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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is giving his department’s 260,000 employees an extra day of leave, adding to more than $1 billion worth of vacation time he has already doled out in 2½ years in office.
Mr. Mayorkas said his employees deserve extra time beyond their regular Labor Day holiday as a reward for their “sacrifice to secure our homeland and to advance our nation.”
“There is no more dedicated and talented workforce than you,” he said in a note to employees.
The Washington Times reported days earlier that Mr. Mayorkas had given out 115 hours of leave since he took office in 2021. The Times calculated that works out to at least $1.2 billion worth of taxpayer-funded time off work, given an average department pay rate of about $40 an hour.
The eight new hours amount to more than $80 million paid for time that might not be worked. The time must be used before the end of 2024.
Some department employees told The Times that they think Mr. Mayorkas is trying to buy affection from an exasperated workforce, but his generosity has plenty of fans within the department. Some workers have dubbed the secretary “Santa Mayorkas” for all the time off he has given.
Homeland Security regularly ranks among the lowest federal workplaces in terms of morale. The ongoing issues surrounding immigration have put more strains on the department, which has had to siphon workers from other duties to rush to the border to handle the unprecedented surge of illegal immigrants under President Biden.
In a statement to The Times, Homeland Security acknowledged the heavy burdens.
“DHS employees, and the families who serve alongside them, are extraordinary public servants who make great sacrifices to advance our mission. These unusually difficult jobs deserve our respect and offering administrative leave is a show of that respect that serves the public interest by contributing to employee morale,” the department said.
Sen. Katie Boyd Britt of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate subcommittee that oversees Mr. Mayorkas’ budget, said department employees are “stretched thin” thanks to the administration’s policies.
“Instead of attempting to buy people off, the Biden administration should be spending hard-earned taxpayer funds to secure the border and defend our homeland – that’s the best way to both improve morale across the Department while supporting its critical mission,” the senator told The Times.
Mr. Mayorkas said the latest time off is “administrative leave,” an excused absence with pay. It is usually given on a case-by-case basis.
Under federal rules, employees are limited to 10 days of administrative leave a year.
The rules seem to discourage administrative leave as a performance award but allow it for cases in which the absence is deemed to advance an agency’s mission. Department heads such as Mr. Mayorkas are given wide latitude to decide what counts.
Mark Morgan, who served in the Trump administration as head of Customs and Border Protection, a major agency within Homeland Security, said the secretary is likely on firm legal ground.
“But clearly he’s trying to buy favor with rank and file. While his motives are suspect, it’s hard for me to push back because most of the personnel receiving the additional time are deserving,” Mr. Morgan said.
He suggested irony in Mr. Mayorkas’ claim that employees need more time off to help morale when the secretary’s immigration policies have caused “front-line personnel to become overwhelmed, overworked, and unable to perform their law enforcement and national security mission.”
“And rather than reverse current policy, enforce the law, and provide them the tools to return order to our nation’s borders, he tries to placate them with a monetary reward,” Mr. Morgan said. “While they’ll take it, as they should, it won’t change how they feel.”
The Times’ story last week sparked an online discussion at FedSmith.com, a news site and forum frequented by federal employees.
“When the men and women of your agency don’t respect you, try and buy it,” said one poster.
Another said: “Mayorkas has given so much admin time off, it is hard to track.”
The secretary also had defenders.
“Sounds like something most DHS employees probably appreciate,” said one.
Another mocked The Times’ report as “a slow news day.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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