Another Bonus Ban, Feds’ ‘Golden Parachute’ Pensions and More

Congress is always looking for new ways to ban bonuses for federal employees, it seems.

Weeks after House appropriators unveiled a measure to prohibit performance awards for senior executives at the Veterans Affairs Department, a lawmaker put forward legislation to ban bonuses for Internal Revenue Service workers.

Blocking the extra pay could prove to be just a threat, however; the bill -- introduced by Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., would only outlaw the awards until the IRS issues a “comprehensive customer service strategy.” 

Until such a plan is reviewed and approved by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the agency “may not pay a bonus, award or similar cash payment,” according to the proposal. 

No word on whether the employees writing that plan will be entitled to an especially generous paycheck. The House Ways and Means Committee approved the bill Wednesday as part of a package of legislation to hold the IRS more "accountable" for its performance. 

In other parts of the government, employees themselves are sounding the alarm about colleagues receiving too large a payout. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers sent a letter to Congress about executives at the Tennessee Valley Authority receiving average pensions of nearly $1 million. The union, which represents 2,500 TVA workers, found that average appalling after retirement benefits for the rank and file were slashed last month.

TVA executives will average a “golden parachute pension” of $780,000, according to IFPTE, representing an “inequity.”

“We believe that it is time for Congress to fix this apparent loophole allowing TVA executives to make decisions that have led to a $6 billion shortfall in the employee pension fund, while ensuring that their golden parachute plan remains funded,” IFPTE wrote. “This is not allowed in the private sector and we believe it should not be allowed at TVA.”

While some current and former feds may have to worry about seeing their pay and benefits cut, others are gearing up for additional benefits.

The Office of Personnel Management last week finalized its plan to give leave to federal employees to care for same-sex spouses. Family and Medical Leave Act regulations will include same-sex spouses beginning May 9, following the 2013 Supreme Court case that overturned the section of the Defense of Marriage Act that had defined marriage as between one man and one woman.

In October 2013, OPM issued guidance to agencies noting employees could use FMLA leave -- which allows employees to take 12 weeks of unpaid time off in a 12-month period -- to care for their same-sex spouses, retroactive to the Supreme Court’s ruling. The final rule, coming nearly three years after the Supreme Court’s decision, codifies that guidance in federal statute. OPM published the proposed rule on the change back in June 2014.

Also last week, the Veterans Affairs Department introduced a new app to allow veterans to view, schedule and cancel their appointments. It also allows them to track the status of requested appointments. It is currently being tested in select locations, but VA expects the app to be available to all veterans by 2017.