House Gives Federal Workers Credit for Unused Sick Leave at Retirement

The following information is from NAGE's Featured News webpage:

Washington, D.C.—This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (HR 1108). Included in the bill is a provision establishing a benefit for unused sick leave for federal retirees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The language in the bill is similar to HR 5573, a bill introduced in the House by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) that NAGE/SEIU has supported.

“For many years, federal employees under FERS have been getting the short end of the stick by getting no credit for unused sick leave at retirement” said NAGE Federal Director Gina Lightfoot-Walker. “We are pleased to see Congress finally provide a benefit to federal workers for good attendance. Because this benefit encourages better attendance and government efficiency, both federal workers and tax-payers benefit.”

In the current system, federal workers under FERS do not receive compensation for residual sick leave when retiring, whereas their counterparts under the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) have this time factored into their annual retirement annuity. This language would give FERS retirees equal treatment in calculating their unused sick leave benefit. As well as promoting fundamental fairness in the federal retirement process, this reform also serves to incentivize the judicious use of sick leave, saving an untold amount of taxpayer dollars in lost production. This benefit is also more generous to federal retirees than the one proposed in HR 5573.

HR 1108 will now move to the Senate for consideration.