Fed employee advocates meet with DOD on per diem cuts

Union officials, industry representatives and members of Congress met with Defense Department leaders Dec. 4 at a roundtable discussion held to examine the deep cuts to temporary duty assignment (TDY) per diem allowances that went into effect Nov. 1.

Those cuts trimmed back allowances by 25 percent for employees on TDY for periods lasting between 30 and 180 days; employees on TDY longer than 180 days saw their per diems cut by 45 percent.

Employee advocates have been strongly critical of the reductions, which they say hinder employees' ability to find decent lodgings.

"These extreme cuts create undue financial burdens on these dedicated employees who will struggle to meet these per diem requirements," Federal Management Association National President Patricia Niehaus said in a Dec. 5 statement. "While DOD states firmly that travelers will not be required to pay out of pocket for any valid expense and TDY employees will be reimbursed if suitable lodging cannot be found within the new rates, discussions with the travel and lodging industry show the reality will put a burden on employees, as rates will price them out of many markets."

Niehaus said the cuts "do not recognize the financial restraints federal employees face" in the wake of the three-year pay freeze and furloughs, and that employee morale at military installations has been falling steadily.

"FMA understands the directives DOD is under to reduce expenditures and other costs, and we are hopeful that this round table is a pathway for a continuing dialog between the DOD workforce and DOD leadership to come to an understanding on the best methods for reducing spending within the department, but not at the expense of its dedicated workers," she said.

National Federation of Federal Employees National President William R. Dougan, who also participated in the roundtable, agreed that the cuts simply shift costs to DOD employees.

"The Department of Defense is placing a $38 million per-year burden on the workers who support our military," Dougan said in a statement. "The department is touting this as a prudent financial decision, but it amounts to nothing more than a new tax on defense workers with the misfortune of being assigned on long-term temporary duty."

"For defense workers, this is death by a thousand cuts," Dougan said. "DOD shifting these costs onto workers is unfair and the policy change should be reversed immediately."

Dougan said his union also objects to the way the decision to cut the rates was made.

"The department made their decision unilaterally and never discussed the matter with the workers who are impacted by the change," he said. "Changes like these are precisely what labor-management pre-decisional involvement is for–to get sensible feedback from workers before implementing a change that will do more harm than good."

Niehaus and Dougan both said they hoped to work with DOD to revisit the issue.