Federal Workforce

It is generally recognized throughout the government that good health can improve performance and productivity. Federal agencies' policies on purchasing private health club memberships for employees vary widely, however, ranging from limiting memberships to people with medical needs to providing membership to anyone. Some agencies pick up the full cost, while others require an employee contribution. Although such diverse policies and practices are not surprising given the broad discretion agencies have, it suggests the need for further guidance. Many agencies seem concerned about whether they are using appropriate practices and policies. GAO believes that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) should take the lead in providing such guidance. GAO is also concerned about the use of administrative leave when employees use physical fitness centers. At many agencies, administrative leave can be routinely used for an indefinite period when employees go to a gym. GAO believes this practice could be expensive, potentially costing the taxpayers hundreds of million of dollars. Proposed changes to OPM guidance stress that use of administrative leave for fitness activities should be limited, involving only brief, specific periods. GAO plans to review OPM's final guidance on this issue and will decide then whether recommendations are needed.

GAO found that: (1) 15 of 77 surveyed agencies reported having procured physical fitness services from a variety of facilities; (2) the annual federal funding for those procurements was about $970,000 and involved 4,287 participating employees, and the average cost per participating employee ranged from $12 to $644; (3) agencies' policies and controls over fitness facility procurements varied widely; (4) a significant number of agencies believed they needed further guidance on issues pertaining to fitness facility procurement, including employees' contribution to membership cost, provision of compensation under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, and controls needed to monitor employee attendance and use of facilities; (5) 25 agencies allowed employees to use administrative leave for participating in physical fitness activities, but their practices varied widely; and (6) in February 1992, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued draft guidance to departments and agencies recommending that they deny administrative leave for extended or indefinite periods of participation in such activities.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone: