the naf employee newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the NAF HRO Newsletter,
your official personnel news!
Hot Topics Included in this issue:
Performance Award Limitations for
Fiscal Year 2011-2012
Collection by Offset from Indebted
Government Employees
Health benefits extension for portability
Employees
Nursing Mothers in Federal Employment
Employee Frequently Asked Questions
Employee Tax Changes
THE NAF EMPLOYEE
NEWSLETTER
Performance Award Limitations for Fiscal year
2011-2012
The Office of Manpower Budget (OMB) in conjunction with
the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) decided to limit
the amount of performance award money given to APF and
NAF employees to only 1% for fiscal year 2011 and 2012.
Initially it was believe that the 1% performance award
limitation for FY 2011 and 2012 was only applicable to APF
employees; however it appears that OMB intent is to apply
the limitations to all systems government-wide, including NAF.
The Civilian Management Office (CPMS) is currently drafting
supplemental guidance which will be coordinated by OSD
for all Department of Defense pay systems, including
alternate pay systems and NAF.
Health Benefits Extensions for Portability Employees
NAF employees enrolled in the DoD NAF Health Insurance Plan who
move to APF through the Interchange Agreement or Portability with
a break in service of three (3) calendar days or less are automatically
given a 31-day continuation of health benefits extension to avoid loss
of health benefits while awaiting enrollment through APF. The 31-
day extension only applies to health insurance coverage, not to the
Stand Alone Dental program.
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2011 VOL # 2 ISSUE #3
You can change your invested fund contribution(s) to your 401(K) by logging on to www.wellsfargo.com/401k
or by contacting Wells Fargo participant account services at 1-866-665-1282.
Collection by Offset from Indebted
Government Employees
NAF employees are covered by the salary offset
law in 5 U.S.C. 5514. The Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) is issuing proposed
regulations to eliminate the 10-year statute of
limitations on collections of debt by administrative
offset, which includes centralized salary offset. The
proposed regulations conform to an amendment
made by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act
of 2008. This change would authorize the offset of
nontax payments (via salary offset) to collect
delinquent Federal debt without regard to the
amount of time the debt has been delinquent. OPM
is also proposing several technical changes to be
consistent with the Department of the Treasury
Federal Claims Collection Standards and salary
offset regulations.
Nursing Mothers in Federal Employment
On 20 December 2010, President Obama delegated
authority to OPM to provide guidance to Executive
Branch civilian employees on work place
accommodations for employees who are nursing
mothers. Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (Act), Public Law 111-148 added a
new subsection to Section 7; this new subsection requires
employers to provide employees with the following: (1) a
reasonable break time to express breast milk for her
nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time
such employee has need to express milk; (2) a place,
other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and
free from intrusion from co-workers and the public
which may be used by the employee to express breast
milk. Many agencies already provide compensated
breaks of 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in
the afternoon to employees to be use for any purpose;
these breaks can also be use for break time to express
milk.
EMPLOYMENT
NEWS .
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urges workers to review their Federal tax withholding every year and if necessary, fill out a new W-
4 and give it to their employer. If you have multiple jobs, are getting married, getting divorce, having children, buying a home, or wind up
with a balance due or large refund from the IRS , you may want to consider submitting a revised W4 form to your employer.
HRO hours of operation: Mon-Fri 7:30am-4:30pm. Walk-ins
9:00am-2:00pm. Office closed on weekends and holidays
For “my pay” password changes and resets, please contact
the HRO staff at 556-4818, 556-4525, or 556-7074.
MONTH, YEAR VOL # ISSUE #
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HEADLINE SUBHEAD. SUBHEAD.
SUBHEAD. SUBHEAD.
July – September 2011 VOL # 2 ISSUE #3
Always check your personnel actions (AF Form 2545), pay strict attention to several items such as you social security number, date of
birth, position title, grade, step, and rate of pay. Even though the AF Form 2545 passes through many eyes including the HRO, payroll, and
your supervisor, errors may occur. If you find an error, please contact the HRO immediately at 556-4818.
Always check your LES statements! Report any
inaccuracies to your benefits deductions to the HRO
immediately.
If you are enrolled in the 401(K), the NAF Retirement, or
the Health and Life Insurance plans you are responsible
for checking your LES statement every pay period for any
inaccuracies related to your Plan(s) contributions.
Employee Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Can a NAF regular employee move from a
NAF position to a temporary APF position? Can I occupy
a temporary position with APF and be on leave-without-
pay (LWOP) with NAF?
Answer: The employee will have to be on LWOP from
the NAF position while he/she is temporarily appointed to
the APF position. Title 5 U.S.C. Section 5533 (a) restricts
employees from receiving basic compensation from more
than one civilian position of the Government of the United
States for more than an aggregate of 40 hours of work in
any one calendar week (Sunday through Saturday).
Question: We are having a difficult time recruiting
qualified applicants to fill a specialized NF-III position.
We’ve had several applicants apply but they do not have
the specialized experience and knowledge for the job.
What can we do?
Answer: When qualified applicants cannot be found to fill
a particular position, a developmental position may be
designed and establish as preparation for higher level
work. The duties assigned must be designed to provide
orientation, training, and familiarization with the work
process of the occupational field.
Question: AFMAN 34-310 states that entitlement to
severance pay ends when an employee is appointed to
another regular DOD NAF position, or when severance
pay is exhausted. If the employee accepts a DOD NAF
position that is “temporary” but in a regular status, would
the employee still be able to collect severance pay?
Answer: When an employee is appointed to a regular
position, temporary or not, he/she is gaining additional
creditable service, therefore, the AFMAN makes no
distinction between temporary and continuing regular
appointment for severance pay exclusion.
EMPLOYEE CORNER
PAY ATTENTION:
HEADLINESUB-HEAD
July – September 2011 VOL #2 ISSUE #3
Flash News……. DoD Guidance on Freeze on Pay Adjustments for
White-Collar NAF employees states across-the-board increases are
prohibited. NF and CY employees may receive basic pay increases that are
based solely on an individual employee performance. Accordingly,
managers/supervisors may give individual performance pay adjustments.
Only across-the-board pay increases given to all employees are affected by
the freeze.
21 FSS/FSMH
135 Dover Street, Suite 1116
Peterson AFB, CO 80914-1155
Tel: (719) 556-4818
DSN: 834-4818
FAX: (719) 556-4880
For current job openings within
21FSS, Thule Greenland, and Clear,
Alaska go to WWW.NAFJOBS.ORG
This is a quarterly
publication brought to
you by the NAF Human
Resources Office
Please Contact us at:
DID YOU KNOW……? In parity with APF rules (AFI 36-815, paragraph 8), an employee required to
take medical examination to determine the employee fitness for federal service, is considered in duty status during the
time necessary to obtain the examination or treatment. When an employee is absent because of administratively
required vaccinations or immunizations, the absence is considered an excused absence without charge to leave or loss
of pay, provided the medical officer administering the vaccinations or immunizations certifies to the necessity of the
absence.