Beware of ‘Summer Fridays’

• By Amanda Palleschi
• May 24, 2012
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You may know the ways to escape your office stealthily -- a back stairwell or a route through the office that circumvents the boss. But if you think Memorial Day weekend presents a perfect opportunity to take an early “summer Friday,” you might want to think again.

A Washington law firm is reminding federal employees that playing hooky, or just ducking out early on a Friday before a holiday weekend, has consequences -- and won’t necessarily go unnoticed .

In a public service reminder, Tully Rinckey PLLC partner John P. Mahoney, chairman of the firm’s labor and employment law practice group, reminds employees of a 2011 case when the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled that a Social Security Administration employee with 22 discrepancies on credit hour forms, even by less than five minutes each, could receive a 14-day suspension.

“A few minutes saved could end up marring years of federal civil service. I implore federal employees to refrain from leaving early this Friday before Memorial Day without a supervisor’s written permission,” Mahoney said.

The firm claims agency supervisors have been on the lookout for seemingly innocuous infractions such as skipping out prior to a long weekend and fudging time cards ...

Defensive Positions

• By Kellie Lunney
• May 17, 2012
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The federal civilian workforce has labored under a two-year pay freeze and countless efforts to further reduce their wages and benefits during the past year. It appears that military families are not immune to fears over pay and benefits either.

Changes to pensions, pay and other benefits rank at the top of issues military families are most concerned about, according to a new survey from Blue Star Families, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Thirty-one percent of respondents, which included military spouses, children, vets and service members, listed retirement benefit changes as their No. 1 concern while 20 percent ranked pay and benefits issues in general as their biggest worry.

Of the 4,234 respondents to the survey, 2,891 completed the questionnaire, which also evaluated their views on the effects of deployments on children, length of deployments, military spouse employment and combat stress.

The survey cited media coverage related to the Defense Business Board’s recommendations, as well as the uncertain economic climate and high levels of military spouse and veteran unemployment, as factors contributing to military families’ concerns.

They have reason to be worried, as Congress, the Obama administration and observers debate proposals ranging from restructuring the military’s retirement ...

Can Part-Time Retirement Save USPS?

• By Amanda Palleschi
• May 10, 2012
• comments

As U.S. Postal Service representatives announced a new plan for rural post office closures Wednesday, discussion continues on a more comprehensive USPS overhaul. No matter the outcome or timeline for reform, a lesser-known regulation already on the books could affect Postal Service retirees’ pay and benefits in the near term.

About half the Postal Service’s 557,000 employees are eligible to retire, according to a congressional staffer, and 80 percent of the cash-strapped agency’s costs are labor-related. Some who work on postal reform legislation estimate that as many as 150,000 USPS employees could retire today, and another 100,000 could be eligible in the next four years.

As a result, USPS policymakers are closely watching recent proposals that would institute work-retirement hybrid programs for all federal workers. Both the House and Senate have approved proposals to help ease eligible employees into retirement slowly -- allowing agencies such as USPS to delay hiring and training new employees.

While the House bill would amend U.S. code to allow feds to continue working part time while partially retired, a lesser-known but similar setup already is available under an Office of Personnel Management regulation. According to a statute approved in ...

Revved Up About Transit Parity

• By Brittany Ballenstedt and Amanda Palleschi
• May 3, 2012
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Both chambers of Congress are starting their engines for transit parity for commuters. Tax benefits for commuting via public transportation and those for driving used to be equal, but parity was derailed when Congress failed to extend mass transit perks by a Dec. 31, 2011, deadline. Benefits used to be $230 a month for both public transportation and driving, but now a maximum of $125 is available to mass transit commuters.

In February, we wrote that labor union leaders were revved up about a bill (S. 1034) introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that would reinstate transit parity.

After parking that proposal in the Senate Finance Committee, the measure was included in the Senate’s massive transportation bill in March.

Now, the National Treasury Employees Union is hoping the issue will gain even more traction with a similar House proposal (H.R. 2412).

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley and Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., testified before a House panel last week on the provision, a companion to the Senate proposal.

“It’s good for employers, good for employees, good for the environment and helps take cars off our congested roads,” McGovern told the panel.

It’s unclear how ...

One Reason to Save Your Vacation Time

• By Amanda Palleschi
• April 26, 2012
• comments

Capitol Hill has been buzzing with debate over proposals that affect federal employees. Amid all the discussions, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee managed to squeeze in a few potential changes to Thrift Savings Plan policies.

The panel last week amended a retirement bill to allow federal and postal employees to deposit unused annual leave into their Thrift Savings Plan accounts upon retirement.

“This option has already been available to private sector employees with 401(k) plans since 2009,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., sponsor of the provision. “This amendment would give federal employees the chance to work on rebuilding their TSP accounts to make up for losses they suffered during the financial crisis.”

The committee unanimously approved the overall bill, which allows federal employees to ease into retirement by working part time.

Retirement Funds as Leverage

The oversight committee also passed a measure that would allow the Internal Revenue Service to enforce federal tax levies on civil servants. The provision was included in the version of the surface transportation measure the Senate passed in March, and was the subject of some confusion.

The IRS claimed it could levy funds in Thrift Savings Plan accounts, but the board overseeing ...