Newsroom

May 29, 2014

CFPB changes evals, pays bonuses

May 30, 2014 – CFPB will use a more simplified employee evaluation system with only two performance tiers available, after an internal agency audit revealed that there were discriminatory "disparities" resulting from the previous system, according to a report in Government Executive drawn from a bureau-wide e-mail from CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

The bureau also plans to pay employees retroactive bonuses, the report said.

The report cites this from the bureau's announcement: "The bureau will switch from a one-through-five measurement to a two-tier system that is ‘focused primarily on employee growth and development, with less emphasis on numerical ratings,' Cordray told employees. Additionally, the agency will spend about $5 million on bonuses for every employee – except senior leadership – who received ratings of three or four in their 2012 and 2013 evaluations. The employees will be compensated in merit and lump-sum payments as if they had earned fives in each of those years."

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations recently heard testimony from subpoenaed CFPB officials on the bureau's workplace discrimination claims. The subcommittee's investigation into CFPB workplace issues was prompted by reports published in American Banker that cited a pattern of ranking white employees higher than minority employees, as well as accusations of a hostile work environment.