Recruitment & Relocation Incentive Waivers

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final regulation that allows agencies to waive the limits on relocation and recruitment incentive payments. A relocation or recruitment incentive is an extra payment made by the government to a current or new employee, in order to incentivize that person to either accept a job or relocate with their current job. Previously, agencies had to request permission from OPM to make these payments in amounts above certain thresholds. Agencies can now approve these higher payment amounts internally. Specifically, "agencies will have the authority to waive the normal limits and approve a recruitment or relocation incentive of up to 50 percent of an employee's annual rate of basic pay times the number of years in a service agreement (not to exceed 100 percent of annual basic pay), based on a critical agency need." Waivers (i.e., permission) from OPM are still required above that threshold.

OPM provided templates that agencies can use to request waivers of the limits on recruitment or relocation incentive payments. Whether the higher payment is approved within the agency or by OPM, the agency must show that there is a critical agency need, and that the incentive is necessary to fill (or maintain the employee in) the position. Employees who accept these incentive payments generally have to agree to work for the agency for a certain period of time. This regulation also gives agencies the ability to shorten the period of time that such employees must work after accepting the incentive payment. This change occurred in the context of President Trump's statements that he wants to move large numbers of positions out of the Washington D.C. area to places, as he put it "filled with patriots who love America."