On Tuesday the Office of Personnel Management asked department and agency officials to allow federal employees affected by Hurricane Claudette to be excused from work without having to use leave time or take a loss in pay. The request also applies to federal workers assisting with clean-up efforts. OPM asked department heads to take similar measures following Hurricane Lili last October.
"I am deeply concerned about the losses suffered by many as a result of the destruction caused by Hurricane Claudette and its aftermath to areas of the Gulf Coast," OPM Director Kay Coles James wrote in a July 15 memo. "Many parts of the federal government have been mobilized to respond to this disaster."
Hurricane Claudette traveled along 261 miles of the Texas coastline and two people died after being hit by falling trees or limbs, according to the Associated Press. Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, declared the affected communities disaster areas and asked President Bush to declare 15 Texas counties federal disaster areas to help with clean-up and recovery efforts.
Agencies or departments that need to set up leave banks so that employees can donate their leave time to federal employees affected by the hurricane should contact OPM's Pay and Leave Administration Group at 202-606-2858 or e-mail pay-performance-policy@opm.gov.
Retiree Research
On July 9, the Office of Personnel Management awarded a contract to the International Foundation for Retirement Education to evaluate how prepared federal workers are for retiring from the federal government.
The study will look at demographic factors such as age, income and geographic location, then use that information to gauge the training, benefits and education needs of retirees.
"Federal service is highly rewarding professionally, and with benefit planning, can provide for a sound retirement," OPM Director Kay Coles James said.
According to the General Accounting Office, the current governmentwide retirement rate is 2 percent a year. Retirement rates are expected to average between 2 percent and 4 percent a year for most agencies.
Fee Free
Most employees who signed up for the new Flexible Spending Account benefit will have their account fees paid by their agency, according to the Office of Personnel Management, which urged agencies to absorb the fees for federal employees last month.
"Agencies responded in an enthusiastic manner, and employees have a better FSA program as a result," said OPM Director Kay Coles James.
FSAs allow employees to set aside up to $3,000 pre-tax dollars to pay for health care costs-such as insurance deductibles and co-payments, prescription drugs, dental and vision care-that are not covered by traditional health care plans. Another $5,000 in pre-tax dollars can be put away to pay for child care and dependent care costs. Employees pay for the services and are reimbursed from the accounts. Internal Revenue Service rules require forfeiture of money not claimed through reimbursement during the plan year. Legislation is pending in Congress that would allow employees to carry over money instead of losing it.
The money in the accounts is not taxed and participants have until April 2004 to submit claims for this year.
When the program was initially announced, OPM said FSA participants would have to pay a $4 monthly fee to cover administrative costs and dependent care FSA enrollees would be assessed 1.5 percent of the amount deposited into accounts to pay for such costs. Last month, James asked agencies to pay the administrative costs and, as of July 11, more than 100 agencies had agreed to make the payments for their employees, according to OPM.
Most agencies began deducting money from participants' paychecks this month, but a handful of agencies including the Defense and Energy Departments, NASA, National Science Foundation, the National Security Agency and the White House won't start deducting money until September.
The Veterans Affairs Department and the Government Printing Office won't begin offering the benefit until next year, so employees at those agencies cannot sign up for accounts this year.
All employees will be able to sign up for 2004 accounts during an open season this fall.