Norton Bill Recoups Federal Benefits For Former D.C. Employees Now Under Federal Jurisdiction

Press Release

After years of working to restore retirement time lost by employees when their District agencies were transferred to federal jurisdiction, the House of Representatives today passed the final version of the Defense Authorization bill, which included Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's bill, which was H.R. 5600 in the 110th Congress, to correct the injustice. The bill, which was placed in the Conference Report of the Defense Authorization Act of 2010, is expected to be signed by President Obama, after final passage in the Senate. Norton has gotten the bill passed in the House before to correct the oversight that has seriously short-changed hundreds of employees who worked for the District of Columbia Courts, the Pretrial Services Agency, the Department of Corrections, and the Adult Probation and Parole Services before those agencies were transferred to federal authority under the 1997 Balanced Budget Reconciliation Act.

"Finally, employees who have been waiting years to retire, because they got no credit for time served, can exhale," Norton said. "They didn't seek a dime from the government. They sought only the years toward retirement, which employees value most. Although the blame lies entirely with the federal government, these former D.C. government employees could not retire when expected only because their agency fell under federal control, not because of any misstep on their part or on the part of the District government," Norton added. "Some of these employees have lost time that they cannot recoup, but this bill sets things right for them for now."

Many employees lost "creditable service" years towards their retirement because some of the years they worked in those District agencies prior to the federal transfers were not credited. The Norton provision allows time served by these employees before 1997 to count towards their overall retirement years of eligibility. Their D.C. retirement funds and federal retirement funds accumulated since joining the federal service have never been in doubt, Norton said. "The hold-out for years by the Bush Administration was a gratuitous injury to their employees."

The Congresswoman earlier this year had attached the District retirement restoration provision to the Tobacco/Thrift Savings Plan bill which passed in the House, but the attachment failed in the Senate. She then tried another gambit that looked promising, but also failed in the Senate. "My good friend Ike Skelton, chair, House Armed Services Committee, came to rescue of these the federal employees and allowed the provision to be included in the Defense Authorization Conference Report passed today," Norton said. She said she was especially grateful to chairman Skelton and for his independence and assistance, and to Stephen Lynch, chair, the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia.

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