Rep. Jason Chaffetz on Monday introduced legislation that would stop federal workers from receiving paid leave for months and sometimes even years after being removed from their jobs for disciplinary reasons.
The Utah Republican chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and on Tuesday morning, his committee considered his new Administrative Leave Reform Act. The committee didn’t approve it then, as Chaffetz indicated that a tweak needed to be made to ensure federal workers are given due process in the course of limiting their paid leave.
Still, Chaffetz also indicated his bill would soon be marked up by his committee, which has run into numerous examples of abuse of paid leave over the last few years. That includes former IRS employee Lois Lerner, who Republicans say directed the IRS targeting scandal. “She sat on administrative leave for four months before retiring,” Chaffetz said during the committee meeting.
He said an EPA official who was known to be watching pornography from his work computer was given administrative leave for a full year. And he noted that many Department of Veterans Affairs officials involved in the healthcare scandal or other scandals have been given paid leave.
Most recently at the VA, officials announced that an official charged with seven counts of sexual assault was still getting paid.
“Abuse of administrative leave is a problem,” he said. Chaffetz’s bill would only give workers 14 days of paid leave per year.
“During any calendar year, an employee may not be placed on administrative leave, or any other paid non-duty status without charge to leave, for more than 14 total days for reasons relating to misconduct or performance,” his bill states.
It will allow longer paid leave status for reasons other than misconduct or performance.
In 2013, the Government Accountability Office found that the federal government spends about $1 billion per year on paid leave.
Read his bill here:
