Senate Places Limit on Administrative Leave
Republicans and Democrats have come to a rare agreement concerning Federal Employees on Wednesday, passing a bill that will ultimately cut back the use of “Administrative Leave.”
“Administrative Leave,” is paid time off that does not subtract from vacation days, sick days, or other forms of leave. While there are many reasons this leave can be issued, it is often used as a suspension of sorts in order to get an employee away from the workplace until an official punishment, if any, is handed down.
“While administrative leave may be appropriate under various circumstances,” OPM Director Katherine Archuleta stated, “supervisors often place employees on administrative leave rather than utilizing other options that may be more appropriate.” (Such as a reassignment or indefinite suspension.)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is co-sponsoring the bill, released a report late in 2015 saying that 17 separate agencies spent more than $80 million paying employees on administrative leave for a month or more in 2014, and that their stated reasons for doing so sometimes were vague. “Agencies need to do a better job of protecting the taxpayers from abusively long or inappropriate paid leave,” Grassley said. Lowering the amount spent and holding agencies more accountable for the reasons they issue these leaves are two of the top focuses of this bill.
“Taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill when federal employees are sent home for lengthy periods of time,” said co-sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) while he was introducing it at the end of January. “This bill reduces government waste and holds federal agencies accountable while protecting the rights of workers.”
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the bill on Wednesday with a voice vote.
