USAID parental leave policy buries humanitarian contractors in paperwork

In an effort to improve employment conditions for its contractors, the United States Agency for International Development began offering some of them paid parental leave earlier this year. But contractors at USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance who have tried to access the benefit say that instead of making their first months of parenthood easier, it has ensnared them in a seemingly endless cycle of paperwork and bureaucratic minutiae. One source described a situation in which the bureau's management of its contractors is no different from its procurement of office supplies. One new parent who has tried to access paid parental leave as a contractor told Devex they have submitted paperwork 12 times over the course of nearly a year, but have yet to gain approval. They described exchanges with the humanitarian bureau’s contracts personnel in which they were repeatedly asked questions they had already answered, told to provide documentation they had already submitted, and informed of rules and requirements that constantly changed. “The language that they would use in reverting back about the changes that needed to be made I found was so curt and so painfully transactional and inconsiderate that I got so frustrated, I said, ‘I actually don't want to do this anymore’,” the contractor said. “The benefit is supposed to relieve stress for new parents. It, in fact, has done the opposite.” --— Anonymous USAID official In the end, the contractor submitted their resignation because they could no longer tolerate the “circular and undignified” process of applying for leave. USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, or BHA, is facing a serious staffing and morale problem. Devex previously reported that the bureau — which was created two years ago to lead USAID’s response to complex crises and disasters such as the war in Ukraine and floods in Pakistan — is suffering from high vacancy rates and persistent hiring challenges. A contributing factor is the bureau’s heavy reliance on Personal Services Contractors, or PSCs, who carry out many of the functions of U.S. government officials but often lack the benefits and job security that come with federal employment. PSCs account for 43% of the humanitarian bureau’s workforce, according to a recent report from USAID’s Office of the Inspector General. As of last month, the bureau’s total workforce stood at roughly 1,700, according to an internal dashboard seen by Devex. In an interview last month, Sarah Charles, who leads BHA as assistant administrator, told Devex that the experience of being a PSC “has not always been a good one.” Charles said that extending paid parental leave benefits to PSCs was intended to make that experience better. There is no legal entitlement to paid parental leave in the United States, though USAID direct hires do get that benefit. The new policy — approved by USAID Administrator Samantha Power on Oct. 1, 2021 — includes 12 weeks of paid leave, and it applies to PSCs who have worked with USAID for at least 12 months. According to three people with direct knowledge of the situation, however, there was no formal process or team in place at BHA to enable the policy’s rollout — leading to a situation that has eroded morale at the bureau even further. “The benefit is supposed to relieve stress for new parents. It, in fact, has done the opposite,” a current USAID official told Devex. “It is one of the worst morale issues I have seen in the new bureau, which is saying quite a lot,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the press. Those who shared information with Devex were unsure exactly how many PSCs have struggled to access paid parental leave benefits. One source said that the number stood at 16 earlier this year, but has likely grown. “Even though it's a relatively small proportion of the bureau that is directly or indirectly affected by the PPL [paid parental leave] issue, people see it and they see how their fellow PSCs are being treated in this fashion, and it has morale implications for the broader PSC workforce too,” the current USAID official said. In response to an inquiry from Devex, a USAID spokesperson shared the policy directive that announced the extension of benefits to PSCs in November 2021 and an accompanying document outlining the timekeeping and payroll process. “USAID conducted several outreach sessions, including agency notices and webinars for Agency staff to further explain the benefit and the implementation process. Additionally, USAID followed up with guidance in the Agency's internal policies to streamline the PPL request process,” the spokesperson wrote, noting that this is an agency-wide policy. The contractor who resigned said the problem has gotten some attention from the humanitarian bureau’s leadership, but has not been resolved. “BHA is deeply in crisis and there are so many issues. I know it's also very difficult for leadership to be able to prioritize what they work on and what problems they're going to tackle today and tomorrow,” they said. The current USAID official told Devex the situation is a reflection of how PSCs are treated at the agency in general. “PSCs are essentially treated as contracts and procurements,” the official said. “Many of the mechanisms for employing PSCs differ in no way, in some cases, from procurement of office supplies or staplers.” They added that this is why a process that would be straightforward for a direct government employee has instead “degenerated into stupendously tedious minutiae.” “I don't think the problem is that the agency and the bureau don't want to let people have the benefit. The problem is the way we approach PSCs ... has built a culture of extreme paperwork,” the official said. The decision to offer paid parental leave to contractors was meant to supplement a larger transformation of USAID’s humanitarian workforce, as Devex reported last month. The agency is currently converting many PSC positions inside the humanitarian bureau into positions for government employees — particularly Foreign Service Officers. The current official agreed that is the right long-term approach to USAID’s humanitarian workforce problems, describing the PSC hiring mechanism as “no longer fit for purpose.” “You can't staff a majority of your bureau with PSCs and have a harmonious workplace relationship with your employees if most of your employees are technically contracts,” the official said. The bureau’s leadership knows that and is trying to fix it, but in the interim issues such as the poor implementation of paid parental leave benefits are making things worse, the official said.