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GGD-94-197R 1 (1994-08-17)

handle is hein.gao/gaobackqg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 152315; United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 General Government Division B-258145 August 17, 1994 The Honorable Neal Smith Acting Chairman Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter responds to House Report 103-553 wherein we were requested to review the Department of Education's policies and procedures in implementing the voluntary separation incentives, commonly called buyouts, authorized by the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-226). The Act authorizes payments of up to $25,000 to encourage employees to leave federal service voluntarily, and requires a governmentwide reduction of full time equivalent positions (referred to as FTE offsets) equal to the number of buyouts accepted. We were asked to determine whether the buyouts met the requirements and purpose of the Act. The Committee was concerned that the Department allowed about 390 employees--approximately 8 percent of its workforce--to take early retirement along with the buyout payment even though this staffing reduction far exceeded the reduction of 225 positions required of the Department in the President's personnel plan. The Committee noted that many of the vacancies created by these retirements would have to be backfilled by new hires negating much of the savings. To meet the Committee's request, we reviewed pertinent documentation including the requirements of the Act, and interviewed responsible officials at the Department of Education and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 27, 1994, we briefed the Subcommittee on the results of our work. This letter summarizes the information presented at that meeting. RESULTS IN BRIEF The Department of Education's use of the federal buyout authority during April and May 1994 complied with the Workforce Restructuring Act and OMB guidance. According to

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