2001. OPM submitted information on the number of awards given to career employees from Sept, 1, 1999 through May 31, 2000, to account for the moratorium on awards given to appointees during presidential election periods. The congressional watchdog agency found that six agencies, including the Agriculture, Energy and Treasury departments, erroneously gave out 15 cash awards totaling more than $38,000 to 14 political appointees during the moratorium. Agency officials said they rescinded all the awards to appointees handed out during this period and were in the process of recovering the money.