Reports: LC to Offer Buyouts to 349 Employees

The Library of Congress (LC) will be offering targeted buyouts to 349 of its nearly 4000 employees, in the wake of an agreement reached on August 10 between LC and three employee labor organizations, according to recent reports by Roll Call and GovernmentExecutive.com.

The agreement, a copy of which was obtained by GovernmentExecutive.com [PDF], was reached between LC and the Congressional Research Employees Association, the LC Employees' Union, and the LC Professional Guild. Eligible employees would be able to apply for early retirement between September 2 and October 3. Approval of applications would be made by October 11, and approved employees would leave their positions no later than November 3. Severance pay under the agreement would be capped at a maximum of $25,000 per employee.

The agreement also allows LC to "make more substantive adjustments as the FY 2012 budget outlook becomes clearer." The agreement is based on funding levels in the House Legislative Branch Appropriations for 2012, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month.

The House Committee on Appropriations, in its report [PDF] released in July, recommended a 2012 operating budget for LC of $575,322,000—more than $53 million less than 2011's LC budget, and more than $91 million less than President Barack Obama's 2012 budget request. In the report, the committee noted: "The reduced funding provided in this bill will require the Library of Congress to reduce staffing by at least 312 positions utilizing a VERA [Voluntary Early Retirement Authority] / VSIP [Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment] option."

As LJ reported last month, the bill also included budget cuts for the U.S. Government Printing Office and the U.S. Census Bureau. The bill is currently working its way through the U.S. Senate.