The Government Accountability Office analyzed payroll data from 76 federal agencies to produce these findings. The 76 agencies reviewed represent approximately 95 percent of the civilian workforce.

The deferred resignation program allowed federal employees to be placed on leave until they resigned or retired by September 30, 2025. This directive established the mechanism through which agencies utilized paid leave for workforce reductions during that period.

Reporting irregularities emerged alongside the cost increases. Federal agencies reported 144 percent more paid administrative leave in pay periods containing public holidays than should have been recorded between 2023 and early 2025. Public holidays should not be reported as paid administrative leave.

The Office of Personnel Management does not plan to retroactively fix historical data errors regarding holiday leave reporting. The Office of Personnel Management does not know the actual costs of paid administrative leave used for workforce reduction efforts.

Why It Matters

The sixfold increase in paid administrative leave spending reflects the financial scale of the deferred resignation program and associated workforce changes. With $9.5 billion in costs concentrated in a single year, the data shows a shift in how federal agencies managed employee departures during the 2023 to 2025 period.

The identification of reporting errors involving public holidays indicates issues with payroll data accuracy across the federal workforce. The fact that the Office of Personnel Management does not know the actual costs of these specific workforce reduction efforts relates to oversight and financial tracking mechanisms within the civil service system.

Timeline

The Office of Personnel Management directed federal agencies in 2025 to use paid administrative leave to support the deferred resignation program on January 1, 2025. Federal agencies reported 144 percent more paid administrative leave in pay periods containing public holidays than should have been recorded between 2023 and early 2025. The deferred resignation program allowed federal employees to be placed on leave until they resigned or retired by September 30, 2025.

Approximately $6.7 billion of the 2025 paid administrative leave costs were associated with the deferred resignation program. The use of paid administrative leave by federal agencies increased by 435 percent from 2023 to 2025. Federal agencies spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave salary costs in 2025. The Office of Personnel Management published a proposed rule titled "Promoting Employee Accountability" on September 15, 2026. The Office of Personnel Management published a rule titled "Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions" on September 15, 2026.

What's New

The Office of Personnel Management published a proposed rule titled "Promoting Employee Accountability" on September 15, 2026. The Office of Personnel Management published a rule titled Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions on September 15, 2026.