James48843
Well-known member
MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
FROM: John Berry
Director
Subject: Reservist Differential Implementation Update
On December 8, 2009, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance to Federal agencies on the reservist differential authority (see CPM 2009-19 at http://www.chcoc.gov/Transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=2611).
This new authority (5 U.S.C. 5538), which went into effect for most employees on March 15, 2009, requires agencies to make reservist differential payments to eligible Federal civilian employees who are members of the Reserve or National Guard called or ordered to active duty under certain specified provisions of law. Reservist differential payments must be paid when such an employee’s projected civilian basic pay for a covered pay period exceeds actual military pay and allowances allocable to that pay period. This memorandum provides an update on the implementation of the reservist differential authority, requests agencies to submit data to OPM on the number of affected reservists, and reminds agencies of the guidance and resources available to help with implementation.
Implementation Status
I strongly urge agencies to work diligently to identify employees with qualifying active duty service and, as appropriate, calculate and make reservist differential payments as soon as possible. I recognize the complexities of this law and that OPM’s guidance was issued only a few months ago. The amount of work required to develop new agency policies and communicate with active duty reservists who are deployed is considerable. However, agencies need to make certain they are doing everything they can to provide this important benefit to eligible employees as soon as possible.
In this effort, agencies also need to coordinate with payroll providers that are establishing their own payment requirements and procedures and programming their financial systems. The major payroll providers have provided the status reports summarized in the Attachment regarding the implementation of the reservist differential authority.
Data Request
To help us understand the impact of the new reservist differential authority, I request that each agency send the following information to reservist-differential@opm.gov (with a subject line of “Reservist Differential Data Request”) within 30 days after the date of this memorandum:
- An estimate of the number of employees in your agency with active duty service between March 11, 2009, and the date of this memorandum that is qualifying under the reservist differential authority. This estimate should include all members of the Reserve or National Guard that have qualifying service, regardless of whether they are eligible for or are actually receiving reservist differential payments. The data should be consolidated so that one report is provided to OPM for each agency.
- If you have no employees with qualifying active duty service, please submit a negative report.
- If you are unable to provide an estimate, please submit a report with an explanation.
OPM has issued several resources providing guidance on the reservist differential authority.
- OPM webpage—http://www.opm.gov/reservist
- Policy guidance—http://www.opm.gov/reservist/ReservistDifferentialPolicyGuidance.pdf
- Summary description—http://www.opm.gov/reservist/summary/
- Implementation guidance—http://www.opm.gov/reservist/ReservistDiffImplementationGuidance.pdf.
- Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA)—Update 52 includes new instructions related to the reservist differential. Update 52 makes the term “LWOP-US” obsolete and provides that a new term “Absent – Uniformed Service” (NOAC 473) is used to describe employees who are performing service in a uniformed service and who have USERRA reemployment rights. If such an employee is performing service that is qualifying for the reservist differential, a new legal authority “QRD/5 U.S.C. 5538” is used in combination with legal authority Q3K to document that qualifying service. (These new instructions are effective March 28, 2010.)
- Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping (GPR)—OPM is updating section 3-B of Chapter 3 (Filing Documents in the Personnel Folder) to state that military orders must be retained/filed on the right side of the Official Personnel Folder. This change will be reflected in the next edition to the GPR.
- Guide to Data Standards (GDS)—OPM’s new Guide to Data Standards (Update 01, issued March 1, 2010) redefines the “Pay Status” data element—now called “Pay Status / USERRA Status”—to create a new “Q” code that will identify employees performing service that is qualifying for the reservist differential. This new “Q” code is effective March 28, 2010.
Additional Information
Inquiries on the reservist differential authority may be sent to OPM at reservist-differential@opm.gov. This special email address is for comments and questions from you and your staff in your agency headquarters-level human resources office. Component and local human resources offices should contact their agency headquarters human resources office with any questions. Employees should contact their local human resources office.
cc: Chief Human Capital Officers
Human Resources Directors
Attachment
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(Attachment can be found at: http://www.chcoc.gov/Transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalId=2932 )
