Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2023

Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2023

This act generally extends through 2028 the authority to provide premium pay to protective services employees of the U.S. Secret Service even if it causes the employee's annual pay to exceed the statutory cap. The act also requires the Secret Service to provide related information to Congress.

Under the act, a protective services employee may receive premium pay even if the premium pay causes the employee's total annual pay to exceed the statutory cap that applies to these employees. (Generally, protective services employees' pay may not exceed the rate of basic pay payable for General Schedule 15 or the maximum rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule.) Secret Service employees who perform routine administrative or technical work are not eligible for this premium pay.

The act provides that, if the act is enacted after December 31, 2023, the extension applies as if it were enacted on December 31, 2023.

Next, within 180 days of the act's enactment, the Secret Service must report to Congress on how it is addressing the demand for Secret Service protection personnel and recommend strategies for reducing the use of overtime. The act provides that such strategies must include the appointment of additional personnel, redistributing the workload amongst Secret Service personnel, solutions such that premium pay exceptions or waivers are not needed, and other improvements in operational efficiency.

The act also requires the Secret Service to report to Congress its projections for the following: (1) the number of employees receiving premium pay above the statutory cap; (2) the number of employees who were not fully compensated due to the statutory cap and the total amount that employees would have been paid without the cap; (3) the total, median, mean, and greatest amounts of premium pay above the cap; and (4) a list of personnel who received premium pay above the cap and separated from the agency.

This information must be provided no later than 30 days after the act's enactment for calendar year 2024. Thereafter, the report must be provided by December 31 for each calendar year through 2027 and updated quarterly. Further, the Secret Service must report to Congress on the effect that the act has had on this data.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov