Senators Introduce Bill to Cut Down on Paid Administrative Leave at Federal Agencies, Protect Taxpayers, Whistleblower Employees

Statement

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) and Tom Carper (D-Delaware) have introduced legislation to define the conditions for federal agency use of paid administrative leave in statute for the first time. The Administrative Leave Act of 2016 will cut down on excessive, abusive, expensive leave and protect whistleblower employees who are put on leave in retaliation for their actions.

"There's a Wild West environment among agencies on paid administrative leave," said Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. "Some agencies use it too much, and the taxpayers get short-changed. The statutory and regulatory vacuum on the use of paid leave has contributed to this problem. Congress is stepping in with legislation to fill the void. Our bill puts strict limits on administrative leave. It makes clear when other forms of paid leave are allowable and when employees should be on the job instead. Paid leave shouldn't be a crutch for management to avoid making tough personnel decisions or a club for wrongdoers to use against whistleblowers."

"Paying government employees to stay at home not only robs taxpayers of millions of dollars each year, it allows agencies to drag their feet in taking disciplinary action," said Johnson, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "The Department of Homeland Security is one of the worst offenders, leaving some employees on paid leave for one, two, even three years. This bill forces government agencies to complete timely investigations and make fair decisions, and it mandates real accountability and transparency to Congress. I am pleased that after months of hard work, we have a bipartisan, commonsense product that will save American taxpayers millions of dollars every year."

"It's important for federal agencies, employees, and taxpayers to have clarity on what paid administrative leave can and should be used for," said Carper, ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "The current catch-all use of this term creates ambiguity that has led to misuse and abuse. There have been instance of supervisors using administrative leave to push people out of their jobs without due process and placing others on extended administrative leave while under investigation for wrongdoing -- essentially getting paid to not work. This common-sense, bipartisan legislation will help agencies better account for various types of excused absences and better protect federal employees and taxpayers alike from abuse and misuse of the system."

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