Bill addresses federal police, first responder full compensation

U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Don Bacon (R-NE), Val Demings (D-FL), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) recently introduced legislation that seeks to ensure federal police and first responders are paid full compensation earned.

The Law Enforcement Officer Fair Retirement Act enables officers to elect to have the Office of Personnel Management consider the full value of overtime compensation accrued in calculating their CSRS/FERS retirement annuity.

The measure would ensure all overtime hours worked are counted when calculating retirement benefits for federal law enforcement officers.

“Our federal police and first responders have one of the toughest jobs in the country,” Pascrell, co-chairman of the Law Enforcement Caucus, said. “They put their lives on the line every day and night they don the uniform – and even when they’re off-duty. It is unconscionable that an officer serving overtime does not get full retirement compensation. Our bill will finally fix this technicality so that a federal officer receives every cent they’ve earned.”

Demings said the matter is about fairness.

“Our law enforcement officers who work overtime without pay should be fairly compensated in their retirement for the real amount of service that they performed,” she said. “As a 27-year law enforcement officer, I am proud to join with Congressman Pascrell to introduce this legislation that honors our officers and corrects a current injustice.”