CHECK YOUR LIFE INSURANCE?
April 10th, 2021 | Posted by in Benefits | Did you know? | Insurance - (0 Comments)
AFGE CHALLENGER RETURNS
December 30th, 2020 | Posted by in Benefits | CHALLENGER | KNOW YOUR CONTRACT | MISSION STATEMENT | New Address | Retirees - (0 Comments)LOCAL 1395 December 2020 Newsletter “CHALLENGER” is available at the link below.
Share your stories or important mildstones for consideration in the next edition at afge1395@sbcblobal.net
ARE YOU COVID-19 POSITIVE?
November 29th, 2020 | Posted by in Benefits | CORONAVIRUS | Did you know? | FMLA | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)
Lawmakers Push to Protect Leave, Allow Feds to Opt Out of Tax Deferral
October 13th, 2020 | Posted by in Budget | CORONAVIRUS | Deferred TAX | Did you know? - (0 Comments)AFGE voices support for members of Congress who are trying to shield federal workers from the ill effects of COVID-19 by protecting their leave and allowing them to opt out of the ill-conceived tax deferral scheme.
Our union applauds a bipartisan group of 43 House lawmakers led by Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who urged the Trump administration to allow federal workers to opt out of the tax deferral plan that defers payroll taxes between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. Employees will have to pay it back by May 1, 2021.
AFGE President Everett Kelley initially urged Secretary Mnuchin to make it opt-in, or at the very least opt-out.
AFGE also supports new legislation introduced in the House and Senate that would waive the 30-day annual leave cap for all federal employees.
Normally, federal workers can only carry over 30 days of annual leave from one year to another. But because of COVID-19, the Office of Personnel Management waived the 30-day cap for those deemed essential workers by their agency.
The Federal Worker Leave Fairness Act introduced by Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., in the House and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, in the Senate, would extend the OPM waiver to all federal workers because there are several factors that prevent employees from taking annual leave, including state and local travel restrictions.
“Thousands of dedicated federal workers have been tirelessly responding to the coronavirus pandemic, including U.S. Postal Service employees, Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration workers, and National Institutes of Health researchers,” Senator Hirono said. “Our nation has leaned on them as they deliver medicines and Social Security checks, assist Americans with filing their taxes, develop a vaccine, and provide other vital services. This bill makes sure that no federal worker loses their leave because of this or any future pandemic.”
“Federal workers at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard have been working tirelessly throughout this pandemic to maintain the Navy’s readiness to respond to national security threats and have avoided unnecessary travel to minimize health risks that could threaten this important work,” said Rep. Kilmer. “They shouldn’t have to sacrifice the paid leave benefits they’ve earned because they chose to prioritize national service…Federal workers shouldn’t have to choose between working to support our nation or using their earned benefits before the end of the year.”
SSA instituted a policy in 1999 that gave employees Limited Personal Use of Government Office Equipment Including Information Technology. The SSA policy can be found on SSA Official Intranet Website: http://eis.ba.ssa.gov/eis/dcpea/lpugoe.htm under “Use of Government Equipment”.
Strength comes in Numbers!
$100 REBATES
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO December 31, 2020
AFGE Needs you. JOIN TODAY
If you join AFGE before December 31, 2020 you will receive a Rebate of $100.
Members, If you Recruit a new member you will receive a recruiter rebate of $100.
Submit your 1187 to Local 1395 office or
FAX to 312-277-7598
Rebates are paid after 90 days.
Contact AFGE Local 1395 for more information 833-575-1395
1187— Membership Application
Visit: www.afge.org/join
PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
September 24th, 2020 | Posted by in Did you know? | Excused Absences | FMLA | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)
The Office of Personnel Management has released more details about the new, highly-anticipated paid parental leave program, which will go into effect in less than three months.
OPM’s interim final rule, which is scheduled for publication Monday, is significant in that it gives federal agencies more instruction on how they should implement new paid parental leave benefits, and it offers employees more detail on how they can take advantage of the new program.
Under the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA), new benefits go into effect Oct. 1. The president signed FEPLA into law late last year, following a nearly decade-long effort by members of Congress
PROTECTION FROM INJURIES ON THE JOB
June 4th, 2020 | Posted by in Benefits | CORONAVIRUS | WORKERS COMPENSATION - (0 Comments)New Workers Comp Procedures Make It Easier
for
Feds Exposed to COVID-19 to Get Benefits
The Department of Labor has issued new procedures to make it easier for high-risk federal employees to get workers compensation if they contract coronavirus.
DOL’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) will now accept that if federal employees who work in high-risk positions, such as front-line medical personnel, first responders, and law enforcement officers, contract COVID-19, their illness is “proximately caused by the nature of their work.”
Prior to the change, an employee had to prove that he/she was infected at work, and with community spread, that would be hard to do. The change makes it easier for them to get the workers’ compensation benefits they deserve.
“Federal workers in such positions routinely encounter situations that may lead to infection by contact with sneezes, droplet infection, bodily secretions, and surfaces on which the COVID-19 virus may reside,” OWCP said. “Therefore, the employment-related incidence of COVID-19 is more likely to occur among members of law enforcement, first responders and front-line medical and public health personnel, and among those whose employment causes them to come into direct and frequent in-person and close proximity contact with the public.”
Our union supports this change.
“Health care workers and first responders are risking their lives to serve the American public during this challenging time and, if they contract COVID-19 while performing those duties, they should not have to worry about proving it’s work-related,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley. “AFGE has been fighting for presumption of workplace illness for all essential employees working through the pandemic, and this is a step in the right direction.”
AFGE is also working with members of Congress to pass a new COVID-19 bill that includes several of our union’s priorities, including a presumption of worksite illness. Under this provision, employees who must interact with the public, who have been quarantined, or who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 during the performance of their duties will be presumed to have contracted the virus at work.
AFGE FIGHTS TO KEEP EMPLOYEES SAFE
June 4th, 2020 | Posted by in CORONAVIRUS | Did you know? | National Updates - (0 Comments)EPA’s Dishonesty, Lies Raise Concerns Over Office Reopening Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to reopen offices in at least five of the 10 regions, but its dishonesty, lack of transparency, and at times outright lies about the reopening process have created confusion and fear among workers compelled to return to their offices amid the outbreak of the deadly virus.
The EPA is moving forward with its plan to reopen offices in regions 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10, but unlike some other federal agencies, it has not shared with employees and their union detailed plans and analysis to support its decision to reopen the offices.
Senior managers had earlier told employees’ union representatives they would be included in agency plans to reopen EPA offices both at the regional and national levels, but they failed to do so. The agency provided no documented justification for the decision either. Preparations to reopen these offices are already underway, and the employees were not informed until the day the process began.
“It’s a total mystery. It’s upsetting,” said AFGE Deputy General Counsel Cathie McQuiston. “They are not meeting the legal obligation with the union.”
Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, EPA employees have adapted themselves exceptionally well, working remotely to keep the important work of the agency going.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler himself praised EPA workers for their seamless transition to telework and productiveness during this time. The data shows this increase in EPA productivity.
EPA Council 238 President Gary Morton said it is particularly telling that the agency refuses to share data and plans with a workforce heavy in scientific expertise. He took issue with Wheeler’s lack of transparency and justification to reopen the offices without input from the workforce.
“We are committed to the success of EPA, and many of us have spent the better part of our lifetimes to make it so,” Morton said. “You say the health and safety of EPA employees and their dependents is your highest priority. We beg you to keep your word.”
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