FEDweek Issue: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 FEDweek is the largest information resource in the federal government with now over one million weekly readers. To Subscribe, Go to http://www.fedweek.com/subscribepopup.htm *********************************************************** Valuable Information for the Federal Family
Federal Job Search http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Job Bulletin Board http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Brand New Federal Manager's Daily Report--FREE Daily Electronic Briefing http://www.fedweek.com/subscribepopup.htm ********************************************************** In This Week's Issue 1. House Backs Improved Bonus, Other Authorities 2. New Procedures on Payments Sought 3. APWU Health Plan's Consumer-driven Health Option Gives You More http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294959407/821888/326/0/ 4. Travel Comp Time Also Included 5. Overtime Rules Under Review 6. Computer Networks Now Offers Unlimited Monthly Internet http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294959407/821888/148/0/ 7. TSP Open Season Arriving 8. Could Be Last One 9. Contracting, Base Closings Issues Resolved 10. More Student Loans Being Repaid 11. Experts' View: How OPM Processes a Retirement Application http://www.fedweek.com/experts/default.asp. 12. Special Rate Reviews Ongoing 13. HSA Site Draws Attention 14. Federal Legal Corner: MSPB Overrules Hearing Decision for Whistleblower http://www.passmanandkaplan.com. 15. New In-Print 2005 Federal Handbook Publication Announcement http://www.fedweek.com/Publications/default.asp *********************************************************** 1. House Backs Improved Bonus, Other Authorities The House has joined the Senate in passing legislation (S-129) to improve agency use of recruitment, retention and relocation payments, among other changes designed to aid agencies in hiring and keeping employees with skills in high demand. Under current policy, agencies may pay recruitment or relocation bonuses or retention allowances of up to 25 percent of basic pay. The measure would turn the retention payments into bonuses as well, impose service agreements on all three types of bonuses but allow payments of up to 50 percent of basic pay, subject to a cap over the course of the service agreement period of 100 percent of the starting basic pay. There are some differences between the House and Senate versions that will have to be worked out. 2. New Procedures on Payments Sought Under the bill, recruitment and relocation bonuses could be paid as an initial payment, in installments, as a final lump sum upon the completion of the service period, or in a combination; retention bonuses could be paid in installments after completion of specified periods of service or in a single lump sum at the end of the full period of service. Also, retention bonuses could be paid if an agency determines that the employee would be likely to leave for another agency, not just when the employee is at risk of leaving the government entirely. The enhanced bonus authority could not be used for political appointees. 3. APWU Health Plan's Consumer-driven Health Option Gives You More This fall Federal and Postal employees again have the opportunity to take a serious look at the Consumer-driven Option offered by the American Postal Workers Union (AWPU) Health Plan, and administered by Definity Health. Offered since 2002, nearly 20,000 federal and postal employees and their dependents are members of the APWU Consumer-driven Option. Here's what's special about this benefit program: No co-pays for doctor visits, prescriptions or hospital stays No referral requirements to see a specialist No upfront deductible Low bi-weekly premiums of $18.40 (single) or $42.85 (family) for Postal employees or $40.89 (single) or $95.23 (family) for Non-Postal employees Nationwide network of more than 450,000 doctors 100% coverage each year for in-network Preventive Care $400 single/$800 family of coverage for dental and vision Annual in-network coinsurance maximum out of pocket of $4,500 (your worst case) Here's how it works: A Personal Care Account (PCA) is fully funded for your use at the start of each year. Benefit dollars in this account cover your first $1,200 (or $2,400 for a family) of healthcare and pharmacy expenses at 100%, with no co-pays. If you don't use all of your benefit dollars during the year, the remaining balance rolls over to the next year. And each year up to $400 (single) and $800 (family) of the PCA can be used for dental or vision care. Preventive care is covered at 100% in-network and is not subtracted from the PCA. All members have access to extensive support resources, both online and by phone, including nurse Health Coaches available 24/7. Discover the APWU Health Plan Consumer-driven option: a health plan you can trust to put your needs first. To learn more, please visit http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294959407/821888/326/0/ or request more information by clicking this link http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294959407/821888/325/0/. Representatives are also ready to answer your questions at 1.866.UDEFINE (1.866.833.3463). 4. Travel Comp Time Also Included The measure also allows workers to take time off in exchange for travel outside of official duty hours. The general ban against being paid for such time long has been a sore point among employees who must travel on official duty; they argue that in effect they are being forced to contribute time to their agencies. Under current policy, travel time is paid only if the time spent is within the days and hours of the employee's regularly scheduled workweek, the travel involves the performance of work while traveling, is incident to travel that involves the performance of work while traveling, is carried out under arduous conditions, or results from an event that could not be scheduled or controlled administratively. Employees receiving compensatory time off for travel would not be entitled to payment for unused compensatory time they earned. 5. Overtime Rules Under Review Office of Personnel Management officials say that OPM is reviewing rules issued by the Labor Department that took effect in August changing certain overtime policies in the private sector. Overtime policy in the federal government is set according to separate rules published by OPM; the Labor rules do not have a direct effect on federal employees apart from some quasi-corporate agencies. However, OPM officials say they are looking at the Labor rules to determine whether adjustments in the OPM rules are needed. Any changes would be subject to the notice and comment procedures for revising regulations. Efforts are being made in Congress to repeal the Labor rules, although the Bush administration is working to keep them on the books. 6. Computer Networks Now Offers Unlimited Monthly Internet Computer Networks, Inc. Is pleased to announce that FEDweek Readers can now get UNLIMITED Internet access for only $10.90 per month or $14.85 for Unlimited Internet with Turbo Accelerator--increasing your internet speed up to Five times the speed! Now, all Our Can Get Broadband DSL-Like Speed Over Your Phone Line at Home http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294959407/821888/148/0/ Please continue reading for more details or go to http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294959407/821888/148/0/ A Few Important Facts: Over 50% of our readers who have called the toll free information number 1-800 452-9201, signed up for this Internet service, it's that good. On-line Signup is available as well! You can get the fastest and most comprehensive internet accelerator on the market and unparalleled 24/7 customer service for only $14.85 per month--You'd pay more than twice that at AOL, Earthlink or any of the others. Take a Look at Some of these Cost Comparisons: Unlimited Access: (CNW=$10.90) (Net Zero=$9.95) (AOL=$23.90) (Earthlink=$21.95) Accelerator: (CNW=$3.95) (Net Zero=$5.00) (AOL=$incl.) (Earthlink=$Incl.) Total Monthly Cost: (CNW=$14.85) (Net Zero=$14.95) (AOL=$23.90) (Earthlink=$21.95) Tech Support Charges: (CNW=None) (Net Zero=Yes) (AOL=Yes) (Earthlink=Yes) It is easy to see, Computer Networks will cost you less every month! CNW has added over 7,000 new V.92 access lines to meet the needs of the FEDweek readers! Changes are that you are now covered by CNW with the latest technology that allows faster data thru-put and well as advanced compression schemes. Plus you'll get Spam controls to help keep your inbox free of junk email IF you're in pursuit of a fast, reliable Internet connection, Computer Networks Inc. has partnered with us to provide Internet Services to our readers at a special low rate as low as $10.90 per month with no long term contracts to sign (like most other internet service providers require). Best Choice: Turbo Accelerator Internet Service is the new CNW Turbo Internet access version 3.1 is the fastest and most comprehensive Internet accelerator available today. CNW offers DSL like speed over 56k dial-up connection and fast downloads of e-mail and Web pages--all for only $14.85 per month! For more information or to sign up today, go to http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294959407/821888/148/0/ or call CNW toll-free at 1-800 452-9201. This is a special offer to all our readers only, just another value added benefit for being a FEDweek reader. 7. TSP Open Season Arriving The Thrift Savings Plan on Friday (October 15) will begin one of its twice-yearly open seasons, an opportunity for eligible employees not currently investing in the program to begin investments and one for those currently participating to change their levels of investment. During the open season, which runs through the end of the calendar year, FERS system investors may raise their biweekly contributions to as much as 15 percent of salary and those under CSRS may raise theirs to up to 10 percent, with both subject to an annual dollar cap, which itself is rising in 2005, to $14,000. The percentage of salary limits are set to end a year from now, although the annual dollar caps will remain. 8. Could Be Last One This could be the last of the TSP's open seasons, a fixture of the plan since its inception; legislation is pending in Congress to abolish open seasons and allow new enrollments or changes in investment amounts at any time. If that measure is enacted this year, the TSP would issue rules which presumably would take effect before the scheduled start of the following open season, next April 15. The Senate has passed its version and the House Government Reform Committee has passed its own version, which differs mainly in that it would allow government contributions for newly hired employees to start immediately, rather than remain on the same waiting period schedule currently used--a schedule that can mean a delay of nearly a year in some cases. That has proven to be a hangup, since the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the additional cost of that provision at $1.1 billion over 10 years. 9. Contracting, Base Closings Issues Resolved House and Senate conferees resolved several issues in a Defense Department budget measure (HR-4200) that had been hung up for many months. The conferees dropped House language that would have delayed by two years the base closing process that is now in its initial stages and that is expected to produce a report for a special commission's recommendations next year, recommendations that will then go to Congress for an up-or-down vote as a package. Also, a compromise was reached on the issue of rights for federal employees to appeal decisions to contract-out work. Rather than allow employees--or their union representatives--to file appeals with the Government Accountability Office, as was originally proposed, a management official will be able to file an appeal upon a showing that a majority of employees favors an appeal. If the official decides there is no basis for filing the appeal, an explanation would have to be provided to Congress. 10. More Student Loans Being Repaid Federal agencies are increasing the use of their authority to repay their employees for the cost of student loans, the Office of Personnel Management has found, although fewer than 2100 employees received such payments in 2003, totaling about $9.1 million, the Office of Personnel Management has reported. The State and Defense department and Government Accountability Office are the leaders, with DoD increasing its use of the authority significantly in 2003, although agencies some agencies previously not using it at all, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, started using it in 2003. For excerpts from the OPM report, go to http://www.fedweek.com/HotFreeNews/default.asp in the hot free info section of our website. 11. Experts' View: How OPM Processes a Retirement Application Once you turn in your retirement papers, the Office of Personnel Management takes over the processing of your retirement, writes benefits expert Reg Jones. While that process is under way, you will start getting interim payments that typically are close to but less than the full amount of your final annuity. "That's because it's better for you to get more money when the processing is completed than to have to return an overpayment," he writes. You'll find his column at http://www.fedweek.com/experts/default.asp. 12. Special Rate Reviews Ongoing Federal agencies have a Friday (October 15) deadline for deciding whether employees currently under special rate designations should keep that status, a decision driven largely by their experiences in recruiting and retaining those employees. The agencies will report to the Office of Personnel Management, which will issue guidance later. The large majority of special rate employees keep that status from year to year. Special rate employees typically get the across-the-board component of the annual general schedule raise and also get the higher of either their special rate adjustment or locality pay. 13. HSA Site Draws Attention The Office of Personnel Management says that a web site it established to provide information on the new "health savings account" plans that will be available in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program in 2005 (www.opm.gov/hsa) registered more than 44,000 visitors since its establishment September 20 and that more than 12,000 visitors have requested email updates and information. HSAs couple a high-deductible health plan with a tax-favored account and will be available mostly to employees; a parallel arrangement called health reimbursement arrangements will be available mostly to retirees. Eighteen national or health maintenance organization plans will offer such options for the 2005 plan year. The open season for changing plans begins November 8. 14. Federal Legal Corner: MSPB Overrules Hearing Decision for Whistleblower In a rare decision on the merits of a whistleblower case, the Merit Systems Protection Board on September 22 overturned an administrative judge's (AJ) order reinstating a civilian Army employee. In SE-0752-02-0301-I-1, the Board went to unusual lengths to scrutinize the initial decision which found that the agency had violated the procedural due process rights as well as the Whistleblower Protection Act when it terminated a 45-year civilian employee for conduct unbecoming a federal employee. The case involved a senior civilian employee who was terminated based on specifications alleging, among other things, that he made false statements alleging misconduct by agency employees and that he made statements critical of military personnel to subordinates in a context and setting that rendered them damaging to the work environment. The AJ determined that the employee had engaged in protected activity and that his disclosures played a part in the decision to remove him. While the AJ upheld some of the specifications in the agency's misconduct charge, he ruled that the agency had failed to meet its burden to show an independent, legitimate reason for the removal. Because he found the removal to be improper retaliation, he did not examine the reasonableness of the penalty in light of the sustained agency charges. At the hearing the employee argued, and the AJ who heard testimony from all the witnesses agreed, that the agency had improperly denied a requested two-week extension for time to prepare an oral reply. The AJ noted that the employee's request was for a short amount of time and that granting it would not have prejudiced the agency in any way. He further noted that the deciding official testified he did not consider a lesser penalty because, "without a response," removal was warranted. The AJ credited the employee's contention that more time was needed because of the number and complexity of the issues in the case, the distance between the employee (stationed in Japan) and his counsel (in the U.S.), and the difficulties in scheduling an oral reply. The Board overturned this ruling, finding that the agency had in fact allowed 29 days in which the employee could have made a reply, but he simply failed to do so. The Board viewed the reasons for the requested extension differently, finding that they did not constitute legitimate reasons for granting it. Finally, it also held as too speculative the AJ's reasoning that if the deciding official had received the reply he was presented with before the hearing, the deciding official would likely have come to a different conclusion about the agency's charge. The Board did not address the AJ's finding that granting the extension would not have harmed the agency. With regard to the employee's affirmative defense of whistleblower reprisal, the Board took the rare step of reviewing the record and substituting its own assessment of witness credibility. It then concluded that the agency met its burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that it had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason and would have terminated the whistleblower despite his protected activity. While admitting that credibility determinations are entitled to the highest deference, the Board proceeded to comb through the record testimony and documentary evidence to support conclusions directly opposite from the AJ's about which witnesses were more credible. Because the case hung to a large extent on determining the motives of various witnesses and officials, these credibility determinations dictated the outcome of the dispute. Finally, one method an employee can use to prove retaliation is to show that he was treated differently than similar employees who did not blow the whistle. The AJ cited the agency's lack of evidence that it had treated any similarly situated employees as harshly as it had the plaintiff as undermining its argument that it had not discriminated against him for whistle blowing. On review, the Board cited the same lack of comparable treatment evidence as supporting the agency's argument that it did not treat him differently because he had made protected disclosures. ** This information is provided by the attorneys at Passman & Kaplan, P.C., a law firm dedicated to the representation of federal employees worldwide. For more information on Passman & Kaplan, P.C., go to http://www.passmanandkaplan.com. ** 15. New In-Print 2005 Federal Handbook Publication Announcement *********************************************************** Tuesday: October 12, 2004 To: All Federal Employees, Managers, and Postal Workers (Also Available for Bulk Agency Distribution at Discounted Rates) http://www.fedweek.com/Publications/default.asp Dear FEDweek Reader: For 2005, the Federal Employees Handbook has been completely revised and expanded in an all-new easier to read two-column format while still keeping the size of the book and cost down to $9.95! This has been the federal government's number one selling reference tool for the past 7 years and we're proud to announce that the 2005 version has been published! As you may know, there's a lot of information available to federal employees in the form of downloads and sometimes brochures or pamphlets, but most often they can fall woefully short in many areas. FEDweek steps in and fills the void where the federal government and others leave off, adding to and "translating" official language to make it easier to understand and to use. Written by our veteran team of experts, the 2005 Federal Employees Handbook contains the very latest critical information on your federal pay and benefits and workplace policies and will help you take full advantage of your opportunities and avoid costly mistakes. It has brand new sections on the latest Federal Employment and Benefit Policies, Including: All New in The 2005 Federal Employees Handbook: A close look at the new personnel authorities for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security-their pay, performance evaluation, hiring, disciplinary and other procedures that mean huge changes in work life for employees working there and possible precedents for other agencies The latest on contracting-out policies and how they might threaten your job New hiring authorities that could affect your promotional potential, including how veterans preference comes into play New leave benefits for employees called to active military duty The latest on what happens to your benefits if you separate before retirement eligibility New loan and other policies at the Thrift Savings Plan How you might qualify for a payment from the "human capital performance fund" Guidance on what will be expected of you in emergency situations Latest policies and figures on health, life and long-term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, federal retirement, Social Security and other benefits Also Included in This Valuable Flagship Handbook: The new "premium conversion" tax break under FEHB How federal employees can use the Career Intern Program Government payments for liability insurance Public transit subsidies for federal workers Ways agencies can pay you more money How the government can help you pay off your student loans Allowable use of computers and other office equipment for personal purposes Hours of work for official travel Allowable reimbursement for travel from non-federal sources Latest information on leave policies, including eligibility for lump-sum payments for annual leave, alternative uses of sick leave and new rules on military leave for federally employed Reservists How the new "retirement errors" correction law can affect your benefits Eligibility, benefit choices, and premium considerations under the imminent federal long-term care program. How to file employment-related financial claims against the government New requirements to allow employees to work off-site, including from their homes! Brand new TSP investment options and rules AND COMPLETELY REVISED AND UPDATED FOR 2005: Federal Pay Systems, Pay and Compensation Policies, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Retirement, The Thrift Savings Plan, Social Security, Medicare, Taxation of Federal Benefits, General Employment and Workplace Rules, Employment Restrictions, Veterans' Rights and Preference, On-the-Job Injuries and Illnesses, Downsizing Policies, Directory of Unions and Other Groups, Appealing Agency Actions Against You, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Leave and Other Forms of Time Off, Survivor Benefits Travel, Transportation, Per Diem and Relocation Allowances, And much, much more! "This 2005 Federal Employees Handbook is an essential reference guide you can't afford to be without whether you are a federal employee, federal manager or executive or postal worker". Don Mace Publisher, FEDweek How to Get Your 2005 Federal Employees Handbook for Your or Your Agency http://www.fedweek.com/Publications/default.asp *********************************************************** Go to http://www.fedweek.com/Publications/default.asp to order online or see below for other ways to order. The Cost of The 2005 Federal Employees Handbook is still only $9.95 with dramatic discounts for agency or library bulk orders and here are the ways to order it: Place Your Secure Order Online With Credit Card http://www.fedweek.com/Publications/default.asp Call or toll-free order line (888) 333-9335. We have FEDweek Team Members ready to take your order 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. 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