This report provides an update on issues affecting federal managers. As always, I encourage you to visit www.fedmanagers.org on a regular basis for more information on these and other matters.

Also, be sure to look for the FMA Grassroots Update, where we offer links to action letters and FMA-PAC matters we do not address in the Washington Report. The grassroots newsletter is sent exclusively to non-governmental email addresses to avoid any Hatch Act violations. If you are not receiving it, contact the national office to provide your non-governmental email address.

Please feel free to provide feedback any time by emailing Adam Kay at akay@fedmanagers.org or by calling the National Office at (703) 683-8700. Thank you for your membership in FMA. It’s an honor to represent your interests before Congress and the administration.

FMA’s Chapter 373 (United States Marshals Service) in general, and their President Jason Wojdylo in particular, are frequent partners of the FMA National Office in identifying key issues that need to be addressed for the good of feds. From addressing staffing shortages and gender pay disparities to whistleblower protections, the national office has few better partners on the ground. Chapter 373 has recently brought to our attention a new issue. The Bureau of Prisons (BoP) administers a large trust account, totaling approximately $100 million, on behalf of prisoners. This fund is shielded from some criminal scrutiny, and in effect allows many prisoners to hide money that courts have ordered should go to their victims or for child support. Larry Nasser, for example, has been able to shelter a significant amount of money that courts have ruled is owed to his victims.

President Biden has recently announced plans to nominate a third and final member of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). On paper, the MSPB is an independent, quasi-judicial federal agency that exists to hear appeals from federal employees who are subjected to adverse actions by their agency; for example, a whistleblower who was subjected to a suspension or demotion as a result of their actions would appeal their case to the MSPB. Unfortunately, “on paper” is the main place that the MSPB has existed for several years now. The last time the MSPB had a quorum and was able to finalize decisions was in January 2017, more than four years ago. The term of the final member on the board expired in 2019, leaving the MSPB completely without members for more than two years.

The GAO found in 2020 that between 2015 and 2019, the average idle time where nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines had to wait for maintenance had increased from 100 days to 1019, an increase of 919 percent. If that sounds like a huge problem to you, you’re on the right track. The GAO also found that some shops at the four public shipyards were forced to rely on up to 45 percent overtime to complete their scheduled maintenance, and that the average lifespan of the heavy equipment needed for maintenance at the shipyards had expired in 2015, forcing precious time and resources to be devoted to additional maintenance for the equipment that was supposed to be doing maintenance on ships.

The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) allowed the Department of Defense (DOD) to extend a two-year probationary period for new employees. This is good for managers and for potential employees as it allows managers the time needed to properly train and assess new hires for complicated positions that require significant amounts of time and allows them to avoid having to make a hire-or-fire call on someone who has not yet completed their training.

President Biden has formally announced his decision of a 2.7 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2022, with a 2.2 percent raise across the board and a 0.5 percent increase in locality pay, not counting an additional WIG (within grade or longevity raise) based on time in their grade and a satisfactory rating. This number compares favorably to the 1 percent raise for 2021, but is less than the 3.2 percent proposed in this year’s FAIR Act sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI). Rep. Connolly and Sen. Schatz and their respective staffs have pushed hard for a 3.2 percent raise, which FMA endorsed, and we appreciate their efforts on behalf of feds.

Each year, in the process of regular order Congress needs to pass twelve bills funding different parts of the government and preventing a shutdown. The House has managed to pass eight of the twelve bills. The Senate has unfortunately been unable to pass a single bill. With the end of the fiscal year looming and less than three weeks left on the clock to fund the government through regular order, a Continuing Resolution, (CR), where funding is kept at the same level as the previous year until the relevant appropriations bills can be passed, appears increasingly likely.

On Thursday, September 9, President Biden issued an executive order mandating that all federal workers, including those working remotely, must be vaccinated against Covid-19 by November 22 or risk disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. FMA is not a union, and does not possess the collective bargaining rights possessed by unions. However, we are regularly attending meetings with the Safer Federal Workforce task force to advocate on your behalf. We have two main priorities in this: One priority is to ensure the physical health and wellbeing of federal employees. The other, equally important, is ensuring that your rights as a federal employee are respected.