Sec. 132. U.S. Customs and Border Protection retention incentives
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In this section: The term covered area means a geographic area that the Secretary determines is in a remote location or is an area for which it is difficult to find full-time permanent covered CBP employees, as compared to other ports of entry or Border Patrol sectors. The term covered CBP employee means an employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection performing activities that are critical to border security or customs enforcement, as determined by the Commissioner. The term rate of basic pay — means the rate of pay fixed by law or administrative action for the position to which an employee is appointed before deductions and including any special rate under subpart C of part 530 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or similar payment under other legal authority, and any locality-based comparability payment under subpart F of part 531 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or similar payment under other legal authority, but excluding additional pay of any other kind; and does not include additional pay, such as night shift differentials under section 5343(f) of title 5, United States Code, or environmental differentials under section 5343(c)(4) of such title.
The term special rate of pay means a higher than normal rate of pay that exceeds the otherwise applicable rate of basic pay for a similar covered CBP employee at a land port of entry. To the extent necessary for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, and deploy qualified officers and employees, and to the extent necessary to meet the requirements set forth in section 131, the Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary, may pay a hiring bonus of $10,000 to a covered CBP employee, after the covered CBP completes initial basic training and executes a written agreement required under paragraph (2).
The payment of a hiring bonus to a covered CBP employee under paragraph
(1)is contingent upon the covered CBP employee entering into a written agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to complete more than two years of employment with U.S. Customs and Border Protection beginning on the date on which the agreement is signed. Such agreement shall include— the amount of the hiring bonus; the conditions under which the agreement may be terminated before the required period of service is completed and the effect of such termination; the length of the required service period; and any other terms and conditions under which the hiring bonus is payable, subject to the requirements under this section. A signing bonus paid to a covered CBP employee under paragraph
(1)shall be paid in a single payment after the covered CBP employee completes initial basic training and enters on duty and executed the agreement under paragraph (2). A signing bonus paid to a covered CBP employee under paragraph
(1)shall not be considered part of the rate of basic pay of the covered CBP employee for any purpose. This subsection shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall remain in effect until the earlier of— September 30, 2019; or the date on which U.S. Customs and Border Protection has 26,370 full-time equivalent agents. To the extent necessary for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to retain qualified employees, and to the extent necessary to meet the requirements set forth in section 131, the Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary, may pay a retention incentive to a covered CBP employee who has been employed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for a period of longer than two consecutive years, and the Commissioner determines that, in the absence of the retention incentive, the covered CBP employee would likely— leave the Federal service; or transfer to, or be hired into, a different position within the Department (other than another position in CBP). The payment of a retention incentive to a covered CBP employee under paragraph
(1)is contingent upon the covered CBP employee entering into a written agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to complete more than two years of employment with U.S. Customs and Border Protection beginning on the date on which the CBP employee enters on duty and the agreement is signed. Such agreement shall include— the amount of the retention incentive; the conditions under which the agreement may be terminated before the required period of service is completed and the effect of such termination; the length of the required service period; and any other terms and conditions under which the retention incentive is payable, subject to the requirements under this section. When determining the amount of a retention incentive paid to a covered CBP employee under paragraph (1), the Commissioner shall consider— the length of the Federal service and experience of the covered CBP employee; the salaries for law enforcement officers in other Federal agencies; and the costs of replacing the covered CBP employee, including the costs of training a new employee. A retention incentive paid to a covered CBP employee under paragraph (1)— shall be approved by the Secretary and the Commissioner; shall be stated as a percentage of the employee’s rate of basic pay for the service period associated with the incentive; and may not exceed $25,000 for each year of the written agreement. A retention incentive paid to a covered CBP employee under paragraph
(1)shall be paid as a single payment at the end of the fiscal year in which the covered CBP employee entered into an agreement under paragraph (2), or in equal installments during the life of the service agreement, as determined by the Commissioner. A retention incentive paid to a covered CBP employee under paragraph
(1)shall not be considered part of the rate of basic pay of the covered CBP employee for any purpose. The Commissioner may establish a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of using special rates of pay for covered CBP employees in covered areas, as designated on the date of the enactment of this Act, to help meet the requirements set forth in section 131. The rate of basic pay of a covered CBP employee paid a special rate of pay under the pilot program may not exceed 125 percent of the otherwise applicable rate of basic pay of the covered CBP employee. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the pilot program shall terminate on the date that is two years after the date of the enactment of this Act. If the Secretary determines that the pilot program is performing satisfactorily and there are metrics that prove its success in meeting the requirements set forth in section 131, the Secretary may extend the pilot program until the date that is four years after the date of the enactment of this Act. Shortly after the pilot program terminates under paragraph (3), the Commissioner shall submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate , the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate , the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives , and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that details— the total amount paid to covered CBP employees under the pilot program; and the covered areas in which the pilot program was implemented. Section 101(b) of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 ( 8 U.S.C. 1711(b) ) is amended to read as follows: There are authorized to be appropriated to U.S. Customs and Border Protection such sums as may be necessary to increase, effective January 1, 2018, the annual rate of basic pay for U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees who have completed at least one year of service— to the annual rate of basic pay payable for positions at GS–12, step 1 of the General Schedule under subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, for officers and agents who are receiving the annual rate of basic pay payable for a position at GS–5, GS–6, GS–7, GS–8, or GS–9 of the General Schedule; to the annual rate of basic pay payable for positions at GS–12, step 10 of the General Schedule under such subchapter for supervisory CBP officers and supervisory agents who are receiving the annual rate of pay payable for a position at GS–10 of the General Schedule; to the annual rate of basic pay payable for positions at GS–14, step 1 of the General Schedule under such subchapter for supervisory CBP officers and supervisory agents who are receiving the annual rate of pay payable for a position at GS–11 of the General Schedule; to the annual rate of basic pay payable for positions at GS–12, step 10 of the General Schedule under such subchapter for supervisory CBP officers and supervisory Border Patrol agents who are receiving the annual rate of pay payable for a position at GS–12 or GS–13 of the General Schedule; and to the annual rate of basic pay payable for positions at GS–8, GS–9, or GS–10 of the General Schedule for assistants who are receiving an annual rate of pay payable for positions at GS–5, GS–6, or GS–7 of the General Schedule, respectively. . In addition to compensation to which Border Patrol agents are otherwise entitled, Border Patrol agents who are assigned to rural areas shall be entitled to receive hardship duty pay, in lieu of a retention incentive under subsection (b), in an amount determined by the Commissioner, which may not exceed the rate of special pay to which members of a uniformed service are entitled under section 310 of title 37, United States Code. Section 5(c)(1) of the Act of February 13, 1911 ( 19 U.S.C. 267(c)(1) ), is amended by striking $25,000 and inserting $45,000 .
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