CAPPS Notes - August 21, 2002

I. Welcome

Cliff Lee reviewed the evacuation plan and notified the attendees of the drill in mail room this morning.

II. Improper use of NOACs

Cliff indicated the Payroll Operations Branch has received several calls regarding a variety of actions in suspense due to the agency's inappropriate use of NOA's. These include:

A. 800 CGM - Change in Data Element - There are more problems reported with this NOA than others. This NOA is to be used only when certain fields are changing. Those fields are: agency code, annuitant indicator, bargaining unit status (BUS), FLSA category, occupational code (this one is being used to convert the 334 to 2210), pay rate determinant, Personnel Office ID (POI), and position occupied. If other CPDF data elements are also changing with the personnel action, a NOAC 800 is not appropriate.

B. 792 - Change in Duty Station - This NOA cannot be used if ANY other change is occurring on the personnel action. Some agencies are trying to use the 792 for duty station changes that move the employee into a different locality pay area. If locality pay is changing NOA 792 CANNOT be used, we recommend using a "721-Reassignment". While OPM does permit the use of "894-Pay Adjustment", we do not feel that it accurately reflects that the duty station also changed.

1. Wanda Vaughan (DOJ) - PACT did permit additional changes on the 800. A: True, but these actions are causing packages in old HCUP and EPIC History Corrections to fall into suspense and they cannot be corrected because the items changing are not allowed by the 800 NOA. In the case of NOA 800, PACT and the FESI systems are allowing the use of the NOA inappropriately. Wanda felt that telling the office to monitor the locality is confusing because the agency is not used to doing the Locality Adjustments. A: While it may be confusing to them, the servicing personnel office has sole responsibility for knowing the implications of the personnel actions they effect.

2. Mary Arnold (DOC) - Can the agency process both the 792 (to change the duty station) and the 894 (to reflect the locality pay adjustment) as a dual action. A: No OPM's guidance clearly indicates that the 792 is not to be used for "a change in duty station when an employee's work site or station is moved to a new geographic location that causes the locality pay to change" (OPM's Guide to Processing Personnel Action, Update 25, dated December 12, 1997).

III. Benefits Update - Jody Nyers provided an update on a variety of benefits that included:

A. TSP -

1. Reimbursement letters were mailed out the week of August 12th.
   
   
2. Today's newspapers announced that the TSP's new record keeping system is delayed until mid-November. A press release from TSP is expected later today. To view the Press Release, go to http://www.tsp.gov/curinfo/pressrel/NRKS-2002aug20.html.
   
   
3. CSRS employees who have never contributed to TSP have a blank Status Code in the payroll/personnel system. This indicates that the employee is not eligible to participate in TSP. Several employees in this category attempted to begin TSP deductions during the open season only to receive an error message indicating they were ineligible to participate. NFC South will perform a sweep to change this code to "E - eligible". The sweep is scheduled for PP-16. After the sweep, actions in suspense for CSRS employees in TSP for the first time should apply.

B. Long Term Care - The 1-800 number for employees overseas is available on the OPM website. The number is accessible to 175 countries outside the United States.

1. Why apply for the Federal Long Term Care Insurance during Open Season? There is abbreviated underwriting during this Open Season (and no guarantee that any future Open Seasons will offer such limited underwriting). Employees have to answer only 7 questions about their health to apply for the 3-year or 5-year benefit period. Their spouses, only answer 9 questions. And you can do this online. (There are a few more questions if you apply for the unlimited benefit period, and you cannot apply online for that option.)
   
   
2. There is no guarantee when OPM will offer another Open Season on the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. According to the latest OPM guidance, "We will hold future Open Seasons, but not on a regular or frequent basis. We don't know when the next one will be."

C. Military LWOP and FEHB Premiums - NFC North and South are still working on the process for correcting this problem. We hope to have a plan of action within the next couple of weeks.

1. PPSPS has not been notified by every agency about their decision to pay/not pay the FEHB premiums for employees who are called up to for a military campaign. We are requesting agencies who have made the decision to not pay to notify us. Please send an e-mail to Cliff/Jody/Jo with this information.
   
   
2. NFC is considering the use of a special remark on the 473 Q3K ZJW for those agencies that make the decision not to pay. This will eliminate the need for hard coding the value in the system. In addition, it will eliminate the need for an additional process for those agencies who have agreed to pay.
   
   
3. Question from Mike Mire (TR)- Will the guidance issued to CAPPS include what to do with those individuals who are already on military furlough? A: Yes.

D. FEHB Health Care Plan Amcare (ZX) is being discontinued in Oklahoma. BAL-02-208 dated August 7, 2002, indicates that employees with Amcare in Oklahoma are required to elect another FEHB plan to retain FEHB coverage. This is an employee/agency responsibility to ensure that coverage is not lost.

IV. Employee Express Update (George Morris) - The User Group met on August 20th.

A. The Washington National Capital Area has agreed to participate in the CFC initiative for this coming campaign season. The negotiations are still under way as to who does what, but Employee Express does plan to have it resolved for this open season. The Chicago and Denver areas are also being considered for CFC participation.

B. Fall release testing will be held the week of September 16th in Macon, Georgia. Treasury and USDA are providing testers.

C. Implementation of the EOD package is still being discussed. EEX is considering making available those forms that have already been approved for use via Employee Express now, rather than waiting for the full package to be implemented. This would probably be in the Spring 03 release.

D. NFC is continuing to move forward on its self-service package as well. The plan is that NFC will offer everything that Employee Express offers within the next 12+ months, and this would allow NFC clients to discontinue paying for and using EEX.

E. EEX has been approached about flexible spending accounts and it is being considered.

F. Q&A: Jennifer what is the status of the 16 allotments? A: This change is scheduled for the fall release.

V. Status on Outstanding Items - Rick Minella provided a status on the following:

A. Data Base Expansion

1. Testing Comments - Glenda indicated that she is not getting feedback from the customers on testing results. Even if you are only testing FOCUS, please let Margaret's group or Glenda's group know how it went. Wanda did not supply SSN's and therefore, they do not know which ones are loaded. She has requested a listing of employees in the test data base. Ginny said when she posed that question they were told to go into test PMSO and run a POL
   
   
2. Security Access Problems - Margaret sent Rick an e-mail that said TR problem was fixed. Vickie indicated that not all of their user's ids are working and that the problem has already been forwarded to security. FOCUS reporting is the only area that has been tested. The agencies are not sure if there's anything else to test.
   
   
3. Identification of New Fields - The listing of expanded fields is available via FOCUS using NFCP.FOCS.listings.temp. Glenda will provide pecific information about a request that you made that is not there. Her number is 504-255-5386.

B. SF-113 A & G Receipt Problems - it is our understanding that the June/July reports have now been received. The August report is on schedule for September 10th.

1. Customers indicated there are errors on the report each month. When it is pointed out, NFC fixes it on the current report but the same errors appear the following month. NFC will only fix it after the incorrect report is issued - therefore the programming for the incorrect report is not being fixed.
   
   
2. Cheryl Ruf (USDA) indicated that they cannot get any report and they have talked to numerous people with no results - all they need is the summary report and getting it is the most difficult issue.

C. PKI Update - NFC has been given a temporary certification to be a PKI site and is in the process of negotiating with DOC for use of the certificates. NFC is testing PKI in the Reporting Center area but is experiencing problems when transferring the PKI to the production environment. A more extensive update will be provided to the customers.

D. SF-50b Remark Printing Problem - Examples submitted from DOJ and TR appeared to be limited to FESI documents. The remarks need to be submitted with the proper authentication date not the effective date. NFC believes the issue has been resolved.

1. DOJ has a recent case where remarks are not printing and they do have the screen prints from EPIC. Examples were three NOAC 170 documents. Two SF-50b's produced remarks w/comments and the other did not. These examples were faxed to NFC South. All three actions were processed on the Thursday that PAYE ran but before noon EST. All were submitted within a 30 minute period. Rick indicated the batch job runs in the evening so it should not matter what time these were entered, especially since they were entered on the same day.
   
   
2. DOC indicated that they submitted several examples via the EPIC User Group where screen prints reflect the proper data. This is not just a FESI issue. TREAS also had some examples which will be sent to Rick so he can check on it and all of these. Q: Do PACT users have remarks problems on 50's? YES - AOC indicated that some days/worked for intermittent employees are not working from system generated remarks. Non-system generated remarks are working ok.

VI. User & Work Group Updates

A. Awards (Jo Bonner) - The user group met on Wednesday, August 14th, however, only DOC and PSA were represented. One item scheduled to discuss was the cancellation/correction process for awards. We can make decisions for those who fail to participate; however, the customers must be prepared to live with those decisions. The next meeting is scheduled for September 25th from 9 to 12 in the South Building..

B. EPIC (Lynda Wilson) - The next user group meeting is on August 22nd at 10am. The group will be discussing training and use of the training databases since we have heard from many of the customers regarding the inability to obtain security access to the training databases. We are documenting the process and guidance will be posted on the website for users to download and view/use.

1. EPIC Transition Training - a handout of scheduled training dates available for the remainder of this year was distributed (click here). These are 1-day sessions for experienced processors. If additional sessions are needed, please let us know or request a special session for your agency. Contact is Cynthia Simon at 504-255-5230.

   a. Tom Neumeister (SM) expressed concern that the transition training does not emphasize the history correction process. Lynda advised that the EPIC Processing Training was the appropriate training and there would be a definite break to begin the History Correction portion of training. She recommended that agencies send users to the segments of the EPIC Processing Training that would meet their needs.

2. EPIC Processing Training - a handout of scheduled training dates available through December 2003 was distributed. If you have employees who need this training, please call Louise Richard at 504-255-5418 to register. This class runs 4 ½ days. A draft manual has been written which needs to be finalized. Before attending this training, the processors should attend OPM processing training so they will be able to participate and understand the EPIC training. The EPIC training does NOT teach employees how to do personnel work (i.e., what NOAC to use) or how to operate in a Windows environment, it is for the knowledgeable processor who needs to know how to maneuver in EPIC.

C. FESI (Rick Minella) - Glenda and Hans have indicated that the pilot on suspense file is going well at this point.

D. Leave Share (Jo Bonner) - The next work group meeting is on August 22nd from 9am-1pm. The Group is winding down. The reports (user and OPM) are almost completed and the group is working on the form letters that will generate from the system.

E. RIF (Debby Berry) - The work group is waiting to hear from NFC South. Rick assigned the package to an analyst for review. A web front-end will be developed to handle the new operations, keeping the back-end as it is.

1. Tom Neumeister (SM) asked if agencies could have NFC sweep the system to eliminate all of the older performance appraisals entered prior to 4 years ago because those appraisals are continuing to show up on the retention register. Other clients also expressed concern over having "old" ratings in the system. When the agency does not have a current rating, a modal rating can be used by the agency which allows for different percentages and factors, etc., to compute a rating. While these ratings are appearing in the RIF report, are they also being factored into the RIF standing for employees?

   POST MEETING UPDATE: Jo reviewed the guidance in Title 5 (Sec. 351.504) and OPM's RIF training manual (provided by USDA Graduate School). This guidance indicates that all three ratings used in the RIF register process must have been received no more than 4 years prior to the date of the specific RIF notice.

2. Q: Why are ratings appearing on the IR304 out of sequence? A: This is based on the sequence in which the ratings are entered into the system.

   POST MEETING UPDATE: Jody received a fax from Tom reflecting the data on IR304 and how it's posted to a RIF Retention Register. Jody faxed this information to Rick who will provide it to the proper analyst for review.

F. T&A (Jo Bonner) - The next user group meeting is on August 26th at 9am. Immediately following the user group meeting the T&A requirements work group will attempt to finalize responses to the questions from NFC South on the March 2001 T&A requirements. The process may take a good part of the day.

VII. SPPS Training (Cliff) - Handouts on SPPS QA testing and Transition Training were provided (click here). NFC is looking for testers. If interested, please contact Sharon Giovengo at 504-255-5283 no later than September 13th.

A. Q: If you attended phase 1 of SPPS transition training, do you need to attend this session? A: YES.

B. Q: Which departments are using SPPS Phase 1? A: DOC and part of DOJ are using Phase 1.

C. Q: What is the status of SPPS web? A: Implementation of the next phase must coincide with the database change in October. After that, the next phase will be to move the old block mode SPPS screens and functionality to the client. We are also working to switch the customers to the web. Payroll Operations already has much more functionality than customers have. The block mode conversion will require that ten screens to be switched over. Perhaps this can be done within in a couple months and by then the web version will be available.

D. Q: Is it phase 3 that will be webified? A: Only the functionality available in the client version will be moved to the Web. Phase 3 will come out in client server in October but will then be switched to web platform (ex. QSRs). Phase 1 and 2 will also be available via the web.

E. Q: Is there a work group in place for this? A: There is no customer work group as the functionality is currently within the Payroll Operations group who is providing the requirements. Vickie Cline (TR) strongly encouraged Rick to ensure that the web version supported PKI. Rick: Does everyone understand that using PKI will mean you will need to purchase the certificate in order to use SPPS, if it is built this way? One certificate per user per year can be used for all applications that user accesses. It is still unclear as to what the current cost will be for a PKI certificate.

VIII. TM063 - Contact Table

Jody provided a screen print of TMGT063 and the values for each contact type.

A. Ginny Peck (TR) indicated there is confusion at NFC South on the date to be entered into these fields and which ones are needed. Other clients agreed that they need some clear directions on what goes into each contact type. Rick indicated that the confusion from NOLA on these fields may be because not all of them are used by everyone in NOLA, if at all. Some of these were established for Cliff's group and other groups. Jody will check the guidance and provide additional information on the field values.

POST MEETING UPDATE: Jody checked with TMGT and for the purpose of using one of the blank contact types for Long Term Care contacts, those contact types (ie., 03 and 05) are no longer available. Jody will submit a request to open this field once again. As for the other types, the explanation in the Table Management Chapter of the PPM can be reviewed at http://dab.nfc.usda.gov/pubs/docs/tmgt/tmgt.pdf on or about page 319. Jody will check on the usage of these tables by various offices within NFC South. In the meantime, if you could access the table and make necessary changes to each contact type, it will be appreciated.

IX. Potpourri

A. Barbara Gales (SBA) - TSP Bills were not anticipated. They only had 3 individuals for a total of $810. Who do they call to complain? Q: Please call Deidre Charlot at 504-255-5261.

B. Rhonda Hickey (SBA) -

1. Are agencies receiving their employee bills late, due to late receipt of the bill due to mail delay's? YES. Vicki Cline recommended that NFC change the timeframe. However, PPSPS pointed out that the problem appears to be localized to the DC metro area due to the additional screening and handling processes in place here.
   
   
2. CULPRPT 049 - Summary of TINQ changes. It is not picking up the factional hours. Nobody else has mentioned. Jo will check into it and bring it up to the T&A User Group on Monday.

C. Wanda (DOJ) Question on the 2PM version available on the web. The last update is July 2000, but when you print the hard copy it shows a June 1995 date on all pages. How do you know if the last update is included? The cover should reflect the most current date for the latest update. Should have an issue date and date of last revision. Copies were provided to Rick to discuss with DAB.

D. Cheryl (USDA) & Shavon (PSA) - Reporting Center is not being updated after BEAR runs. You must review the "as of" date to ensure that they have actually processed the load. It is not happening automatically but someone need to run it. Rick now has this staff reporting to him and has requested that they write the program to have it load automatically.

E. Vickie (TR)

1. TR is about to send a huge FESI batch. She is going to notify Milton and wanted to make sure that no one else required notification. A: No.
   
   
2. TR wanted to use Special Program Code "SH-summer hire". Jody has that information but accidently provided it to DOJ instead of TR. The bottom line is that NFC has lifted the FDIC restriction, so it can be used by any customer. Jody emailed TR with this information.
   
   
3. TR has five agencies that cannot access any data for the database testing. They are in the system, but have no access to the data. Lynda said to call Lorraine Dawson 504-255-5813 to work through this issue. Pmain2, IDMS63, IRIS, and PMSO are the required accesses for this. Clients requested that if there are "hidden" items that need to be requested for SPPS testing, please tell them up front to avoid security delays.
   
   
4. Is disaster recover testing going on this week? Rick: Yes, an abbreviated test is underway, but the users are not involved.