“A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to improve recruitment and retention of Federal correctional officers, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes special base rates of pay for Federal correctional officers (i.e., Bureau of Prisons employees whose duties primarily involve inmate custody, control, supervision, or direct contact in custodial settings) by inserting new section 5332b in 5 U.S.C. ch. 53, subch. III. (1) For officers paid under the General Schedule or law enforcement officer special base rates, the special base rate replaces the applicable base rate, equals 35% above that base rate (rounded to the nearest dollar), and is capped at level V of the Executive Schedule. (Thus, it counts as basic pay for locality pay, premium pay, and retirement.) (2) For prevailing rate (i.e., Federal Wage System) employees up to grade 9 with comparable inmate-contact duties, it directs the Attorney General to increase wage rates by 35%, capped at the annualized level IV Executive Schedule rate. (Thus, the increased rate counts as basic pay.)
This section establishes a sunset, 5 years after enactment, for the special base pay rates for federal correctional officers (i.e., Bureau of Prisons employees performing correctional duties) and related pay authorities added by section 2, subject to subsection (c). Not later than 180 days before that sunset date, the Department of Justice Inspector General must review and report to Congress on (1) the Bureau of Prisons' progress in reducing or eliminating the use of non-custodial staff for correctional duties (known as "augmentation") and in reducing excessive mandatory overtime; and (2) the pay rates' impact on recruitment, retention, and institutional safety. If the Inspector General determines measurable progress on eliminating augmentation and reducing overtime, the sunset has no force or effect, and the pay authorities continue indefinitely.