HHS to withhold some bonus pay earned by laid-off employees

[ad_1] The Division of Well being and Human Providers has determined to successfully block the payout of overdue bonuses to lots of its laid-off staff, a number of well being officers say. The bonuses had been tied to excessive efficiency by the employees final yr, earlier than they had been reduce from the division.

"If the financial savings from the layoffs had been pennies from the HHS funds, that is hundredths of a penny," one present federal well being company worker mentioned of the transfer.

Whereas bonus funds often exit in April to high-performing federal staff, the division had stalled them from being deposited. Now payouts are scheduled to exit after June 2, beneath the brand new choice.

This timing prevents the cash from being paid out to individuals who had been laid off or took buyouts or early retirement. A lot of the staff laid off on the division are nonetheless on paid depart beneath federal insurance policies, forward of an official "separation" date scheduled for June 2.

"We apologize to these of you who had been anticipating bonuses and really want we might have delivered them," human sources officers wrote to the employees of 1 HHS company, in an e mail obtained by CBS Information.

An attraction sought by some company officers was "unsuccessful in having it overturned," in response to the e-mail.

"That is f****d up. They labored onerous all final yr for these awards," a federal well being company worker mentioned in a message.

The choice applies to all companies and divisions that depend on the division's central human sources workplace, the Staffing and Recruitment Operations Middle, beneath Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

This contains laid-off staff of the Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Providers Administration, in addition to numerous standalone workplaces throughout the division.

A handful of bigger companies the place human sources workplaces usually are not instantly managed by the division, like on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, had been in a position to pay out the bonuses.

Alexander Tin

Alexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS Information primarily based within the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers federal public well being companies.