the naf employee newsletter

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.

http://www.wellsfargo.com/401k

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.

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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.

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