United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-03-01 monographic deposited born digital 47 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-296 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296 P0b002ee18039fd6b f:d02296 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296 GAO-02-296 Civilian employees Temporary employment Fringe benefits Labor force Private sector practices Personnel management Federal employees Thrift Savings Plan OPM Central Personnel Data File Other Written Product A02816 In the early 1990s, concerns arose that federal agencies were retaining employees in an ongoing series of temporary appointments without benefits or tenure. For fiscal years 1991 through 2000, 10 agencies accounted for 90 percent of all temporary limited employees hired governmentwide. During this period, the number of temporary limited employees hired governmentwide declined by about 47 percent--from 282,135 in fiscal year 1991 to 150,395 in fiscal year 2000. Most temporary limited employees were full-time hires in white-collar jobs who received some benefits, including annual pay adjustments and premium pay. A survey done at the 10 agencies indicated that seasonal work was the primary reason for using such employees, followed by peak workloads. The office automation clerical and assistance series was the most often reported occupational series for fiscal year 2000. Recent studies indicate that federal agencies and private sector firms generally use temporary employees for similar reasons--often staffing flexibility. Because temporary limited employees were serving for years under a series of temporary appointments without the benefits afforded other long-term employees, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) revised its regulations in 1994 to ensure that temporary employees were "used to meet truly short-term needs." The revised regulations created a two-year limit for individual temporary appointments in both the competitive and excepted service. OPM officials said that the Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness (OMSOE), when assessing agencies' compliance with personnel laws and regulations, routinely included some individual temporary appointments in its periodic oversight reviews, but generally did not look at the work history of temporary limited employees in those appointments. Data in OPM's central personal data file show that many temporary limited employees hired in fiscal year 2000 had already worked for the federal government for at least five years. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296.pdf GAO-02-296 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-296 Other Written Product GAO-02-296; Federal Employees: OPM Data Do Not Identify if Temporary Employees Work for Extended Periods; Civilian employees Temporary employment Fringe benefits Labor force Private sector practices Personnel management Federal employees Thrift Savings Plan OPM Central Personnel Data File