Due to financial limitations, employees at the federal prison in Sheridan were notified last week that they would no longer receive retention incentive pay in late March.
In order to solve a substantial financial gap inside the federal agency, the Federal Bureau of Prisons revealed that, starting of March 23, it is drastically cutting and in some cases removing retention incentives that were as high as 35% of base wage. It will impact 23,000 staff across 50 prisons, according to the bureau.
In an email, bureau spokesman Randilee Giamusso stated, “This decision was not made lightly, and we recognize the financial hardship this may cause for employees who rely on those incentives.” But given the agency’s present financial difficulties, this step is necessary to preserve operations generally and guarantee the agency’s long-term viability.
About 40 new correctional employees who were employed this quarter at Sheridan were eligible for the retention bonus.
According to Kathleen Toomey, the bureau’s associate deputy director, in a speech to a congressional appropriations committee on Wednesday, the incentives have been very helpful in keeping corrections officers on the job because their starting salaries are relatively low, ranging from $50,000 to $60,000 annually, for a very, very difficult job.
The congressional delegation from Oregon called on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to move quickly last year to address serious staffing shortages, inadequate medical treatment, and other concerning conditions that they claimed endangered inmates and staff at Sheridan.
In order to address the shortages and poor pay at Sheridan, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., have expressed support for the retention bonuses.
There are 1,442 inmates housed in Sheridan’s medium-security prison, minimum-security prison camp, and holding facility.
The federal bureau has seen a decline in staffing during the last decade. According to Toomey, the FBI now employs 15,992 correctional officers, up from 19,238 in 2014.
According to Toomey, the bureau has addressed the staffing deficit by using overtime and retention incentives to fill vacancies.
$195 million in retention incentives for current workers countrywide were among the $229 million in incentives paid by the bureau in fiscal year 2024. According to Toomey, those numbers represent an increase from fiscal year 2023, when the bureau paid over $212 million on incentives.
She informed lawmakers that the $164 million that Congress had authorized in 2023 to pay all forms of incentives had been utilized.
According to Toomey, we don’t have any more money from our base budget to keep offering those incentives.
Wyden blamed the issue on the Trump administration.
In a statement released Wednesday, he said, “I fought for these retention incentives because they help recruit and keep corrections workers at Sheridan, ensuring the safety of all staff and inmates at the prison.” I’ll be questioning federal representatives about the reasons behind this budget deficit and the strategies being used to keep personnel levels sufficient.
Maxine Bernstein writes about criminal justice and federal courts. You can contact her via [email protected], 503-221-8212, X@maxoregonian, or LinkedIn.
Your support is essential to our journalism. Sign up for OregonLive.com now.
Stories by
Maxine Bernstein
-
Owner of Fairview-based trucking company gets probation for disabling pollution controls
-
Fired St. Helens choir teacher poses danger to public, judge finds
-
State pays record $4M to settle suit in 20-year-old s suicide
-
Ex-Intel worker pleads guilty to stealing trade secrets
-
Portland cop who drove drunk to homicide scene should lose certification for life, state panel urges
