Q. If a government employee receives a Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay and goes to work a month later for a personal service contractor, is that person subject to repaying the $25,000? If so, who can one contact about repaying it or reporting others who have accepted the VSIPs and went to work for government contractors without paying the $25,000 back?
A. According to Office of Personnel Management, “An employee who receives a VSIP and later accepts employment for compensation with the government of the United States within five years of the date of the separation on which the VSIP is based, including work under a personal services contract or other direct contract, must repay the entire amount of the VSIP to the agency that paid it — before the individual’s first day of re-employment.
“If the proposed employment is with an agency other than the General Accounting Office, the United States Postal Service, or the Postal Rate Commission, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may, at the request of the head of the agency, waive the repayment if:
1. The proposed re-employment is with an executive branch agency;
2. The individual involved possesses unique abilities and is the only qualified applicant available for the position; or
3. In case of emergency involving a direct threat to life or property, the individual:
a. Has skills directly related to resolving the emergency; and
b. Will serve on a temporary basis only as long as the individual’s services are made necessary by the emergency.”
I’m not aware of anyone you could contact about who has received VSIPs and gone back to work for the government.