CAPPS Notes - September 18, 2002

I. Welcome (Cliff Lee)

Participants were provided emergency exit instructions. In the event of an emergency, attendees should exit the building and reconvene on the Mall in front of the American History Museum for a head count. A sign-in sheet was distributed. Guests from NFC South were introduced.

II. E-Payroll Initiative (John Ortego and Jerry Lohfink)

Mr. Ortego provided a brief welcome and introduction to E-Payroll. The decision regarding the payroll providers is still not final; however, we feel that NFC will be a major player and will continue to serve the customers represented by CAPPS. NFC will most likely get additional customers but the service to our current customers will improve and not suffer. Mr. Ortego acknowledged the mistakes with W-2's but indicated that NFC has apologized profusely. Come July 2003 OPM is announcing Flexible Spending Accounts for all federal employees. The customers will be setting the stage for where we go in the future.

Jerry provided an E-Payroll status report. He hoped to be able to announce the outcome of the initiative by today's meeting; however, the decision is still pending. Jerry provided a handout of an overview of the E-Payroll initiative (i.e., how it started, how staffs have worked through the process, current status, projected milestones, etc.) A copy of this handout is attached. Key points of the presentation included:

Status of the consolidation effort

On August 13th NFC presented it's proposal to OPM and others. On September 3rd NFC was notified that NFC was one of the four best qualified. Mr Ortego indicated he heard that NFC was the Best Qualified. By September 30th, OPM will select the two final providers with a formal announcement expected in early October.

What's in it for NFC and the current customers?

• Reduced operational costs
• Identification of capital mechanism to remove the burden from you
• Improvements with standardization
• Several avenues for where federal payroll is going. Hopefully two years from now we'll be hearing from the customers that we've seen improvements in customer service, employee self service, and reduced unit costs.

Questions and Answers

Q: How soon after September 30 will OPM announce the payroll providers?
A: OPM has scheduled a press conference on October 3rd.

Q: Why not 1 or 3 payroll providers? Why 2? Economics -
A: The studies revealed that to maximize economies of scale, but still permit competition, two would be optimal.

Q: After the decision is made, what time frame will the providers have to convert the remaining customers?
A: The OPM business case and supporting documents said this must be completed by September 30, 2004. OPM yesterday announced they want to accelerate this schedule.

Q: Can NFC begin bringing new clients onboard before then?
A: Yes, several prospective clients have recently been in contact with NFC. The FBI is expected to make a decision shortly and could be implemented as early as Spring 2003.

Q: Is the understanding correct that OPM has announced that DOI, DFAS, GSA, and NFC are finalists and that 2 of the 4 will be selected to be THE providers?
A: That is correct at this time. However, payroll consolidation is very much an administration initiative and the situation is exceedingly fluid right now.

Mr. Ortego indicated that he watched the NFC team put together the NFC proposal. This involved working seven days a week, eighteen hours a day for three to four months to get the proposal to the table. He was there for the presentation and is very proud of the NFC group involved in putting together and presenting the package. "If a vendor had won this, their compensation would have doubled. However, the NFC team has done this for the same pay and double the work. We do the best we can with the resources we have. Please remember that and have patience with us."

III. NFC's Employee Self Service (Jo Bonner & Rick Minella)

As George has indicated at prior CAPPS meetings, NFC will be providing employee self-service. The new system is called the Employee Self Service (ESS) system. It will be implemented in phases and NFC is currently testing the five forms that will be available in Phase 1. The forms to be implemented in Phase 1 are change in address, federal tax, state tax, financial allotment and direct deposit. NFC plans to implement these forms in January 2003 - probably PP-01.

NFC plans to make the ESS an automatic option for anyone in an agency that is currently authorized to use the Employee Personnel Page (EPP); however, an agency may chose not to participate. Rick indicated that NFC does plan to issue a letter to HR directors indicating that the ESS will be available for their agency. Agencies who do not wish to have this access would be required to notify NFC in writing. Employees may elect EPP, ESS or both. For employees currently enrolled in the EPP, ESS will be an option on the menu. No additional security, passwords, etc. will be needed.

Questions & Answers

Q: What level of protection and security are available with ESS? What features?
A: The system will require the standard 128 bit encryption with SSL. While NFC could permit ESS access with PKI security, it does not plan to implement PKI's for it at this time. The primary reason for not using PKI on the ESS is that agencies would be required to have a PKI license for every employee. Would agencies be willing to pay for this? Yes. Mr. Ortego indicated that NFC will be offering both levels for those agencies who wish the access but need the additional security.

Q: (Melinda Morgan, DOJ) - What impact will this have on those employees who are currently using Employee Express (EEX)?
A: NFC's long-term goal with this initiative is to offer customers an alternative to EEX that enables employees to use one ID and password to access their data and to change those items within their discretion.

Q: Will guidance be forthcoming?
A: Yes. As implementation approaches, the letters Rick mentioned will be issued to HR directors.

Q: DOJ - We're using EEX right now and it's time for our annual agreements to be renewed, should we sign up for six months or 1-year?
A: NFC is not planning to have Phase 1 ready until January 2003 AND Phase 1 will only cover 5 forms. If agencies wish to retain the level of self-service that they currently offer their employees, then they should definitely renew the EEX contract. As for the time period, NFC does not have a definite completion date for full implementation at this time. However, it would probably be safe to renew for a 1-year period and re-evaluate at that time. George also indicated that EEX is already doing some other things that will be available sooner than ESS will have them available.

Q: (Treasury) - The option to use EES becomes available in January 2003. However, they do not have to choose this option. Is something required in writing to disallow it?
A: Yes, as Rick indicated earlier, you will be notified by NFC of implementation and the intent to turn ESS on for all EPP agencies. You will be required to tell NFC you do NOT want it turned on for your bureaus.

Q: (Wanda Stewart, Treasury) - They would like to consider using ESS. However, she is afraid that using both EEX and ESS may be too cumbersome for employees. From a Treasury perspective she feels permitting access in January is too premature. They would prefer to wait until all functionality is available. She requested that NFC please keep them up-to-date on this.
A: John Ortego indicated that agencies should choose the method best suited for them. However, agencies should consider the reject rate from EEX, the added cost to agencies, and the fact that ESS will have minimal rejects.

Q: (Cheryl Cotton, DOJ) - Will all employees have access or only those who sign up?
A: Each employee must sign up and get a PIN to access the system. ESS has not been mandated from the top for all agencies and employees can sign up for ESS without accessing the Employee Personnel Page (EPP). If an employee has access to the EPP, they would use the same userid and password for ESS.

Q: If we make an agency decision to make it mandatory and not use EEX, can we do the same thing that we did for EPP?
A: Long-term, yes. Immediately, no.

Q: (Meg Kirkwood - DOJ) - Why is there no phone option available?
A: George pointed out that most folks have access to the internet. For cost purposes it was determined that the phone option was not feasible.

Q: That's not necessarily true. DOJ has many employees who do not have Internet access. Wouldn't it be a good idea to allow them access to ESS via a phone line?
A: George indicated EEX reflects about 94% usage via the web and only 6% via the phone. As people become more computer literate - at home and at work, employees tend to use the phone less. The price could skyrocket if we need to establish and maintain phone ESS for a small number of people. NFC's views on offering phone access to ESS may change at some point down the road. Until then the only method of access for ESS will be via the web.

Q: (Treasury) - Will there be a pilot?
A: Currently NFC employees are testing ESS. No pilot is planned due to security issues and getting SSNs into the test database to accurately test it.

Q: (Treasury) When will all the forms be available?
A: That has not been decided at this point. NFC cannot commit until we see the workload.

Q: I understand that but if there will only be five forms available, TR will have to use dual systems. That is an issue for TR.
A: John Ortego indicated that NFC has not staffed ESS out for the additional forms. However, NFC determined that the forms available in January 2003 are of a value-added nature and would be the most beneficial. NFC has determined that these five forms are the forms used 75% of the time. Remember, employees can choose to use or not use.

With the Earnings & Leave Statement (E&LS), employees may voluntarily elect to turn off receiving it via the mail. However, only a small number of people have chosen to do so. "I've discussed this for three years in hopes of getting employees to eliminate the paper E&LS". On a similar line, NFC is internally testing a new product with E&LS. We are exploring the ability to push a secure kernel via email. NFC is currently conducting a test whereby an employee's E&LS is mailed to the employee's desktop or home PC via a secure kernel. The employee chooses the e-mail address that is used and the data is available at any time the employee wants it. While less effective than the EPP, it is better than opening an envelope in your mailbox. NFC has not made a decision at this time on whether to implement this feature. However, the NFC is impressed because of what it can do for you. DOJ indicated that it was a step in the right direction.

Q: When ESS comes up in January and the employee uses it, they will make mistakes that result in errors. Will the document fall into suspense and how will the agency know?
A: Rick - Yes, the action will fall into the agency's suspense system and it will be reflected on the EPIC List Screen as an ESS document. If your agency is not using EPIC, then it will fall into regular SINQ.

Q: (DOC) - Will there be front-end edits? For instance, if the employee enters the wrong zip code, will the system be keyed to the table and the employee can correct at that point?
A: George - NFC is cross-walking the postal table and the GEOLOC table to avoid many of the zip code errors. The system will ask you to enter the zip code and if multiple city names are attached to that code the system will provide a drop down list where the employee can choose the correct city. Hopefully, this will eliminate the errors. Good news!

IV. W-2 Testing (Penny Forbes, Ron Andrus & Stu Morlier)

Penny indicated a copy of the W-2 testing proposal should have been given to you when you arrived. A copy of the proposal is attached. The data cut-off for testing is the end of PP-22. By October 11th agencies should provide NFC with a list of socials to be tested. Hard copies of the W-2s will be printed on colored paper to ensure the documents are not perceived as originals. Agencies will be asked to review the drafts within a ten-day period. NFC has provided a template of questions/issues to be reviewed. This will help the NFC staff to be better equipped to answer your questions. We want your feedback to make changes and this PP-22 schedule gives us four weeks to make any changes that may be identified prior to the end of the tax year.

Penny requested that agencies please review the handout and get comments to their respective Customer Service Representatives. She also stressed that agencies should not overlook the old issues but to also remember to test any issues for which new requirements had been submitted since PP-25 of 2001. Cases in both situations should be tested.

Questions & Answers

Q: Has the system been fixed to accommodate those individuals that were an issue last year?
A: Yes. However, SSN's provided for the test should be representative of your clientele and include ones from last year's problem group. Mr. Ortego indicated some of the errors encountered last year were easy to fix. One involved NFC not receiving an update from IRS on an interpretation and it has been resolved. The multi state issue seems to be the biggest issue. This is difficult and NFC is working on this. We are also relying on the right guidance and the right information from the HR office. NFC does not want to go through a situation similar to last year. Penny also indicated that an agency may want to have staff at NFC to work through the suspense, that type of help is more than welcome.

Q: (Wanda Stewart, TR) - How many SSN's can they submit?
A: Penny - As many as the agency can review in a ten-day period. Agencies are permitted to provide as many socials as they want but you should keep in mind that agency staff must review all the W-2s for the individuals being tested. NFC recommends that you use a sample of your agency data.

Q: (Tom Neumeister, Smithsonian) - If all W-2's come to him for review, what is he checking and what is he checking it against?
A: The database IRIS/PINQ/EARN data through PP-22.

Q: Tom ran a FOCUS report against PAYTA and encountered multiple pay figures. This is due to corrected T&As which cause the - and + of data. This is very hard to review.
A: Stu Morlier recommended using EARN since it provides summary data.

Q: Is EARN defined to FOCUS?
A: Jim Julian checked with staff at NFC during the meeting and obtained the following response. "New EARN is not defined to FOCUS but certainly can be if it is the requirements". DOC recommended that any database, new or old, be defined to some reporting tool that agencies have access to, preferably FOCUS. All other clients present agreed!

Q: (Melinda Morgan, DOJ) - Are you saying we can send people down to work with Stu?
A: Yes, your staff would be reviewing/releasing the documents. Agencies have 2-3 months to get the fringe benefit data reported to IRS. Agencies can change the cut-off for those benefits to make the process smoother.

Q: (Rhonda Hickey, SBA) - SBA picked up a transfer from TR and used the wrong the retirement code on the action. (Employee was coded as FERS when she should have been CSRS-OFFSET). SBA corrected the error in PP-25, 2001. The money was refunded to her and not put in her retirement account. Why?
A: Stu - They cannot monitor every situation and stop all the errors. The system does what it is told. While NFC is concerned about proper payment of all employees, the thousands of employee's in situation A require more immediate care than the 1-2 in situation B.

Q: Do you still have problems with CSRS-Offset deductions when the Social Security cap is hit.
A: OPM changed the methodology for computing this. The new methodology does not have to be implemented until CY 2003. All methods used previously were correct but they were not standard. NFC will be making the changes in PP-25 - beginning CY 2003. If agencies are interested in tracking the progress on this initiative, it is Project Number 20395. For further information, please refer to OPM's Benefits Administration Letter 02-304 dated February 6, 2002.

V. Military LWOP & FEHB (Glenda Dorsey & Jo Bonner)

Glenda indicated there are many facets involved in resolving the programming issues surrounding an agency's decision to pay or not pay FEHB premiums for employees on LWOP-US for campaigns. On the front-end NFC can make modifications to the system to send a code to PAYE to generate a LWOP condition, (i.e., generate a bill to the employee). However, an issue behind the scenes in the PAYE system occurs if a T&A is not received then the system will not know to continue with the process of issuing the bill. The front-end changes can flag the record as a "Current Employment Status" (CES) code of 9 based upon a remark code entered on the newly processed LWOP-US actions for those agencies not covering the FEHB. However, for those individuals who are currently on LWOP-US, NFC will need to work with agencies to do sweeps to make their records correct and bills issued as needed. Jody and Jo will coordinate that effort. For agencies that are not covering FEHB and for those individuals on LWOP-US without a campaign, NFC will sweep the CES code to 9 and work with Steve Loeffelholz's group to generate a bill.

Jo indicated that some agencies have not indicated whether their agency will pay the premiums for the employees. To do the sweeps, NFC must know each agency's position. We still have 1500 people on LWOP-US in agencies that have not replied. We must have an answer by close of business on Monday, September 23rd. If we do NOT hear from your agency, the default will be that agency WILL pay the FEHB premiums.

Agencies also need to know what has happened with the FEHB premiums for individuals who are currently on LWOP-US. The system does not currently know what to do if no T&A is submitted while the employee is on LWOP-US. When a T&A is not submitted for a given pay period, no FEHB premiums - employee or employer share - are paid to the carrier that pay period. When T&A's are submitted, agencies are paying the employee share and agency share of the premiums. This is because coding from Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990's is still there. At that time, all NFC customers agreed to pay the FEHB premiums.

The current programming is also not distinguishing the employee's activation status (i.e., campaign/ no campaign) and the agency is paying for everyone when the LWOP-US action is processed and a T&A is submitted. We are not encouraging agencies to submit T&A's with non-pay status to resolve the immediate problem. Because we do not currently have a way to designate LWOP vs LWOP-US on a T&A, all LWOP submitted on a T&A is charged to an employee's non-pay counters. As we have mentioned in previous meetings, LWOP-US should not be charged against an employee's non-pay counters and the agency must use TINQ to reverse this time each pay period. Therefore, submitting T&A's with non-pay is not an optimal alternative to the immediate problem.

NFC realizes it is critical for carriers to receive their money to ensure employees retain FEHB coverage. Agencies need to make their budget staff aware of the issue and indicate that they will be charged for the agency and possibly the employee share of the FEHB premiums. We are currently working on the situation and will update the agencies as soon as a strategy for resolving the issues has been developed.

Questions & Answers

Q: (Mary Arnold, DOC) - Can individual bureaus pay or not or must it be a department decision?
A: By bureau.

Q: Mary indicated DOC may reconsider its original decision for the entire department to pay.
A: Jo indicated a decision needs to be made by 9/23 and DOC must notify NFC.

Q: Were employees receiving bills or no payment to the carrier?
A: The employee was not being billed nor was any payment to the carrier made.

Q: What are the numbers of affected employees?
A: NFC is estimating 2000 employee's system wide. We need to run an updated report of employee's on LWOP-US. This is why we have been stressing the importance of properly documenting the LWOP-US actions and making agency decisions on whether to pay or not pay. We will provide a copy of the updated report to the agencies. We are trying to minimize the impact on the agencies as well as manual pay.

Q: (John Ortego, NFC) We are approaching the end of the fiscal year. Do we have any estimates on how much their accounting will be off?
A: Not at this time.

Q: Was the accounting being debited?
A: In most cases no. If the LWOP-US was processed on time and no T&A's were submitted, the agency accounting was not debited. If the LWOP-US action was processed late, the agency did pay the premiums until it was processed and then the employee was billed.

Q: What does the accounting reflect?
A: Nothing.

Q: Could the agencies find themselves over obligated?
A: Yes.

Q: (Cheryl Ruf, USDA) - NFC is working on this for several months now. Why is this so late?
A: We're trying to get this resolved on the front-end and we do recognize the time situation for budget.

Q: Agencies have a financial obligation in fiscal year 2002 that has not been posted. Can NFC give us a period-end estimate to correct our books and provide it prior to 9/30/02?
A: Jo - Not at this time.

Q: (TR & DOJ) - We need clarification that if we had submitted a T&A, then is a receivable not being charged?
A: If you submitted the T&A it works ok; however, the counters are messed up. If no T&A is done, then the flag is not kicked off.

Q: (Cheryl Cotton, DOJ) - Agencies had been advised to not do a T&A for employees on LWOP-US. Should they have been submitting them?
A: No. If the agency processes the LWOP-US action, they should not be required to submit a T&A with non-pay time on it. However, if an agency did, NFC is handling the FEHB premiums correctly. The problem in the old programming was discovered by accident when troubleshooting a problem with the failure to debit the employee's FEHB premium. There was an employee who had been called up last fall and was using one day of paid leave per pay period to cover the cost of his FEHB premiums while on LWOP-US. The agency realized it had failed to process the LWOP-US action and processed it several months later. Once the action was processed, NFC stopped debiting the employee for FEHB and charged the agency for both shares. The employee called to complain that his FEHB was not being deducted. One thing let to another and we realized we had this unknown T&A requirement in the coding for this situation.

Q: DOJ is concerned about October 1st, how should this be handled?
A: At that time employees will begin using their FY2003 allotment of military leave. OPM does not require agencies to do a RTD to allow the use of paid leave while on LWOP-US. Agencies should submit the T&A with the military leave and keep the employee on LWOP-US from a personnel perspective.

Q: Based upon the information received today, should they continue doing a T&A?
A: Yes. If an employee wants to use paid leave on the T&A, the agency should permit it. However, if any non-pay time is included on the T&A the agency must remember to update the non-pay counters via TINQ.

Q: (Mike Mire, TR) - NFC does not normally permit a T&A if the employee is on LWOP. Will they force these through? In addition, in the past NFC would routinely delete the T&A if the LWOP is for 80 hrs for the entire pay period.
A: LWOP-US is treated differently than other types of LWOP actions. Jerry Lofink indicated that the staff must be permitting these to apply, but all technicians must know what the process is to ensure that the T&A's are handled properly. Jo also stressed that agencies must update the counters via TINQ to ensure that any LWOP on a T&A is removed from the non-pay counters - WGI SCD and other dates.

Q: (Mary Arnold, DOC) Expressed concern that neither the government nor employee share of FEHB premiums has gone to the carrier. This has not come out of her agency budget and she does not know what amount to project. Does NFC?
A: Unfortunately NFC does not know the figures either. Mr. Ortego indicated that NFC would provide the agencies with a report of the affected individuals by COB on Monday, September 23rd so that they can modify their FY 2002 year-end estimates. Jerry indicated NFC needs to know the employee's name and if they are on LWOP-US. What additional minimal information is needed? Recommended items: 1) pay periods T&A's were submitted and 2) FEHB coverage code. Jo stressed that it is imperative that NFC know which agencies are authorizing payments of the premiums. Since we need to provide you data for your period-end estimate on this by September 23rd, we will need your answer no later than Sept 23rd. If an agency does NOT respond, the default will be that the agency will PAY the employee's share of the FEHB premiums.

Q: What happened to the remark we discussed last month?
A: As Glenda indicated earlier, NFC is establishing a remark (MIL) for the LWOP-US action that agencies choosing NOT to pay must include on the action when it is processed. Glenda can only sweep those individuals that are currently on LWOP-US. We will not be sweeping individuals after the initial sweep.

Q: When will the sweep be done?
A: Glenda - In PP-21. However, we need to know who is paying by September 23rd because of the urgency in determining the year-end projections for indebtedness. Jerry indicted this situation explains the calls that the Benefits Unit has been receiving from FEHB carriers indicating they do not have monies for certain employees.

Q: (Vickie, TR) - Is there a W-2 impact?
A: OPM went to IRS for answer and we shared that with Stu & Ron via an email in July. They are still reviewing the information and we will update you at the next meeting.

Q: (Mary Arnold, DOC) - If the agency pays the employee share is that treated as pre-tax?
A: If agency decides to pay entire premium, no impact since taxes were not based upon a premium deduction. If employee is responsible for the premiums, then it will impact the W-2.

Q: Is there any impact if the agency pays the premium later, or if they need to reimburse the employee? A: Not if the agency refunds the money to the employee before the W-2 is issued. Stu also indicated that if the employee sent a FEHB premium payment via a personal check it is considered non-taxable and will not be reflected on the W-2 as pre-tax. However, if the premiums are paid from a future salary check, then they can be considered pre-tax. This is the case regardless of the reason for LWOP.

Q: (Mike Mire, TR) So for agencies that have agreed to pay, the Desert Storm programming will remain in place except for the T&A requirement portion. In the meantime should agencies do the T&A part to resolve the issue with payments?
A: Jo - If you do the T&As now, it places a huge burden on the agency. We do not know what the best solution is, but the agency would have to do the personnel action, the T&A and TINQ to fully take care of the issue with today's programming. Before a decision is made to submit a T&A, Penny would like to have discussions among the NFC staff. Maybe NFC can system generate the original/corrected T&A.

Q: (Lucy McCabe, FDIC) - If a person has been on LWOP-US and has RTD and no money has been sent to the carrier and agency wants to pay, what do we do?
A: If no T&A was done, check to see if the employee has received a bill and/or paid it. If the bill has not been paid, it can be waived by the agency. However, if it has been paid, the agency will need to do an AD-343 to reimburse the employee. In addition, for those pay periods where the LWOP-US action was NOT on the database and a T&A was submitted with paid time, the employee paid the premiums. The agency must also submit an AD-343 to reimburse the employee for those charges. Resolution will be labor intensive.

Q: (Cheryl Ruf, USDA) - If agencies have to go thru sweeps, manual pay, etc. will agencies have to pay a charge similar to the TSP reimbursable?
A: Glenda indicated that agencies will not be billed for the sweep.

Q: But what about manual pay side? For what charges WILL agencies be billed?
A: After the sweeps are accomplished, NFC will manually review each record to assure the payments are correct for each affected employee at no additional cost to the agency. If, however, your agency determines at a later date that you will not pay the FEHB premiums or vice versa, you will be billed for any costs related to this change in policy.

Q: (Mary Arnold, DOC) Is anyone else going back to 1995?
A: None of the clients present responded. Glenda indicated that the primary focus at this time was FY 2002 in which the most recent campaign kicked-off.

In closing, NFC will look at the numbers and approach this in a methodical process. Please provide the requested information and NFC will collect other information needed to resolve the issues and provide you with a report. We will work with the agencies to resolve this problem.

VI. Database Modernization Update (Glenda Dorsey)

NFC is coming to the final phases of this expansion. We are doing a pay pass that will be run for DBM. We are still in the FESI window. Agencies have four more opportunities to send in personnel data. We also have some concentrated effort on in-house and testing by the requirements area. We would like to say we have covered all bases and we have uncovered quite a bit.

We thank all of those customers who have participated. We would like to especially thank Jim Saunders from DOJ for his FOCUS testing. If he has the time to continue testing and provide us with any additional information, that would be great. Melinda and folks, "please THANK Jim very much for his help, we are very grateful for it."

Schedules are on target for PP-20 implementation. Agencies need to be aware that we may not be able to run a 1st pass of PINE until Thursday (October 17th) of that week. The schedule for PP-20 will be as follows:

• Monday, October 14th is a holiday. No pass will be run. NFC staff will be working on the database change.
• Tuesday and Wednesday, October 15th &16th, NFC will verify data.
• Thursday, October 17th, NFC will run the 1st pass of PINE.

Because of the need to do all the "end of pay week" routines, we cannot start the database change process until that Monday. We cannot predict the time it will take to fully migrate and get the data to you. Therefore, Thursday the 17th will be the 1st pass of PINE. A database change is a huge task and requires a substantial, coordinated effort.

NOTE since CAPPS Meeting: The first pass of PINE will be processed October 16. It will include system generated actions and actions in the future file - those files normally picked up after BEAR runs.

Glenda requested the customers send in a statement expressing their agreement that items tested were ok. For example: "XX agree to the changes that were made and found no impact on our regular processing". Agencies should send this to Margaret Prell via their Customer Support Office representatives and she will provide it to Glenda for project documentation.

Questions & Answers

Q: Can you put the schedule on the bulletin board?
A: Yes.

Q: What systems will be down, IRIS, FOCUS, all systems?
A: We will try to give you PINQ/IRIS for PP-19 but there is no guarantee. We will coordinate with the various staffs and will do what we can to have minimal impact on the customer. Penny indicated that the above components are impacted so agencies will not have access to them. As soon as a system(s) becomes available it will be brought up and the bulletin board will be modified.

Q: (Mary Arnold, DOC) - Has NFC ever identified a mechanism to provide a bulletin board with EPIC? A: Margaret Prell indicated that NFC is working on this, but we do not have an implementation date.

Q: (Vickie Cline, TR) - Can agencies send FESI files down to NFC during this time frame?
A: Yes but they will not be processed until the system becomes available. Actually, agencies can also enter data via the Futures file and that could eliminate the last minute data entry due to system unavailability during week one of the processing pay period. Remember - There will be no data entry for EPIC, HCUP, SINQ, PACT, and PRES while the system is down. The bulletin board will be updated and NFC will email to get info to the customer. Be aware of these dates and changes!!

Q: (Deborah King, DOJ) - Expressed concerned about this happening at the end of the FY and agencies will not have access to the database until October 17. Melinda Morgan (DOJ) indicated the need to evaluate end of fiscal year processing. She believes that Debby (Tatum) has to load payroll data for agencies for month end reporting? Everybody knows how slow the system is during end of FY processing. To not have it unavailable may mean that agencies need to pull data off to handle needs. Penny indicated that unavailability until Thursday is the worse case scenario - all the pay period and year-end processing will be completed prior to beginning the database changes.

Q: (Mary Arnold, DOC) - Can a copy of the old database be available to use for period year-end estimates?
A: Unfortunately, we cannot do this.

Q: (Mary Arnold, DOC) - Do agencies have access to a new data dictionary
A: Yes, it is in IDMS61 Dict 03.

Q: Mary - Only testers had access to this information, where else can it be found?
A: Agencies need to submit a security request to get access. Mary indicated this is not acceptable since it takes three weeks to get a security request processed.

Q: Melinda Morgan (DOJ) - Can NFC publish a list?
A: The focus listing has been published and there have been no changes to this due to the testing.

Q: Will after BEAR reports be run before or after migration?
A: If NFC runs them before they make the change, then agencies will not have the DB available until Friday. NFC will assure all jobs coded for running "after BEAR" will be completed prior to the database change, however, no ad hoc reporting will be allowed during the time of the database change. The ad hoc reports must be run after the system is brought back up. The Focus code will also have to be updated to accommodate the changes in the database modernization.

Q: (Vickie Cline, TR) - Regarding the extract files agencies received after BEAR, will those still be on schedule?
A: Yes, that process will execute normally.

VII. Benefits Update (Jody Nyers)

TSP and Personal Bankruptcy (Fact Sheet)

If an employee files Chapter 13 bankruptcy, how does this affect a TSP loan? If the TSP loan is included in the bankruptcy, then the agency will need to submit the AD-343 to cancel the loan. Otherwise the deductions will continue. This information is included in TSP Bulletin 02-20 with fact sheet dated July 02.

Long Term Care

Long Term Care via payroll deduction is scheduled for PP-20.

TSP Deductions

Cheryl Cotton, DOJ, asked if a bulletin will be issued to explain why employee's have two TC lines for TSP deductions (agency contributions kicked in and the other is the employee's share) on the E&L? Debby Tatum indicated both items should be reported on the same TC. NFC will not provide a bulletin but will provide information via email. Stu indicated that TC 75-17 does have an impact in New Jersey (394 employees affected). This is because NJ does not recognize TSP.

VIII. IRIS 125/525 Display (Jody Nyers)

PPSPS has had many calls over the years regarding the display of information in IRIS when more than one agency is involved. If a user has global access, the periods of service on the screens are grouped by agency and not by date. This means if the employee goes back and forth between agencies, it may be confusing for those with global access. It should not be an issue for users without global access. If you have a problem and can provide Jody with an example outside this scenario, she will check on it.

Q: Mary Arnold (DOC) - If you own the record, then the records are stacked by agency and not by date, right?
A: Yes.

Q: Shavon Butler (PTSA) - Has anybody else experienced problems getting into IRIS525?
A: Sounds like a problem with security access to history. Have you reported this to anyone? Debra King (DOJ) indicated that DOJ address this issue since it relates to time when PTSA was actually a part of DOJ.

IX. Employee Express Update (George Morris)

George indicated EEX Testing in Macon is on-going for the month of September. There was no meeting this month due to the testing. He has received no feedback on how the testing is going. The results will be shared next month. Mary Arnold, DOC, asked if the folks at EEX know that NFC is working on ESS? George has provided them with this information.

X. HR Customer Briefing (Margaret Prell)

The HR Customer Briefing is scheduled for December 4th in the Jefferson Auditorium at USDA. Suggestions for the agenda should be submitted to Margaret via e-mail. On December 4th, registration will begin at 8:30 with opening remarks at 9:00. Break at 12:00. At 1:00 NFC will hold a meeting with agency personnel. On December 5th NFC will provide demos of STAR Web, the Reporting Center with PKI, ESS, etc. NFC will also provide demonstrations of the portal systems: Reporting Center, SPPS Web, Knowledge Base, etc.

The Spring 2003 Briefing in New Orleans is scheduled for April 1st & 2nd. NFC has already made tentative arrangements with the Iberville Suites. In addition to the conference days, NFC has been able to set-aside a small block of rooms for those individuals who arrive early or stay later. The only day for which they cannot get rooms is Friday the 4th due to the Final Four Basketball tournament being held in NOLA that weekend. An email to agency representatives will be forthcoming as a reminder.

Click here to view flyer.

XI. January 2003 Pay Increase (Cliff Lee)

Treasury-Postal Appropriations Bill

The House and Senate bills (HR-5120 and S-2740) currently propose a 4.1% average increase. The President did not offer an alternative by the August 30th deadline. We will keep the customers posted on the progress, but we do not expect final resolution until the usual late December signing.

NC State Income Tax

The change for NC state income tax is scheduled for PP-21. There are 7,000 employees with duty stations in North Carolina. This change impacts 1500 of them. Currently NFC uses the federal marital status in the NC state tax computation. NC is changing the formula and will now have a separate marital status designation specifically for the State tax. The majority of employees already have data in the State marital status field. If field is blank or zeroes, NFC will sweep marital status to Single. Any increase or decrease in taxes will be minimal. The tax decrease averages $6 and tax increases average $1. If employees wish to change their NC State withholding, they may file a state tax change. NFC just found out about this change and a bulletin has not been issued yet.

XII. User & Work Group Updates

Awards (Jo Bonner) - There is nothing to report. The 2nd Wednesday fell on September 11th so the attendees elected to postpone the meeting until September 25th.

EPIC (Lynda Wilson) - The next meeting is scheduled for September 19th at 10:00 am. If you wish to participate via teleconference, please contact Lynda for the conference dial-in number.

Transition Training - This is transition training for new agencies coming onto EPIC. A new training schedule was distributed and all of those sessions are now full. Do agencies have training needs, but have not been able to get into a training session? We will add more training sessions if necessary. Attendees need to be well-versed processors -not new users. Please notify Lynda, or Doug Womac and/or your Customer Service Representative if you need additional sessions. Margaret reminded everyone that the free classes are only until the end of this year.

Processing Training - This is the 4½ day session provided by Louise Richard and her staff. All of the currently scheduled classes through the end of 2002 are also full. If you have staff that need this type of training please let Lynda or Louise know as soon as possible and we will set up additional sessions.

FESI - no report

Leave Share (Jo Bonner) - The LS Work Group is finalizing the letters. The next meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, September 19th from 9am-noon. If things go on schedule, the two remaining segments - draft reports and letters will be provided to CAPPS for review at the next meeting. As with the original package, customers will have one month to review and provide comments. The reports will be provided via email. It will be a much shorter package to review since it is only two of the attachments.

RIF (Debby Berry) - NFC is reviewing the specifications package and the RIF Work Group is awaiting comments.

T&A (Jo Bonner) - The next meeting is scheduled for September 23rd from 9-11am. The next requirements meeting to discuss issues pending is scheduled for Thursday, September 26th from 9-12.

STAR Web - The pilot of STAR Web is scheduled to end on September 30th. So far things are going well and we are receiving about 1500 T&A via STAR Web. Treasury's departmental office and USDA's APHIS are steadily bringing in new timekeepers each pay period. If an agency is interested in STAR Web, call Theresa Trentacoste at 504-255-5324. Security requests must be done as far in advance as possible. In addition, NFC is staggering implementations to ensure that there are no volume issues. Agencies need to get on the schedule now, even if do not plan on going live until January. The latest client version of STAR is also being tested through September 30th.

Questions & Answers

Q: Melinda Morgan (DOJ) - Question for those who have tested STAR Web, have you had any print problems?
A: TR - No, that part worked fine. The major problems experienced by TR were not with the application but resulted from internal agency server and communications/firewall issues. The offices have done some upgrades to resolve the problems and now it is running beautifully. TR's Advice: If you are thinking about going with STAR Web, testing ahead of time versus in production.

Q: Deborah King (DOJ) expressed concern about data going through the Internet vs intranet?
A: Jo responded that she is not aware of any issues on that subject. As TR stated, the biggest issue appears to be communication with agency's in-house servers and/or fire walls.

Q: Deborah King (DOJ) - September 30th is the deadline for all STAR Web testing right?
A: Yes.

Q: Has anyone other than DOJ tested as far as the LEO and the issues concerned with the LEOs?
A: Jo indicated that NFC is doing internal testing. However, our policy is that if you have an agency unique scenario then you must test this or provide cases that we can run through for you. No one with NFC can be expected to be aware of all of DOJ's requirements.

Q: Meg Kirkwood (DOJ) - DOJ requested a baseline test on prefix and suffix codes. This is something that they asked for FESI testing prior to releasing the versions. They would not certify it until the package passed baseline testing. DOJ also has concerns with the server sizes and how this will affects clients. In their view NFC has not had a complete baseline testing successfully.
A: Jo will discuss DOJ's request and concerns with Rick. She stressed that NFC cannot test a scenario if the agency has not provided it. It is imperative that agencies test those situations that are unique to the agency.

Q: DOJ indicated that they were informed that all their scenarios were tested.
A: Jo repeated that NFC will test scenarios provided by the agency, but we have to know about them. In prior testing sessions agencies with unique needs have participated, did not test their critical issues nor did they provide a case to NFC. One of the situations did not work properly. NFC staff does not know all of the ins and outs of agency processing. We would like to avoid this type of omission in the future, but we need agency help.

Q: DOJ is requesting some subsequent testing if all transactions were not tested prior to putting the full system into production. They are recommending that NFC open a few more windows, not to delay production but to truly test all TC codes.
A: Jo will bring this issue up with Rick.

Q: Deborah King (DOJ) - What is the targeted production date for STAR Web.
A: A specific date has not been set, but it will be shortly after the pilot ends.

Q: If DOJ contacts Theresa and indicates they want to bring up four agencies, can they do that after October 1st?
A: Theresa will work with you in scheduling your implementation over x pay periods.

Q: Is there training for STAR Web?
A: No specific dates for specific STAR web classes have been established yet. If users have gone through the STAR tutorial and will be using the STAR web version in lieu of the client they should not experience any major problems. The big learning curve is for employees converting from PC-TARE. TR provided 2½ days of training and they have migrated from PC TARE without much problem.

Update since CAPPS: (1) The STAR web pilot has been extended through the end of December to permit additional testing. If testing goes faster than expected, we may go to production sooner. (2) Jo also discussed DOJ's concern with testing all TC scenarios. Rick indicated that "Yes, NFC does test several scenarios for the FESI testing. However, those case were provided by the clients." So we are back to what was discussed during the meeting. If the clients provide the cases, we will test them for you.

XIII. Potpourri

A. Welcome to Hatsi, w/FMC attending her first meeting w/CAPPS.

B. Debbie Berry - FCC has a problem with FOCUS being too slow. Other clients also expressed complaints. The system is worse during T&A week and all afternoons. Reports that are submitted with multiple job codes (a, b, & c) do not appear to be running simultaneously. Sometimes they do not run overnight. The responses from OCC are "too much traffic".

C. Mary Arnold (DOC) indicated that the 113 reports are still a problem. Column 1 figures on some reports are very high and other times the figures are normal. What is causing the differences? Agencies cannot send data to OPM each month until after the report is fixed. Debbie Berry indicated that she had been told that this will continue through the end of the fiscal year. The NFC point of contact for this is Debra Cline. After the last CAPPS, there were emails to Glenda Dorsey ÷ Rick Minella ÷ Linda Dagaponte ÷ Daryl Ware. Penny indicated that the chain of command agencies should use in the future is Cline ÷ Dorsey ÷ Forbes.

D. LaShawn Stone (Peace Corp) - Does anyone have a FOCUS report that can be used to monitor the comp time retention period. Margaret will have Al Guilliot send her one. Update since CAPPS: NFC provided LaShawn a copy of the report on September 20th.

E. Jennifer Joyner (CFTC) - This is the 1st pay period that they have converted to EPIC but their reports are blank. They are using EPIC reports and not the CULPRPT ones. Their POI is 4173. Lynda and Jody will try it. 202-418-5023. The report that Lynda ran for Mary yesterday had no data so there may be an issue.

F. Peace Corp - Is there an explanation of the military leave and how it works. They are experiencing problems with employees being able to leave time when the IRIS screen shows time left. Jo indicated that military leave is awkward because it works backward (i.e., the days on the screen are days used and not days remaining). She requested that Peace Corp call her with the SSN and she will walk them through that individual's case. Updated since CAPPS: PC did call Jo after the meeting on September 18th and the situation was resolved.

G. Rhonda Hickey (SBA) - Do we have an update on the OASDI situation for individuals who have met the cap? Jody - no we're waiting on Ralph to get back to us. Updated since CAPPS: Rhonda received information regarding her individual affected by this and it has been resolved.