U.S. Pays $400 Million in Bonuses to Federal Employees

biggovernment .com ^ | June 14, 2010 | Publius

[PROCON]

The Obama Administration handed out more than $400 million in awards to federal employees last year, up by more than $80 million from the prior year, according to new government data.

The biggest winners were air traffic controllers and top managers in Washington, a review of fiscal year 2009 salary reports from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management showed.

OPM’s data, obtained by the Asbury Park Press through a freedom of information request, account for 1.3 million employees, or about 65 percent of the federal civilian work force.

[muawiyah]

There are two major categories of federal employees. First we have federal employees that work for the traditional line agencies. The majority of jobs require a college education. In some departments it's the OVERWHELMING majority of jobs that require a college education, and some agencies require ADVANCED degrees.

Secondly we have USPS employees ~ about 1/3 of the federal workforce. Having gone over the data in the past it's pretty obvious that the average postal worker is a cut above the average. First of all, USPS does not, nor has it ever, nor did its predecessor, tolerate CRIMINAL RECORDS of any kind.

Secondly, the average age of entry for USPS employees is something like 38 years of age (consistent with retired military who have, at times, constituted as much as 1/3 of the workforce).

Your other federal employees enter service at about age 35 ~ and are heavily front loaded with college degrees of all sorts.

Used to be a lot of secretaries and clerk typists with just high school educations but computers have pretty much disposed of those jobs.

Given the heavy reliance the government places on computer systems, a large number of employees are involved directly in the management of computer systems, or managing computer system contractors.

For all practical purposes the federal workforce has been fairly steady since Eisenhower left office.

State governments are typically quite different in their employment patterns.

[Flying Circus]

Please note I used plural in discussing family at the post office. My grandfather and one aunt retired from there, another aunt still works there as a supervisor and a third aunt doesn’t work there anymore. Cameras may catch what happens, but that doesn’t mean it stops it from happening. As long as the person has the right connections in management, most anything goes.

Need I mention that I come from a family of big union liberals? These folks like working at the post office and the aunt who still works there has the attitude that is what goes on in any work place. And before you say it is just the office she works at, she has been a sup in 2 states and 4 locations over 20 years.

As one who works in private industry, yes managers get complaints but not all of them on a weekly basis. Also we cannot disturb the work place with our speech, and especially cannot use derogatory, sexual and racial language- federal law demands they not allow it.

[businessprofessor]

The federal workforce seems similar to the administrative and professional workforces in K-12 and universities (excluding faculty). Higher education levels translate into larger surplus deferred compensation. You seem to indicate that higher education levels reduces surplus deferred compensation. My studies indicate otherwise.

Federal workers receive large amounts of retirement compensation, much more that typical private sector counter parts. Federal workers enjoy subsidized early retirement, a benefit becoming rare in the private sector. The taxpayer directly contributes 22.4% for retirement compensation but the FERS portion is worth considerably more than the combined portion of the retirement contribution given the benefit rate, early retirement option, supplemental Social Security, and COLA. Your FERS benefits are about the same as the FRS plan plus you have the supplemental Social Security benefits and the more generous COLA. There is substantial surplus deferred compensation in both groups of my samples for long term employees (25+ years of service) and non long term employees (25- years of service).

You are attempting to downplay the value of your retirement compensation. I see this ploy by other public employees also as they scream poor man before demanding that taxpayers increase employer contributions.

[muawiyah]

Look, I managed to get four different retirements. Most folks only get one. Any one of them is decent.

However, I spent 40 years in the federal service at a decent grade. My contribution of after tax income if put into T-bills over my period of service would have resulted in a sum of money sufficient to pay my retirement to date, and for the next century (if I could live that long).

But we are not talking about individuals but statistical aggregates. No matter what the plan requires in terms of contributions, the payout for your after federal employee is going to be based on 20 years, more or less, not 40!

I also gave up nearly one year's worth of sick leave to retire when I wanted to retire. Over all the years I worked I never missed an assigned work day ~ that's called "perfect attendance". What is amazing is that for all my interest in the retirement system I missed the implementation of the "perfect attendance" certificate!

Darn. Just Darn.

[muawiyah]

You can't sexually harrass people in the federal workplace either but you can't prohibit people from complaining.

One of the USPS facilities (Brooklyn Main Post Office) at one time accounted for about half of the EEOC and contract violation cases in the entire country.

I believe the APWU President worked there (Moe Biller) ~ something like that.

No doubt people transferring out of Moe's personal hell on earth probably turned the switch on that sorting belt that cut the guy's head off.

Brooklyn is bizarre anyway ~ always was and always will be.

BTW, there's what they call "protective coloration". Some people think they have to cover up their conservative natures in the workplace with pro-Democrat stuff. Your relatives may be more mouth than conviction.

[ODC-GIRL]

You are right, of course. Painted with too broad a brush!

[SunkenCiv]

/bingo

[WOBBLY BOB]

Federal workers earning double their private counterparts

Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm

...and the hits just keep coming

*Federal workers earning double their private counterparts*

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm