Government Employees Got $872 Million in Bonuses Out of COVID Aid Cash

Federal funds intended to be used for pandemic relief efforts were used instead to pad the paychecks of government employees from coast to coast.

In San Diego, California, for example, some 9,595 county workers were awarded bonuses funded with more than $27 million in federal COVID aid, according to a Treasury Department program set up to track the $350 billion in pandemic funds distributed to state and local governments as part of the American Rescue Plan. Bonuses of $2,500 were paid to County of San Diego employees working in "detention and medical facilities" and other places where county officials deemed "COVID-19 exposure was more likely." But employees who faced no heightened risk of job-related exposure were rewarded with $1,500 bonuses as well.