Retention Pay to Be Cut at Bureau of Prisons as Agency Blames Congress
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is about to cut pay for over 20,000 employees, enhancing a staffing crisis that’s been going on for years at the agency.
Workers were told that retention pay, used to get workers on the job at understaffed facilities, will be cut starting March 23, 2025. At some facilities the retention pay will be reduced, while at others the pay will be eliminated altogether.
Retention pay currently varies between ten and 25 percent of base pay. At one prison, the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn in New York, employees receive 35 percent retention pay, after a federal judge intervened following reports of poor conditions.
About 23,000 workers, or roughly half the current BOP workforce, receive the retention pay.
Blaming Congress
BOP blames the upcoming pay cut on Congressional inaction, saying operating under a continuing resolution is crimping the agency’s budget.
“This action is being taken as part of an effort to address a significant budget shortfall,” said BOP spokesman Donald Murphy in a statement. “This decision was not made lightly, and we recognize the financial hardship this may cause for employees who rely on those incentives.”
Congress is still trying to hammer out full-year spending bills, and the agency notes that salaries are up 7.2 percent due to mandatory pay raises, without any new funding.
Regardless, the move was slammed by labor groups.
“Our members are working in extremely difficult and understaffed conditions. Removing or reducing retention pay is not just a financial blow, it’s a blow to morale,” said the Council of Prison Locals in a statement. “This decision is shortsighted and will only exacerbate the staffing crisis, leading to even more turnover, burnout and instability in addition to additional funding to fill overtime for the vacant positions.”
Resignations Start
And resignations are already happening.
The President of the Local 420 Union at FCC Hazelton Justin Tarovisky told WBOY in West Virginia that some workers already resigned at the Preston County maximum-security facility, including correctional officers and one member of its “severely understaffed” on-site health services department.
“The public needs to know how serious these cuts in retentions have caused for our members,” said Tarovisky, who also asked the public to reach out to Members of Congress on the issue.
It was a similar story from Aaron McGlothlin, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1237, representing staff at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Mendota, a medium-security prison in California.
McGlothin said that when the warden broke the news about the pay cuts, “People ended up just leaving and going home, because they were sick to their stomachs. [I’ve] already had five correctional officers tell me that they’re going to leave. We could lose a minimum of 10% at our already understaffed facility.”