Federal government workers were paid $175 million in 2016 to do work on behalf of their unions rather than their regular taxpayer-funded duties, according to a new report from the Office of Personnel Management.
These federal officials were working on what is dubbed “official time,” which is time workers use to handle things like collective bargaining or worker grievances. The Trump administration has indicated that it intends to crack down on official time.
The report found that the practice had grown considerably in final years of President Barack Obama’s administration. The total taxpayer-funded costs for official time hours used by bargaining unit employees increased over a two-year period by 7.55 percent over the $162 million spent in 2014. In those years, the total number of official time hours increased from 3.5 million to 3.6 million.
The report said in one case, a registered nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs spent 100 percent of her time doing official time.
“The data shows that taxpayer funded official time is at a steady increase. This administration is passionate about protecting hardworking Americans and the use of their tax dollars. OPM will continue useful practices for monitoring and reporting on the use of official time and sharing these practices across the government to assist agencies in strengthening internal controls and increasing transparency, accountability and accuracy,” said OPM Director Jeff Pon.
Official time was first allowed under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act and is essentially viewed as a trade-off for certain limitations put on federal unions, such as prohibitions on striking. Its use is widespread, particularly at the VA.
A 2017 report by the General Accounting Office found that 346 VA employees spent 100 percent of their time on official time. A 2016 report by the Social Security Administration identified another 15. A FOIA request by the conservative group Americans for Limited Government the same year found another 155 such workers at 11 other federal agencies.
