Last year, Senator Grassley released the results of his investigation into federal agencies’ use of paid administrative leave and endorsed the report’s recommendations to rein in overuse of the largely unproductive, expensive practice. Grassley then sponsored legislation to reform federal paid leave and put a cap on the practice. Following Senate passage, the Grassley legislation is now headed to President Obama’s desk for his signature. Yesterday, Grassley welcomed the passage of the reforms limiting paid administrative leave.
From today’s Washington Post: “…an investigation by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) found that the government’s largest agencies paid out more than $80 million in 2014 for thousands of employees to sit home for a month and longer while they faced allegations of misconduct. ‘Paid leave shouldn’t be a crutch for management to avoid making tough personnel decisions or a club for wrongdoers to use against whistleblowers,’ Grassley, one of the legislation’s four Senate sponsors, said in a statement.” (Lisa Rein, “Sidelined federal workers used to get paid indefinitely. Congress just capped it at 10 days.,” Washington Post, 12/9/16)
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