{"id":81469,"date":"2025-08-14T06:02:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T06:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/81469\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T06:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T06:02:14","slug":"guidance-on-awards-covers-a-range-of-scenarios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/81469\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidance on Awards Covers a Range of Scenarios"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\tAgencies may pay \u201cspecial act\u201d awards at any time of the year to recognize a \u201cspecial act or service in the public interest related to official employment or a suggestion, invention, or superior accomplishment.\t\t\t\t\t Image: William Sawalich\/Shutterstock.com
\n\t\t\t\tBy: FEDweek Staff<\/a><\/p>\n

New OPM guidance to agencies on awards (see related story<\/a>) covers a range of scenarios, from individual to group awards, from cash to other forms of recognition, and from senior to non-senior positions.<\/p>\n

A memo on chcoc.gov\u2014which says it \u201csupersedes all previously-issued awards guidance\u201d\u2014sets standards including that:<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 For career employees, including SES and senior professional (SP) employees, agencies should designate at least 60 percent of available money for performance-based awards for those rated at Level 4 or Level 5. Fewer employees will receive those ratings under earlier guidance, meaning that awards to those who do receive them will be greater, it said. Those rated at Level 3 (fully successful) remain eligible but those rated at Level 1 and 2 are not.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 Agencies may pay within-grade increases, also called quality step increases, only to those rated at the top level of their rating system and no more frequently than once every 52 weeks.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 For career SES and SP employees, agencies may increase their basic pay if their \u201cindividual performance and\/or contribution to agency performance warrants such an increase.\u201d Presidential Rank Awards for SES and SP employees\u2014bonuses worth up to 35 percent of salary\u2014which have been suspended for this year, will return in 2026.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 Agencies may pay \u201cspecial act\u201d awards at any time of the year to recognize a \u201cspecial act or service in the public interest related to official employment or a suggestion, invention, or superior accomplishment. Agencies are highly encouraged to reward employees who identify fraud, waste, or abuse within government contracts or processes and, more generally, who identify actionable opportunities for the government to increase its operational efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 Instead of a ratings-based cash award, agencies may consider offering non SES\/SP employees a time-off award, which \u201cmay be more incentivizing for certain employees than a monetary bonus.\u201d Political appointees are eligible for time-off awards even though they are not eligible for monetary awards.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 Group incentive programs can cover groups as large as an entire agency or as small as a work unit or team; they must include \u201cclear goals (which may be quantitative or qualitative); a specified performance period (including defined timeframes); understandable payout formulas; and clear communication to employees regarding the program.\u201d Further guidance is to come on \u201cgainsharing and goalsharing\u201d programs in which employees as a group receive part of the savings from productivity gains or reduced spending.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 Agencies are encouraged to use non-monetary recognition programs such as a \u201cSecretary\u2019s Award\u201d or \u201cDirector\u2019s Award\u201d for \u201cindividual and team accomplishments identified by the agency\u2019s senior leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several Federal Agencies Disavow Union Contracts, with More Likely to Follow<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Only High Performers\u2019 Should Receive Awards, Agencies Told<\/a><\/p>\n

OPM Quietly Ends Its Role in \u2018Five Things\u2019 Reporting<\/a><\/p>\n

COVID Vaccination Data to Be Deleted from Federal Personnel Records<\/a><\/p>\n

Numbers, Impact of Federal Job Cuts Draw Increasing Scrutiny<\/a><\/p>\n

OPM Limits Length of Paid Leave in Reorgs\u2014Starting Next Year<\/a><\/p>\n

See also,<\/p>\n

What to Know About the New Federal Application Process<\/a><\/p>\n

Top 10 Provisions in the Big Beautiful Bill of Interest to Federal Employees<\/a><\/p>\n

A Pre-RIF Checklist for Every Federal Employee, From a Federal Employment Attorney<\/a><\/p>\n

Work Longer or Take the FERS Supplement Now: Which is Better?<\/a><\/p>\n

Doubling Your TSP (C Fund vs G Fund)<\/a><\/p>\n

Primer: Early out, buyout, reduction in force (RIF)<\/a><\/p>\n

2025 Federal Employees Handbook<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Agencies may pay \u201cspecial act\u201d awards at any time of the year to recognize a \u201cspecial act or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,147,530],"class_list":["post-81469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}