U.S. Air Force Volume5,Issue16
Hurlburt Field Civilian Personnel News 16Nov2015
QuickShots
-Nov-NationalAmericanIndianHeritageMonth;theme-
GrowingNativeLeaders:EnhancingOurSevenGenerations
‐9Novto14Dec‐Federal
Bene itsOpenSeason
-26Nov-ThanksgivingDay
-27Nov-NativeAmerican
HeritageDay
-NLT28Nov-Schedulealluse
orloseleaveandusebeforethe
leaveyearendson9Jan2016
-ElectiveDeferralLimit(TSP
contributionslimit)willremain
at$18Kfor2016;Catch-up
limitis$6K
-Alljobannouncementsare
postedtowww.usajobs.gov
-Whenresigning,retiring,or
PCSing,contacttheCivilian
PersonnelOf ice(CPO)foran
out-processingchecklistand
applicablefactsheet
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
CivilianPersonnelOf ice
1SOFSS/FSMC
212LukasikAve,Suite217
HurlburtField,FL32544
RequestCPOAppointment:
[email protected]
CustomerHours:
Mon,Tue,Thurs,Fri
0800‐1600
Wed0830‐1600
CPOResourceSharePointsite:
https://eis.afsoc.af.mil/
sites/1SOFSS/FSM/FSMC/
Customers
ICE:http://ice.disa.mil/
index.cfm
OPM Cyber Breach Update Use or Lose Annual Leave On30Sep2015,OPMandDODbeganmailingnoti icationstopersonnelimpactedbythesecondOPM
cybersecurityincident.Noti icationsareexpectedto
takeseveralweeks.Impactedindividualswillonly
benoti iedbyletterandshoulddisregardnoticesnot
mailedtotheiraddress.Letterswillcontainapin
andinstructionsforenrollment,aswellaswhat
identitymonitoringservicesandinsuranceareavailabletothematnocostforatleastthreeyears.DoD
isalsoworkingtoestablishacontactcenterforpersonnelwhowanttoverifytheirstatus.
IdentityTheftGuardSolutionsLLCisprovidingservicesforincident2.Individualsimpactedbyboth
incidentsmayhaveaccountsunderbothcompanies.
Formoreinfovisithttps://www.opm.gov/
cybersecurity/stay-informed/ortheAFcybersecuritywebsiteathttp://www.af.mil/cybersecurity.aspx.
TheleaveyearforFederalemployeesendson9Jan
2016.Themaximumamountofannualleavemost
employeesmaycarryoverfromoneleaveyeartothe
nextis240hours.Anyexcessleaveaboveyour
carryoverlimitattheendoftheleaveyearisforfeited.Employeesneedtoschedulealluse/loseannual
leaveinwritingbythethirdpayperiodpriortothe
endoftheleaveyear(i.e.,28Nov2015).
Forfeitedleavemaybeconsideredforrestoration
whenlostduetoexigenciesoftheservice(provided
itwasscheduledNLT28Nov2015),sickness,or
adminerror.Assoonasmanagementknowsscheduledleavemustbecanceledformissionreasonsand
forfeitureisunavoidable(cannotberescheduled),
thesupervisorinitiatesarequesttothedesignated
of icialexplainingtheexigency,andrequestingapprovaltocanceltheleave.Advanceapprovalofan
exigencyisgenerallyrequiredforleavecancellations
beingconsideredforrestoration.Thesupervisor
shouldcoordinatetherequestwiththeCPO.Note,
theuseofexpiringcomptime/credithoursdoesnot
meettherequirementforrestoration.ConsultAFI
36-815oryourHumanResourcesSpecialistat
[email protected].
Children of Same‐Sex Partners BasedontheSupremeCourt’sdecisioninObergefell
v.Hodges,published26Jun2015,allstatesarenow
requiredtoallowsame-sexcouplestomarry.Asa
result,OPMadvisesagenciescannolongeraddchildrenofsame-sexdomesticpartnerstoFEHBenrollmentsasnonewchildrenareeligible.Stepchildren
thatarealreadycoveredunderanenrollmentfor
planyear2015,basedonadomesticpartnercerti ication,remaineligiblefamilymembersonlyuntilthe
endoftheplanyear.Forplanyear2016andbeyond,couplesmustbemarriedinordertocover(or
continuetocover)stepchildrenundertheirFEHB
andFEDVIPenrollment.
OPMhighlightsthatanemployeemustinformthe
agency(i.e.,BEST)intheeventthatastepchildwho
iscurrentlycoveredunderaFEHBselfandfamily
enrollmentandwhoisnotataxdependent,should
notbecoveredforplanyear2016.
FEDVIPenrolleesareresponsiblefornotifyingBENEFEDSdirectlyofachildwholoses/gainseligibility.
Marijuana Use SeveralstatesandtheDistrictofColumbiahave
decriminalizedtheuseofmarijuanaformedicinal
purposesand/orforlimitedrecreationaluse.However,FederalemployeesareremindedthatFederal
lawonmarijuanahasnotchanged.Marijuanais
categorizedasacontrolledsubstanceunderthe
ControlledSubstanceAct.Possessionofmarijuanais
illegalevenifthereisnointenttomanufacture,distribute,ordispenseit.ExecutiveOrder12564,DrugFreeFederalWorkplace,mandatesFederalemployeesrefrainfromtheuseofillegaldrugs;illegaldrugs
arecontrarytotheef iciencyoftheservice,and
personswhouseillegaldrugsarenotsuitablefor
Federalemployment.
Useofillicitdrugs,includingmarijuana,issubjectto
disciplinaryandadverseactionunderAFI36-704up
toandincludingremoval.
Hiring Incen ves Update TheAirForceAuditAgency(AFAA)conductedan
auditat20AFlocationsofSuperiorQuali ication
Appointments(SQAs)andcivilianRecruitment,
Relocation,andRetention(3Rs)incentivesgranted
overatwo-yearperiod.AFAAconcludedthatof icialsdidnotproperlyjustify,validate,andsupport
SQAsandassociatedsalaryamountsawardedfor
43%ofemployeesreviewedanddidnotproperly
justify,support,andrevalidate3Rincentivesfor
75%ofemployeesreviewed.
PerHQUSAF/A1memodated30Sep2015,anannualreportontheseincentiveswillberequired.Key
inspectionpointsincludeensuringpackages:
-Arefullydocumentedandsubstantiateclaimsin
thejusti ication
-DocumentconsiderationofFederalbene itsin
determiningsalary
-Documentstep1salarywasofferedanddeclined
priortoconsiderationofSQA
-Documentothercandidateswereevaluatedand
consideredpriortoofferingSQA
-Areapprovedbyproperdesignatedauthority
-Arejusti iedandrecerti iedannuallyforrecurring
3Rs
TheAF/A1memoalsorequirespaidincentivesbe
recoupedfromemployeesnotmeetingrequired
serviceperiods.
TheAFPaySettingAFIiscurrentlyundergoingrevisiontoincorporatetheserequirements.Localinformationisbeingdevelopedforsupervisorsandwill
beavailableontheCPOSharePointsiteinthe
“Staf ing/Recruitment”sitelibraryintheverynear
future.