James Comer is Chairman of the House Oversight Committee. | https://oversight.house.gov/chairman-james-comer/
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer announced on May 11 that he is investigating the use of taxpayer-funded payouts to federal employees to settle employment disputes. The investigation focuses on concerns about gaps in data collection, lack of transparency, increasing costs to taxpayers, and institutional incentives that may encourage frivolous claims or discourage managers from disciplining employees.
The committee's inquiry matters because it questions whether current practices serve taxpayer interests or simply make it easier for agencies to resolve disputes without proper oversight. Comer has requested documents and information from relevant agencies and adjudicatory bodies, including the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, to support this review.
“In fiscal year 2023, the Biden administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported securing more than $202 million in taxpayer payouts to federal workers through mediation and settlements, compared to just over $22.6 million through litigation. Similarly, in the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) under the Biden administration, attorney fee payouts in sue-and-settle cases alone surged to nearly $11 million, compared to $3.6 million during President Trump’s first term. Settlements across these systems routinely involve taxpayer-funded payments including back pay, compensatory damages, attorney’s fees, and other monetary relief,” wrote Chairman Comer. “Efforts to track and account for these settlements appear woeful. Agencies often fail to reimburse the [U.S. Department of the Treasury] for settlements paid on their behalf.”
Comer said case outcomes raise questions about a bias toward settlement within federal agencies: "When adverse action cases are not dismissed at the MSPB, agencies opt to pay and settle 68% of the time. But when agencies proceed to dispute claims they win more than 80% of decisions." He said this pattern suggests agencies frequently settle cases with taxpayer funds that they might otherwise win if fully contested.
He also highlighted issues with data availability: “Despite the scale and significance of settlement activity, comprehensive data on settlement frequency, costs, and distribution across agencies is not publicly available, and may not exist in any centralized form. Prior Government Accountability Office (GAO) reporting has identified persistent challenges in tracking settlement payments and their underlying causes, limiting Congress’s ability to assess whether agencies are addressing misconduct or simply buying it off,” concluded Chairman Comer.
Comer said better oversight requires consistent collection and reporting of data related to settlements so that repeat offenders can be identified before further costly payments occur.
