New Rules on 3Rs

The Office of Personnel Management on Friday issued proposed regulations that would overhaul the way agencies use the 3Rs -- recruitment, retention and relocation incentives.

The proposed rules, published in the Federal Register, require agencies to review group recruitment and all retention incentives at least annually to determine whether they should be changed or discontinued based on hiring trends.

OPM initiated a review of the program in 2010 because of concerns about the continued growth of 3Rs payments given recent labor market conditions. Between 2007 and 2008, for example, the total number of incentives paid increased by more than 21 percent, and the total incentive cost increased by more than 37 percent.

The rules propose modifying the recruitment incentive program by requiring each agency to review each decision to target a specific group of similar positions at least annually to determine whether such positions are still difficult to fill. If the position is no longer difficult to fill, the agency may no longer offer the incentive, the rules state. This differs from current regulations, which allow agencies to offer recruitment incentives to employees in positions that have been difficult to fill in the past or are likely to be difficult to fill in the future.

On retention incentives, the new rules would add a requirement that agencies review each determination to pay a retention incentive, even if that incentive is not associated with a current service agreement. OPM also proposed that agencies begin including succession plans in their efforts to review retention incentives.

The rules also propose modifying the relocation incentive program, which is currently offered to employees who must relocate to accept a position in a different geographic area. The new rules would require that an employee maintain residency in the new geographic area for the duration of the service agreement, or face termination of the incentive agreement.

What are your thoughts on the new rules? Past reports have shown a large number of these incentives going to IT workers and managers. Will the new rules mean less incentives for such workers in the future?