§ 10104 — Recruitment Bonuses

(a) The Administrator may pay a bonus to an individual in order to recruit the individual for a position within the Agency that would otherwise be difficult to fill in the absence of such a bonus. Upon completion of the strategic human capital plan, such bonuses shall be paid in accordance with that plan. (1) The amount of a bonus under this section shall be determined by the Administrator, but may not exceed 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of the position involved. (2) A bonus under this section shall be paid in the form of a lump-sum payment and shall not be considered to be part of basic pay. (c) Payment of a bonus under this section shall be contingent upon the employee entering into a written service agreement with the Agency. The agreement shall include— (1) the period of service the individual shall be required to complete in return for the bonus; and (2) the conditions under which the agreement may be terminated before the agreed-upon service period has been completed, and the effect of the termination. (d) A bonus under this section may not be paid to an individual who is appointed to or holds— (1) a position to which an individual is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; (2) a position in the Senior Executive Service as a noncareer appointee (as defined in section 3132(a)); or (3) a position which has been excepted from the competitive service by reason of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character. (e) The authority to pay bonuses under this section shall terminate 5 years after the date of enactment of this chapter. (1) The Agency shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, annually for each of the 5 years during which this section is in effect, a report on the operation of this section. (2) Each report submitted under this subsection shall include, with respect to the period covered by such report, a description of how the authority to pay bonuses under this section was used by the Agency, including— (A) the number and dollar amount of bonuses paid to individuals holding positions within each pay grade, pay level, or other pay classification; and (B) a determination of the extent to which such bonuses furthered the purposes of this section.