Posted on 11/02/2013 11:06:57 AM PDT by Kid Shelleen
Federal employees at the Department of Homeland Security call it the “candy bowl” — a longtime pot of overtime money they have dipped into to pad their pay, even if they haven't earned it, whistleblowers say. The practice, which can add up to 25 percent to a paycheck, has become so routine over the last generation that it's often held out as a perk when government managers try to recruit new employees, according to the accounts.
(Excerpt) Read more at triblive.com ...
Just what terrorism has this colony of leeches prevented? What a cushy refuge from real work!
Homeland Job Security is more like it. Federal “workers” stretches the meaning of work. Unethical, low integrity grifters.
I well remember when W established this utterly useless new bureaucracy, and the Dems would only sign off if all the employees were unionized.
This issue may have some back room political maneuvers to it. A couple years ago CBP management pushed for and got approved a grade increase for all journeymen CBP Officers and Border Patrol Agents. They went up to a GS-12, still on AUO. This pushed most of the upper grades in those organizations up a grade, as well. This has caused a bit of misbalance in pay in that many line CBPOs can make more than their immediate supervisors due to AUO rules. They are also paying $90k+ for people with no specialized skills or experience who manage to show up on time, don't lose their gun, and have a pulse.
CBP management has been pushing for a conversion of these employees to Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP), like most other federal law enforcement are on. LEAP pays 10 hours of straight time per week, without having to account for it. That is cheaper than ten hours of AUO. If you took the grade increase and the conversion to LEAP those employees would still be ahead, but because the two moves have been separated by time the unions are going to fight it tooth and nail. When the sequester hit, AUO got cut and BP screamed. That was short lived because the April CR included a deal to restore CBP funding.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.