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OPM plans to spend nearly $42 million to relocate a few hundred employees
The Office of Personnel Management faces a steep bill for employee relocation expenses, as it plans to bring staff working remotely back to the office.As part of its return-to-office plans, OPM is planning to spend nearly $42 million to relocate approximately 250 employees — spending about $166,000 per employee.The relocation cost per employee is higher than the annual salary of most federal employees, according to recent data analysis from the Pew Research Center. It also exceeds the maximum salary a career federal employee can receive under the General Schedule pay scale (not including locality pay). An OPM spokesperson declined a request for comment.OPM will pay certain mandatory relocation expenses. But the agency told employees in an April 4 email, first reported by Federal News Network, that “it is unlikely we will have the financial resources to relocate a significant number of employees who are greater than 50 miles from an OPM site.”In February, OPM gave an ultimatum to remote employees who are more than 50 miles away from the office: relocate within commuting distance of OPM office space or accept termination from their jobs.OPM gave employees in this situation until March 7 to make their decision or to request an exemption from the return-to-office mandate.According to a recent memo obtained by Federal News Network, 550 OPM employees — nearly 20% of its workforce — received this ultimatum, which the agency calls a “management-directed reassignment.” About 442 of those employees remained at the agency after OPM offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) to reduce its headcount.According to the latest federal workforce data, OPM had about 3,000 total employees, as of September 2024.OPM told remote employees it would cover certain relocation expenses. In total, 393 employees — about 89% of the remaining personnel who received a “management-directed reassignment” — requested relocation pay.In a March 26 memo to acting OPM Director Charles Ezell, the agency’s chief human capital officer said OPM would be paying $65.6 million to relocate these employees — approximately $167,000 per employee.To reduce those costs, OPM’s HR office is planning to exempt 142 remote employees from return-to-office requirements and reassign another 13 employees to facilities closer to their homes.OPM Chief Human Capital Officer Carmen Garcia told Ezell these exemptions would cut the agency’s relocation expenses by $23.7 million.“The exempted employees would receive a time-limited exemption to continue remote work, or in limited cases, routine telework,” Garcia wrote.Under this revised plan, OPM would spend about $41.9 million to relocate approximately 251 employees — spending about $166,533 per employee. However, Garcia said some employees would receive an “indefinite exemption” from return-to-office plans.OPM will grant indefinite exemptions as a reasonable accommodation for a medical condition or disability, and to employees who are the spouses of active-duty service members or veterans with 100% disability ratings from the Department of Veterans Affairs.The agency will also grant exemptions in cases where an OPM is married to a federal employee working at another agency and has been assigned to work in another geographic region.The memo states OPM will grant return-to-office exemptions under several other “compelling” circumstances. The agency will grant exemptions to disabled veterans and employees with a “rare skillset” needed for business operations and cross-government services.OPM will also grant exemptions to employees “facing significant personal and family hardship” — such as caring for a terminally ill relative in the immediate family, managing critical caregiving responsibilities, and other “extraordinary circumstances that pose severe emotional, physical, or financial burdens.”OPM approved about half of all “compelling” exemption requests. Garcia said OPM received 279 “compelling” exemption requests in total, but associated directors and office heads approved 172 of those requests in an initial review of applications. Garcia wrote that her office did a second pass on those applications and brought the exemption total down to 142.https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2025/04/opm-plans-to-spend-nearly-42-million-to-relocate-a-few-hundred-employees/
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