Many Secret Service agents on the campaign trail aren't getting paid what they're owed

Some Secret Service members have not been paid overtime.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

last updated 27 October 2016

Many Secret Service officials have not been paid overtime in months due to a combination of the intense presidential campaign and a cap on federal income, BuzzFeed News reports:

When overtime payments drive an agent's aggregate income for the year past the federal limit of $160,300 — no matter how early — the agent no longer earns paid overtime, even as they regularly clock in long past the 50-hour work week, traveling around the clock with the candidates, their families, the Obamas, the Bidens, and the press.Ask any agent on the campaign trail when they "maxed out" during the course of the year — or hit the federal salary cap — and they will be ready with an answer: May, April, March, or for some of the most senior agents in the field, even earlier. The result? Hundreds of agents working months of overtime for which they will never be paid. [BuzzFeed News]

Adding to the strain is the fact that a hiring freeze from a couple years ago has resulted in a smaller pool of active agents in the field to draw from. Also, this election year is more demanding than most, with the president and vice president both frequenting the campaign trail, in addition to the fact that other, routine events like the Democratic and Republican conventions required extra security, as well as the United Nations General Assembly.

Of 3,300 active Secret Service agents, nearly a third have or will go over the federal pay cap, BuzzFeed News reports. Nearly all of them have worked to some extent on the election, and most of their work has demanded daily overtime. "It's been an incredible sacrifice," said Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy, who has no control over the federal cap.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.