My apologies to all. I’ve been meaning to get this post out since last Friday. Nonetheless, here’s a recap of all the news you’ve missed (or more than likely have probably already seen) in the past week and a half.
OPM:
On Friday, February 8, 2019, OPM published their Answers to Frequently Asked Post-Lapse Questions. In their FAQ’s you’ll find answers to all your questions about how the recent shutdown affected things like, probationary periods, career tenure, time-in-grade, and more. You can access the FAQ’s list at: https://www.chcoc.gov/content/answers-frequently-asked-post-lapse-questions.
MSPB & EMPLOYEE RELATIONS:
Here’s the big one that got a lot of attention last week from my favorite folks over at FELTG and from Peter Broida on his podcast. On Wednesday, February 13, 2019, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted on the nominations of Dennis D. Kirk to be Chairman of the MSPB, and Julia Clark to be a member of the MSPB. Andrew Maunz, withdrew his name from further consideration for appointment as a board member, for reasons unknown; the day prior. What’s disconcerting about this news, is that Sen. Ron Johnson, decided to hold the nominees from a full vote from the Senate until a third nominee was named by the White House. With member Mark Robbins term expiring in 8 days, it seems the MSPB will see a board with no members for the first time in its 40+ year history. Deborah, Hopkins, President of FELTG, posted a really good report on the HSGAC proceedings, and what it means for the board, you can read her report at: https://feltg.com/two-mspb-nominees-voted-out-of-committee-but-uncertainty-still-looms/.
Of interest to federal LER folks, Peter Broida [in his Dewey Publications podcast] discusses Ryan v. DOD (Fed. Cir. 2018-1524, Feb. 13, 2019). The case was a nonprecedential case resulting from the review of a MSPB case decision. In his discussion, Mr. Broida presents some interesting viewpoints on the use of the Lack of Candor administrative charge. Take some time out today to listen to his most recent episode (#78 – February 14th, 2019) at: https://deweypub.com/store/podcast.html. You can also subscribe to the Dewey Publication Podcast via iTunes. P.S. Mr. Broida also provides some insights on the MSPB nominations from last week. Go and listen!
2019 PAY INCREASE:
Here’s some news everyone will probably care about…federal employees will receive a 1.9% raise in 2019! Woot Woot! On Friday, February 15, 2019, President Trump signed the budget appropriations bills for the remaining federal agencies who had not had a budget for FY19. Included in the bill was 1.375 billion dollars for the President’s border wall, barrier (whatever you want to call it). As a result of the compromise by Congressional Democrats and Republicans – President Trump also declared a national emergency to pull funds from other accounts belonging to DoD and Treasury. Also, included in the compromise bill was a 1.9% wage increase for federal employees. According to the good folks over at Government Executive, President Trump will need to sign a new Executive Order implementing the pay increase, and thus prompting OPM to publish new pay tables. Fore more information on when you might expect to see your raise, check out the GovExec article at: https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2019/02/when-federal-employees-can-expect-see-their-19-percent-pay-raise/154941/?oref=federal-news-all.
For some more insights on how the pay increase will affect your locality pay, check out this article from FedSmith: https://www.fedsmith.com/2019/02/18/pay-raise-impact-locality-pay/.
FLRA & LABOR RELATIONS:
Government Executive reported yesterday that the Federal Education Association filed a legal challenge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, resulting from the Authority’s decision to overturn nine arbitration awards which resulted in millions of back pay for employees of DoDEA. In their challenge the employee association which represents teachers employed by the DoD Education Activity alleged that the Authority had a “systemic bias against unions.” Part of me is saying – “Duh, what did you expect under this current administration.” Note, I said current and not Republican. The article contains some interesting breakdowns of Authority decision under previous administrations. Needless to say, I’m curious how this challenge will end. You can check out the article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/02/federal-union-accuses-flra-unprecedented-bias-against-labor/154975/?oref=top-story.
FedSmith reported yesterday on a case resulting from an Authority decision. Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Petersburg Regional Benefit Office and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1594, 70 FLRA 586. The case resulted from the DVA refusing to permit a union official to undergo an access card credentialing process. The Union in the case took the issue to arbitration and the agency was ordered to allow the employee to undergo the process. The agency filed an exception with the Authority, and the FLRA vacated the arbitrator’s award. The author of the article hits on several key topics which include the determination of national security positions, and the definition of intelligence work. What I did not see was a discussion of management’s right to determine the internal security practices of the agency [5 USC 7106(a)(1)]. I think that aspect would have contributed more to this article. Nonetheless, check it out for some interesting viewpoints: https://www.fedsmith.com/2019/02/19/time-flra-rethink-national-security-bargaining-unit-policy/.
Of interest to the LR community, the folks over at FedSmith reported that legislation has been introduced to give TSA officers full collective bargaining rights. Check out that report at: https://www.fedsmith.com/2019/02/17/bill-seeks-give-full-collective-bargaining-rights-tsa-officers/.
INSIGHTS:
Jeff Neal served as a former Chief Human Capital Officer for the Department of Homeland Security and Chief Human Resources Officer for the Defense Logistics Agency. His blog is chock full of valuable insights for federal employees and federal sector HR practitioners. I recommend you check his two latest articles, Fed Up Feds May Have Good News on Shutdown and Why Public Service Is Not a Regular Job at: https://chiefhro.com.
TODAY:
Federal Offices in the Washington, D.C. area are CLOSED. If you’re a federal employee in the Washington D.C. Metro area, you are more than likely enjoying a snow day (or an unscheduled telework or leave day…depending on your agency policy). For more information on the government’s operating status, check out OPM’s Operating Status page at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/snow-dismissal-procedures/current-status/.