Government Furlough

[ERDC_]

http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversigh ... loughs.pdf

This guidance document appears to state that excepted service can be furloughed, but "eligible" excepted service can appeal to the MPSB.

Tough break...

Some of the research labs are self-funded meaning they fully pay for their salaries and overhead with research proposals to other government or private agencies. If you work at a place like that, and you are probationary, you should point out that they are not required to furlough you. (blah blah USC blah blah) That's what that law says by the way, probationary employees are not required to be furloughed, not exempted from it. Anyway, if your salary is going to be covered by research funds, then you'll have to buy lots of printer ink and paper before the end of the FY to spend that extra 20% salary, no one gives money back...that's a no no! So, they might as well pay you. Ask.

[upsetSMART]

Well, the lawyer I contacted was an employment lawyer out of Houston, TX. I don't live there, but he was charging $275 an hour, I am not sure if I will go through with him but he hasn't charged me yet, pending a furlough notice and evidence that the furlough will be put into effect.

GuestTK, did you end up beginning negotiations with a lawyer? I'm looking into my options now that I have my furlough notice.

[Lurkish]

I'm not sure if this question has come up, but has there ever been a case of a student who was not offered a job upon degree completion? Could the furlough cause this to happen to some of us? What would happen if we couldn't fulfill the scholarship requirements because we weren't offered a job? Would we be let off the hook or would we have to pay back some of the scholarship?

[Nunya]

I'm not sure if this question has come up, but has there ever been a case of a student who was not offered a job upon degree completion? Could the furlough cause this to happen to some of us? What would happen if we couldn't fulfill the scholarship requirements because we weren't offered a job? Would we be let off the hook or would we have to pay back some of the scholarship?

From my understanding, there is some of this going on this year. There are a few/several that have either been just short of abandoned by the SF because they “don’t have money”, or are offered way less than their initial conversations indicated. I believe there was one post about being released because their SF couldn’t figure out how to bring them on, and SMART couldn’t find another SF to pick them up. IIRC they were released without fault (no payback required).

[GuestTk]

No, I have not continued with the lawyer. I am going to go through with the furlough and basically not pay back any of the period that I was furloughed. I will contact a lawyer after the furlough and after I can get another job, which is hopefully in the fall when most of the recruiting happens...until then...Furlough Friday.

[GuestTk]

http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversigh ... loughs.pdf

This guidance document appears to state that excepted service can be furloughed, but "eligible" excepted service can appeal to the MPSB.

Tough break...

Isn't this just guidance, not law? We are going off of the law as written in the USC Chapter 5 7511, we can still argue the guidance can't we?

[GuestTk]

Here's a few things that could be of use to some people. If they're not useful, my apologies. Regardless of the provision of the actual contract and/or program handbook (which is an issue I'm interested in but making very little headway in understanding), there are some statutory provisions that place SMART scholars currently in Phase II in, what I think, is a curious position. I'm not a lawyer, I'm an engineer, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

Authority for SMART is laid out in: 10 USC 2192a. Section (d) lays out the ability for SecDef to bring SMART recipients into the excepted service.

The excepted service refers to any civil service position not in the competitive service (5 USC 2103).

Administrative furloughs of 30 days or less are covered as "adverse actions" under 5 USC Chapter 75, specifically in 5 USC 7512.

Applicability of Subchapter II of 5 USC 75 is where things get interesting. 5 USC 7511(a)(1)(C) says that the provisions of the subchapter (i.e. the ability to get furloughed) only applies, for excepted service, to (i) those NOT serving a probationary or trial period under an initial appointment pending conversion to the competitive service OR (ii) those having completed 2 years current continuous service...

If SMART students are considered to be in a probationary/trial period (that is, if 10 USC 2192a (d)(2) is a probationary/trial period), then the statute doesn't apply and I would say those who have completed less than 2 years of service may have grounds for arguing that they can't be furloughed. 5 USC 7511(c), however, may be an "out" for the OPM, in which case all of the above could be moot.

The point in putting this all out there is that I know my organization isn't thinking at this level, since Phase II SMART employees make up a fairly small fraction of overall employees. I would encourage you to contact your HR offices and challenge them to provide you with their basis for SMART inclusion in the furlough. If that doesn't work, then we'll have to fall back on the possibility that the Government is in breach of contract and will have to release us all from our service commitments early. This doesn't help us avoid the furlough, but at least we could go find other employment without the threat of massive debt from school suddenly hanging over our heads.

Thanks for putting this together. I'll talk to my HR command. I couldn't agree more about the organization not thinking at this level. I believe there are 2 scholars at my SF.

Sorry but doesn't 5 USC 7511(c) only apply to those not covered in 5 USC 7511? Read it again, maybe I am not interpreting it correctly:

(c) The Office may provide for the application of this subchapter to any position or group of positions excepted from the competitive service by regulation of the Office which is not otherwise covered by this subchapter.