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Employees with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) are set to get a lump sum payment equivalent to the cost-of-living adjustments federal employees receive.
The bill, which passed the House by voice vote Tuesday, provides GAO employees with retroactive pay for up to two years. Hundreds of employees in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 did not receive annual cost-of-living adjustments that are typically given to other federal agencies.
“GAO is pleased with the passage of the Government Accountability Office Act of 2008, which contains important human capital and administrative provisions to enhance GAO’s operations,” said Gene Dodaro, acting comptroller general of the GAO. “We look forward to implementing the act once it has been signed by the president.”
The annual cost-of-living adjustments for many GAO analysts, arbiters and investigators were done away with two years ago under the guidance of former GAO Comptroller General David Walker.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), counteracts Walker’s pay system changes, which were implemented after the GAO concluded, through an outside contractor, that it was overpaying some analysts for their work.
As a result, Walker implemented a “pay-for-performance” system that paid thousands of GAO employees based on a ranking system, in which they were rated against colleagues.
The pay system received much criticism over the years by members of Congress and GAO employees, who eventually formed a union aimed at voicing such grievances.
“While the bill represents a significant step forward … more work needs to be done at GAO,” Davis said on the floor. “Nevertheless [the bill] would help improve the morale at GAO and remedy the [cost-of-living] inequities.”
The bill also makes the GAO’s inspector general position permanent and requires federal agencies to reimburse the GAO for expenses incurred while auditing them.
Walker resigned earlier this year and Dodaro serves as the acting comptroller general while a permanent one is chosen. |
