CAPPS Agenda - March 19, 2003

I. Welcome (Cliff Lee) -

"Please sign in and indicate a point-of-contact at your office. In the event of an evacuation during the meeting, participants are requested to exit through the back doors and out the gate at the back of the building. All participants are to report to the far side of the Mall in front of the American History museum. Once you have been checked off the sign in sheet you will be told what to do next." Introduced Eleanor Ratcliff, USDA's benefits officer, who introduced the TALX team.

II. Retirement Calculator: TALX Demo (Gerry Claunch, George Kettner - president of Economic Systems Incorporated (ESI), & Tom Catalano)

TALX is most commonly known to most Federal employees as the "Work Number for Everyone". They joined forces with ESI to develop a calculator for the Forest Service. It is a web based system. Federal Retirement Benefit (FRB) has been in the works since the early 1990's when they began working on a Windows version of software. A copy of the demo can be viewed on-line at www.frbweb.econsys.com/frbdemo

III. January 2003 Pay Increase (Cliff Lee) -

The retroactive 1% is still with the President's pay agent and thus the E.O. has not yet been signed. Once it has been signed OPM will issue new tables. Once the OPM information is available, DoD will update the Wage grade schedules also. All documents will be made retroactive to the appropriate pay periods (PP-01 for GS types and the appropriate PP-20-xx for Wage schedules). Employees with intervening actions will need HCUP cases in order for the retro pay raise actions to apply.

Dora Lee Rosendorf (TR) inquired "What about the DHS employees?" A: NFC is looking into possibilities for automating the process for you, but we do not know if we will be able to do so.

Post Meeting Update: E.O. signed Friday, 3/21. OPM has issued CPM-2003-03 dated March 24, 2003, containing guidance on the retroactive pay increase. The 1% increase is allocated entirely to locality pay. NFC will be processing NOAC 895, Locality Payment, actions, effective 01-12-03. Further information on NFC's timeline for the retroactive 1% increase will be forthcoming in the near future.

IV. Benefits Update (Cliff for Jody Nyers)

A. TSP Open Season - Jody is attending the quarterly TSP meeting today. TSP Bulletin 03-6 addresses the upcoming open season. The new TSP open season dates are April 15 thru June 30th. TSP Bulletin 03-7 discusses the May 2003 participate statements which will be issued in late May.

Dora Lee Rosendorf (TR) inquired - "What about the over 50 benefit?" A: OPM has announced that it will be available in July. However, OPM has not provided the necessary criteria. Cherie indicated that NFC has tentatively scheduled this for PP-16, 2003.

Post Meeting Update: While the open season period begins in April, the first processing period for payroll would be PP-16, 2003. The TSP BAL 03-4 found at http://www.tsp.gov/cgi-bin/byteserver.cgi/bulletins/03-4.pdf contains more detailed information about this issue.

B. Flexible Spending Accounts - Jody will be attending a meeting at OPM on this issue tomorrow. OPM has announced a contractor that will be working on this.

C. Personal Benefits Statements - NFC began mailing hard copies on March 13th and the EPP has been updated to include them as well. Please note, there were a little over 400 employees who will not receive a benefits statement this year due to invalid FEHB plan coverage codes. These employees have FEHB plan codes on the database that are no longer in existence and do not exist in TMGT. When plans are discontinued, the agency must process either (1) a new FEHB election form for the employee transferring him/her to another plan, or (2) terminate the employee's coverage if he/she does not elect another plan. The employees on the listing with invalid FEHB Plan Codes would only include those employees with terminated FEHB Plans on their database record for whom neither a 2809 moving them to a new plan nor a 2810 removing their old FEHB plan from the database had been processed through PP01/2003.

1. Cheryl Ruf (USDA) inquired - "What about the employees who processed documents in EEX for PP-01 and they did not process?" A: If they did not process, the employee will not receive a benefits statement this year.
   
   
2. Sue McMenamin (FMCS) inquired - "What if the agency resolved the issue and the FEHB information was processed in PP-02?" A: It depends on the cut-off date for the printing of the benefits statements. We will verify that date and provide it in the minutes.

   Post Meeting Update: The PSBS statements were processed through PP01, 2003 (1-12/1-25-03). FEHBA data was taken from the BEAR files for PP-01(1-12-03 thru 1-25-03). The data for the PSBS processing was effective through 1-25-03 (PP-01 was run on the weekend of 02-01-03). We began the PSBS processing around 02-06-03 after all processing for PP-01, 2003 was complete.

V. Employee Express Update (George Morris) -

Last meeting was on Tuesday, March 18. E-authentication is a hot topic. EEX is doing a major technology overhaul which is expected to be completed by mid-June. This tech overall will replace all servers, and upgrade a number of software packages, as well as incorporate previously planned enhancements. EEX had a security review in which they faired well. They are making some minor modifications as a result of the review. The are also finalizing modifications to the system as a result of the recent state tax changes. They are still reviewing the issue of on-line pin numbers.

Other: NFC is continuing to pursue it's internal self-service. Agencies need to start taking a pro-active approach regarding any further enhancements which they require for self-service expansion. Generally speaking, self-service should parallel functionality currently presented in EEX, but order of implementation can still be amended. [Cheryl] Q: Will George begin chairing a work group on this issue? [George] A: Don't know-- we need to explore that; reps please provide feedback on whether they feel need for workgroup or simply a list of further developments for self-service. [Tom Neumeister] Q: would like to see usage stats out of the EPP/ESS & EEX. [ Jim J.] - we would like all initiatives to come via a CAPPS initiative as opposed to single(or few) agency requests. Jim requested that Tom send him a personal e-mail to jim.julian@usda.gov . [Debbie Berry] - would like to have EOD functionality for new employees (similar to what EEX is currently developing). George - Please send all requests to GMorris@cfo,usda.gov

VI. Classification (George Morris) -

NFC generated a set of reports for closed series in the 1300 occupational family area. There were a number of individual series in that family that OPM has abolished. George distributed a print-out of data from NFC of employees still classified in the specific series identified. The new ones have been out for over 1 year and we are expecting OPM to terminate them soon (USDA is targeting 10/03 for closure). Also, keep in mind the 334's were extended to June 2003 by OPM (OPM officially said 2210 should be in place 1/1/03, but will not count CPDF errors until 6/03), so if you still have employees there, they need to be re-classified immediately.

VII. SSN on E&L statements -

IRS is recommending that the SSN displayed on the E&L statement or any other documents issued directly from the system to the employee be modified so that only the last four digits appear. Agencies need to decided which documents they wish to address. Agencies need to consider the pros and cons of the request. For example, an employees will frequently use copies of his/her E&L when applying for loans. Would the form be accepted without the full SSN? George requested that agencies consider these issues and provide recommendations to George at gmorris@cfo.usda.gov. "What about the EPP?" A: Jim Julian indicated that since the EPP is pin protected it will not be modified.

VIII. New Agencies to NFC (Cliff Lee) -

NFC is scheduled to implement the following agencies:

A. The parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which NFC currently payrolls were transferred to DHS in PP05, 2003 (DHS' Office of the Secretary was implemented in PP02.

B. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in PP17, 2003

C. Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) in PP14, 2003

D. Government Printing Office (GPO) & Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) in PP07, 2004

E. As part of the E-Payroll initiative, NFC will also be servicing EPA & DOL; implementation dates have not been established to date.

IX. Military LWOP & FEHB (Jo Bonner) -

NFC completed the programming changes for the payment of FEHB premiums for individuals on LWOP-US in PP-03. (Due to a request from TR at the last meeting we do have a listing of employees affected by the sweeps. Please stop by after the meeting for your copy). For agencies that have agreed to pay, it is critical that personnel actions placing employees on LWOP-US properly designate a military campaign when appropriate. This will avoid improper billing to the employee. Yes, we are expecting a new campaign identify if war is declared, but at present we do not know what it will be. We will share that information upon receipt.

Currently NFC does not monitor non-pay time for FEHB purposes for an employee on a 473 LWOP-US. Agencies must do this manually and issue the termination and notice and opportunity to convert letters at the end of the 18 month eligibility period. A programming request was submitted to NFC on March 6th to include 473's in the monitoring process AND to establish the 473 time frame of 548 days (18 months) in lieu of the standard 365 days for all other non-pay time. In addition, agencies need to be aware that the 4-month rule does NOT apply to employees serving on LWOP-US. On March 7, 2003, OPM confirmed via e-mail that employees on LWOP-US do not have to spend four consecutive months in pay status to be granted a new 18-month FEHB window. This means if the employee returns after 17 months of service (LWOP-US) on March 19th but is re-activated on March 20th, that employee is also entitled to an 18-month FEHB window from the 2nd reactivation.

X. STAR Web (Jo Bonner) -

STAR web is scheduled to go live on Monday, March 24th, PP-05. Since NFC will be implementing a new version of the software that day those going live will be the current members of the pilot. DHS and some additional timekeepers will be implemented in PP-06. NFC is in the process of issuing a letter to HRD directors, CAPPS representatives, AgPUG representatives, the Customer Support Branch's contact list via e-mail. This letter will describe what information NFC will need in order to implement your agency.

NFC has no current plans to discontinue updates for STAR client. We anticipate that it will take at least 18-24 months to convert current STAR client users to STAR web. When both systems were in preliminary stages a few years ago, a few clients indicated that they would not be operating in a web environment for security or other reasons. Due to the changing climate in the past few years, we want to know what your future STAR plans are. Please discuss with the appropriate personnel in your agency/department and get back to me no later than the April 16th CAPPS meeting.

XI. ADJP Problem on February 19th (Jo Bonner) -

On February 19th, NFC experienced a problem with the ADJP file from DB6 which affected ADJP payments from that date in PP-04's payout. Notices were sent to the affected agencies on Friday, March 14th. A response date of today was requested primarily to resolve the issue quickly for PP-05's pay date. If you did not hear from Jo then you did not have a problem.

Post Meeting Update: The following clients were affected: AOC, CapitalPolice, CBO, DOC, DOJ. FCA, FCC, FDIC, FEMA, GAO, HUD, LOC, NCPC, OGE, Peace Corps, SBA, and Smithsonian. The listings were sent to the CAPPS rep(s) of record.

XII. User & Work Group Updates

A. Awards (Jo Bonner) The next meeting Awards User Group meeting is scheduled for April 9th from 9:30-11:30. The awards group is requesting concurrence from the CAPPS community for a modification to SPPS to permit the VIEW ONLY capability of payments for SPOT awards processed using the PAY authority. CAPPS concurred with the recommendation.

B. EPIC (Cliff Lee for Lynda Wilson) The next EPIC user group meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 20th. Parties interested in participating via teleconference need to contact Lynda ASAP. She only has two lines left.

C. FESI - Jim - received an e-mail from Hans that indicated Hans is looking for agenda items for the meeting that will be held during the customer briefing. Wants input for next windows and what agencies will be testing. Call Hans if you have questions (301)504-4128.

D. Leave Share (Jo Bonner) - NFC South is working on the requirements and expect to have some information to share later this week. Jo will take a look at it and work with the requirements, if needed. There will most likely be a meeting of the LS Work group in mid-April to review the data from NOLA.

E. RIF (Debby Berry) - There is no update. NFC is still reviewing the requirements. The topic is on the agenda for the HR briefing agenda in April so more information may be available then.

F. T&A (Jo Bonner) - Some additional attendees at the T&A User group meeting have expressed an interest attending the T&A Requirements group meetings. The T&A User group has difficulty meeting during "T&A week" so the Requirements meeting will be shifted to the same day as the User Group meeting. Therefore, the next User Group meeting is April 14th at 9:30 am. For those who only attend the Requirements portion, that meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm on the 14th.

XIII. Potpourri

A. Tom Neumeister (SI) - Smithsonian has discovered that NFC is not always computing the counters correctly to calculate the SCD's for intermittent employees. Jo - Yes, this problem is raised at most of the NFC & client group meetings on database issues. However, it always end up taking lower priority based upon other client issues. We do not have a time frame for gathering a team of clients to review the situation and develop requirements for a resolution.

B. Tom Neumeister (SI) - Smithsonian's Trust fund employees have a leave SCD of 9's. Every year when NFC runs the database updates to generate the Change in SCD's this number is changed and NFC staff must go in and replace the data with 9's. Jo - Smithsonian needs to submit a request to NFC requesting that these Trust fund employees not be included in the annual sweep to adjust the SCD's. The request should be submitted to GESD.

C. Tom Neumeister (SI) - NFC currently generates SF-2810's to the FEHB carriers to terminate an employee's health insurance coverage. Can NFC also print a copy of the form to be presented to the employee and filed in the OPF? Jo - Actually NFC is preparing an electronic file with the pertinent data and not an actual paper form that is mailed to the carrier. However, it may be possible that NFC could generate the form to printed via an RFQS input or some other mechanism. She will check and get back to him.

D. Maria Vargues (GAO) - Can an agency access EPIC from a site other than their work desktop? They are working on their COOP plan and need to have an alternative site (i.e., home or other facility prepared for operations). Jo - Yes you can do this from any site where you have communications and the proper software and security on the PC. NFC can work with you establishing the connectivity. Jo will find out who can do this for you and put it in the notes.

Post Meeting Update: Lynda is working with NOLA to get a copy of the letter that NFC sent to the client IT staffs on this so we can share it with the CAPPS community.

E. Maria Vargues (GAO) - Is there any chance George can get her added to the EEX distribution list? She has talked to them several times and they never seem to get her added. George - There is an individual who is filling in on a temporary basis that appears to be becoming permanent by default. He'll give it a shot, but cannot make any promises.

F. Maria Vargues (GAO) - Please include us in the Awards Work group e-mail distribution. Done.

XIV. PARTICIPANTS

NFC North - Cliff Lee, George Morris, & Jo Bonner
NFC South (via teleconference) - Jim Julian, Cherri Landry, Richard Ponsetti
AOC - Anita Banks & Jingie Miller
CCR - Myra Hernandez
DOC - Marie Waters
PTO - Sharon Scott
FCC - Deborah Berry
FDIC - Lucy McCabe
FMCS - Sue McMenamin
GAO - Ethel Clayborne & Maria Vargus
DOJ - Rita Blount, Cheryl Cotton, Kay Fields, & Wendy Moore
LOC - Runako Balondemu
Peace Corps - Steve Nepi
PSA - Shavon L. Butler & Claudine Thompson
SBA - Cheryl Harrigan
Smithsonian - Tom Neumeister
Treasury - Cawana Pearson & Dora Lee Rosendorf
USDA - Cheryl Ruf