Some Feds Fear They Might Not Get That Pay Raise Now That the Debt Deal is Inked

By NATHAN ABSE, Contributing Editor of Government Executive:

“The new debt ceiling deal could somehow encourage some in Congress to try for a limitation of 1% or something very low. This would be a huge problem,” says one fed union leader.

Months of uncertainty over whether the federal government would—for the first time ever—default on its debt and other financial obligations came to an end last week, as the Senate approved a last-minute Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal to lift borrowing authority. 

In short, the deal provides for two years of spending caps with over $130 billion in cuts, satisfying the Republican House, while lifting the debt ceiling until January 2025—ending the immediate crisis.  

Calm may now be restored to Wall Street and the world’s financial markets. But more than a shade of uncomfortable uncertainty remains for federal employees. 

The question in the air is: does the deal make it unlikely that feds will get the 8.7% pay raise favored by federal employee unions and advocates? Or even the 5.2% currently advocated by the Biden administration? Or—much of any raise at all? 

The answer, unfortunately, is: We just don’t, and can’t, know. At least not yet. 

The federal employee unions—or at least those that are speaking up right away in the wake of the deal—are vehement that this is an apples and oranges situation. Whatever cuts or ceilings may be set in motion as of October 2023—when the deal’s terms begin to go into effect—should have nothing to do with the fact that feds must receive some relief against inflation. 

“There is absolutely no reason for Congress not to consider a fair pay raise for federal employees in 2024,” Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, told Government Executive. “[President] Biden has already recommended an average 5.2% raise next year—which is not impacted by the debt limit deal that recently passed into law.”

“While that spending agreement does curtail some federal spending over the next two years,” Reardon added, “it does not automatically foreclose the debate over a federal pay raise, which is essential to helping recruit and retain the skilled employees that federal agencies need to serve the American people.” 

Another major fed union expressed the same worries—and hopes, and determination to convince Congress and the White House that the debt deal shouldn’t be allowed to imperil the promised raise. 

“We remain hopeful—and that’s our official stance—that Congress and everyone else will see the need here,” Steve Lenkart, executive director at the National Federation of Federal Employees, told Government Executive. “Given the inflation rates in recent years, and given last year’s COLA boost for Social Security—8.7%, we’re hoping federal employees’ needs here also will be honored.” 

“I have to add here that some kind of 1%—or anything lower than what we’re asking for—definitely would amount to a pay cut, under the current circumstances and inflation,” he said. 

Reardon, Lenkart and other union brass leave no doubt they remain hopeful. But what’s the word in their circles, so far? Is there already talk circulating among labor leaders and legislators of a much lower raise? 

“No—there’s no real chitchat like that,” Lenkart said. “But there is a lot of concern among the troops, among our people, because of the shape of the debt ceiling agreement,” he replied. “Everyone is aware that the new debt ceiling deal could somehow encourage some in Congress to try for a limitation of 1% or something very low. This would be a huge problem, and it’s a huge concern for federal employees at the moment.” 

Lenkart pointed out that if the deal were allowed to get in the way of a decent raise, there could be some very real consequences—not just for feds, but for all of us. For example, he noted that federal wildland firefighters have only recently been provided a—temporary—pay increase, one adequate to live on. 

“The increased pay for wildland firefighters—that pay authority—expires at the end of the year,” Lenkart noted. “Without new funding, some could lose as much as 50% of their base pay, and for others that could represent a loss of $20,000.” 

Lenkart noted that many federal agencies are already having a hard enough time attracting and keeping employees. Having pay fall further behind inflation won’t help. “We're trying to stop a mass exodus already,” he said. “We’re reminding leaders that there are ways to move money around within the government—and we're asking them to make sure to do that to go forward with needed pay increases.” 

The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, an advocacy group for all federal employees, echoed similar concerns as the unions. It also ventured a tentative prediction, a positive one. 

“The budget deal certainly leaves open the possibility of the full Biden-proposed pay raise—that’s 5.2% including locality pay—being implemented,” John Hatton, vice president for Policy and Programs at NARFE, told Government Executive. “But it also makes the budget numbers tighter for federal agencies.”  

Hatton explained that while, yes—as has been widely reported—substantial COVID funds will be repurposed under the deal (as well as funds from specific cuts—for instance, from a planned expansion at the IRS), unfortunately financial space for a strong raise indeed has been lessened. 

“But just because the numbers are tighter doesn't mean that the raise won't go through,” he said. 

“If I had to make a prediction,” and he was pressed for one, “I would say that Congress will not act in the end here—leaving the president’s 5.2% raise as the outcome. But I would also say the matter is likely to come under debate,” Hatton gave as his bottom line. 

“It's very much up in the air—we don’t know this, where Congress will land. There will be a lot of negotiation that will be ongoing,” Hatton said. “We at NARFE still support the FAIR Act proposal—with its 8.7% raise. We would love to see that enacted into law. But at this point we also could be satisfied with President Biden's proposal.” 

F. Stevens Redburn, a retired senior government official with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and lecturer at George Washington University on the federal government’s budget process, took the opposite view.

“If I had to guess—and at this point it would only be a guess—I would say that Congress would not simply decide not to act here,” Redburn told Government Executive. “I think they would want to have a say in how their limited allocation is used—and so they will want to weigh in on the pay raise.”

Biden Officially Proposes an Average 5.2% Pay Increase for Federal Workers and the Military in 2024

President Biden officially proposed a 5.2% average pay raise for both civilian federal employees and military service members next year as part of his fiscal 2024 budget plan released Thursday.

The figure marks an increase over the 4.6% pay hike feds received in 2023, and would be the highest proposed pay hike federal workers have seen since the Carter administration implemented a 9.1% average pay increase in 1980. The budget documents released Thursday do not specify what portion of the raise will be dedicated to across-the-board increases in basic pay, although traditionally presidents have set aside 0.5% of an overall pay raise figure for average boosts in locality pay.

The White House highlighted the pay raise as part of its effort to ensure the federal government is “equitable, effective and accountable” and betters delivers services to the American people by helping agencies compete for talent.

“Federal agencies are focused on attracting more people to federal service over the long term, while also addressing immediate agency hiring needs to rebuild capacity,” administration officials wrote. “[The] budget provides an average pay increase of 5.2% for civilian and military personnel—and answers the president’s call for agencies to lead by example in supporting federal worker organizing and collective bargaining.”

EXPANDED LEAVE ON THE HORIZON FOR FEDS

AFGE applauds efforts both in Congress and the White House to expand paid and unpaid family leave for federal workers.

In Congress, the Comprehensive Paid Family Leave Act would provide federal workers with 12 weeks of paid leave per year to care for an ill family member, their own medical condition, or for circumstances that arise when the employee or a family member is detailed for covered duty in the armed forces.

The bill was introduced by lead sponsors Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. Currently, federal workers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for these reasons under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Schatz and Beyer’s bill would give federal workers paid leave for these reasons.

A week earlier, President Joe Biden issued a memo to federal agencies urging them to expand access to unpaid leave for additional purposes and extend it to workers in their first year on the job. He further directed the Office of Personnel Management to issue recommendations for expanding the purposes for which paid and unpaid leave can be taken, including dealing with unexpected emergencies including the death of a family member or recovery from domestic violence.

“President Biden's efforts to use federal workforce policy to encourage other employers to provide greater flexibility for American workers stands in stark contrast to efforts led by House Republicans to strip remote and hybrid work arrangements away from federal employees and deny American workers flexibilities they expect,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley. “President Biden's approach will strengthen the government's ability to recruit and retain top talent, while legislation like the SHOW UP Act will only harm those efforts and, ultimately, the American people.”

AFGE has been a champion for paid family leave for government workers. We won 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees in 2019. Last year we won better paid leave benefits for D.C. government workers.

Your Guide to Pay and Benefits During a Shutdown

As of Thursday, lawmakers and the White House had just eight days to complete negotiations and pass a short-term measure to fund the government and avert a shutdown beginning next weekend.

Although lawmakers generally seek to avoid lapses in appropriations in election years, a number of issues have prevented them from reaching agreement thus far, including requests from the Biden administration for additional aid for Ukraine, coronavirus response funding, and the permitting reform proposal from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V. Appropriators also are reportedly at odds over how long a continuing resolution should run, with conservatives urging the deal to go until 2023 in the hopes that Republicans gain majorities in the House and Senate.

Here is what federal employees can expect in terms of pay and benefits if the government shutters, based on guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, updated last year after a number of updates were signed into law following the 35-day partial government shutdown that began in late 2018.

Salaries: Furloughed federal workers and employees who have been deemed essential and forced to work during a lapse in appropriations will not be paid for the duration of the shutdown, although thanks to a 2019 law, they all will automatically be granted back pay to cover the shutdown once funding is restored. Congress previously had to approve back pay for furloughed federal workers following each shutdown, but that process was automated after the 2018-2019 appropriations lapse.

Similarly, employees who worked overtime during the shutdown will be granted premium pay, albeit not until the government is funded.

Bonuses: Agencies may award performance bonuses during a shutdown, but those awards won’t be paid until after the government reopens.

Unemployment: Federal workers who are furloughed are eligible for unemployment compensation in some states. But in many cases, they must return the money once they receive back pay.

Health care: Furloughed feds will maintain their coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program during a lapse in appropriations. Premiums accrue over the course of a shutdown, and then are taken out of employees’ first paycheck after the government reopens.

Similarly, employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program will maintain their coverage, with unpaid premiums being withheld from their first post-shutdown paycheck. This marks a shift from previous shutdowns, when—if the shutdown persisted for longer than two pay periods—insurance carriers could allow those employees’ policies to lapse.

Additionally, federal workers may now make changes to their insurance plans due to significant life events during a shutdown. Regulations issued by OPM in 2020 clarified that agency HR employees, previously furloughed during appropriations lapses, are deemed essential for the purposes of handling FEHBP enrollments.

Retirement benefits: Federal retirees in the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System will still receive their scheduled annuity payments during a shutdown. Contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan will be paused until the government reopens.

Leave: Federal workers cannot substitute paid leave for unpaid furloughs when the government is closed. Previously scheduled leave that occurs during a lapse in appropriations will be cancelled, although OPM stressed that does not mean excepted employees cannot request time off during a lapse in appropriations.

“This does not mean that an excepted employee cannot seek approval to be excused from duty during a lapse,” OPM wrote. “An agency may excuse an excepted employee from duty and place the employee in furlough status for approved periods. An agency may allow an excepted employee to be off duty during periods when the employee was previously scheduled to be on paid leave.”

Portman, Sinema, Lankford, Kelly Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Raise Border Patrol Agent Pay, Create Border Patrol Reserve

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/minority-media/portman-sinema-lankford-kelly-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-raise-border-patrol-agent-pay-create-border-patrol-reserve

Thursday, August 4, 2022

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), James Lankford (R-OK), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced the bipartisan Border Patrol Enhancement Act to establish the Border Patrol Reserve and provide a much-needed pay raise to our Border Patrol agents during this current border crisis.  This bill would create a 2,500 agent reserve force, increase the number of total Border Patrol agents to 20,500, and raise Border Patrol pay by 14 percent to be more competitive with other federal law enforcement agents, including other agents under the Department of Homeland Security. The legislation also standardizes professional development and training requirements for all Border Patrol agents. 

“Every time I’ve visited with Border Patrol, they have made it clear that they need increased funding to recruit and retain agents. At a time when our southern border crisis is heading towards a catastrophe, we must provide Border Patrol with the tools and resources they need to do their jobs. That’s why I am pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation to address recruitment and retention challenges by authorizing a raise for agents, and create a Border Patrol Reserve to provide the support our Border Patrol agents need as the influx of unlawful migrants and illicit narcotics continues to worsen,” said Portman. 

“Border Patrol must maintain a strong workforce to secure the border, protect our communities, and ensure the fair and humane treatment of migrants. Border Patrol does not have the staffing or resources to meet that goal – our bipartisan legislation addresses these issues to adequately support Border Patrol as they protect Arizona communities,” said Sinema. 

“I remain extremely grateful to Border Patrol agents for staying focused on our national security, even in this season of chaos on the border,” said Lankford. “Biden continues to encourage illegal border crossers to enter the US, and our Border Patrol stand between US citizens and people from 150 countries coming into our nation, potentially connected to the Mexican cartels or terrorist organizations worldwide. I’ve heard from Border Patrol directly that morale is low because their hands are tied when trying to enforce the law, which makes it difficult to recruit and retain the best and brightest. We must ensure the Border Patrol has the people and tools they need to do their job and the incentives to bring in the best people. Our national security depends on it.”  

“Border Patrol agents put their lives on the line every day to secure the border and keep our communities safe. Our bipartisan bill will give the hardworking men and women of the Border Patrol the support, resources, and pay raises they deserve. We’ll keep working with Republicans and Democrats to ensure that our law enforcement has the tools needed to recruit and retain agents so we can ensure a secure, fair, and orderly process at the border,” said Kelly.

"On behalf of the men and women of the National Border Patrol Council, I want to thank and applaud Senators Portman, Sinema, Lankford and Kelly for their leadership in introducing legislation that will secure critical resources in an effort to secure our borders,” said Brandon Judd, President, National Border Patrol Council. The National Border Patrol Council staunchly supports this legislation because we are currently witnessing unprecedented public safety and public health crises, with record numbers of Americans dying of drug overdoses and record numbers of individuals defying our laws with no consequences and entering our country illegally, oftentimes undetected. This legislation will dramatically enhance the ability to recruit and retain highly professional Border Patrol Agents and invest in these Agents who risk their lives trying to secure our border every day. The ongoing lawlessness and the tragic loss of lives cannot continue and we urge the Senate to consider and pass the Border Patrol Enhancement Act immediately." 

AGUIRRE FLSA LAWSUIT UPDATE AS OF 6/24/2022

CURRENT STATUS (June 24, 2022):  Excellent news! The Government completed its payment and finally provided us with the necessary accounting so that we can make disbursements.  We have run Plaintiffs’ addresses through the National Change of Address database, and we are in the process of printing checks.  Checks will be mailed, along with a letter explaining the payment and the deductions, no later than July 5, 2022. 

The only remaining issue is verifying the offsets that the Government took against the settlement awards for 53 Plaintiffs pursuant to the Treasury Department Offset Program.  We have reached out to all 53 Plaintiffs who had deductions due to offsets but are waiting to hear back from some regarding whether the offsets are accurate.  This will not impact the timing of the payments.  As mentioned, all checks will be mailed by July 5.  Please allow two weeks after that date to contact us if you have not received your check.  The USPS has been slow.

The Parties will file a status report or dismiss the case on or before July 15, 2022. 

Previous UPDATE (May 26, 2022)

AGUIRRE v. UNITED STATES

(BORDER PATROL AGENT FLSA OVERTIME LAWSUIT)

 (May 26, 2022):  While the Court denied our request for a conference regarding our concern that it has taken the Government an inordinate amount of time to fund the settlement, the Court did acknowledge the legitimacy of Plaintiffs’ frustration caused by the Government’s delay and ordered the Parties to submit a status report by June 17. This prompted the Government to action.  On May 13, 2022, the Government began transferring portions of the settlement monies to us.  However, the first payment was for only 12 of the 5,722 Plaintiffs, and some of those 12 were allocated only partial payments.  This could be because the individual Plaintiffs at issue are subject to federal offsets for debts.  The Government made similar payments on several more occasions since May 13, 2022, and again some of those payments for these small groups of Plaintiffs were only partial payments, while others appeared to be overpayments.  To confuse matters more, in addition to the underpayments, the Government has failed to provide us with an accounting showing how the payments, which do not match the amounts in the settlement agreement (Exhibit A) should be distributed.  We also need the accounting to confirm that the underpayments for certain Plaintiffs result from federal debt offsets, and not from some error made by the Judgment Fund. The settlement agreement requires the Government to provide an accounting when the payments are made.

We have made daily requests to the Department of Justice attorney for an accounting of the payments made.  To date, she has failed to provide the required accounting but has provided assurances that she will be providing the accounting soon.  Unfortunately, we cannot distribute the funds we have received until the Government provides us with the required accounting.  Given the underpayments, and the overpayments, without the accounting, we cannot match appropriate settlement amounts to specific plaintiffs.  

Accordingly, the monies will remain in the dedicated IOLTA account until we receive the accounting, at which time, we will begin to distribute the funds.  We will update our website with information regarding whose checks have been mailed as we begin the distribution process.  Under the Settlement Agreement, we have 21 days from the date that the Government pays us AND provides the necessary accounting, to distribute the funds.

Of course, the law firm is not paid  any fees until the Government has made all of the payments.

Calexico Station Union Vice President Lombardo Amaya Passed Away on April 26, 2022

Local 2554 was saddened by the news that long-time Local 2554 Union President and current Vice President of Calexico Station, Lombardo Amaya, had passed away due to complications with a recent heart surgery on Tuesday morning, April 26, 2022. Lombardo was not only a Border Patrol Agent at Calexico Station, but spent many years representing the Local 2554 membership with a multitude of issues. Lombardo will always be remembered as a strong voice and advocate for the membership of El Centro Border Patrol Sector, but also as a close friend to the many people that knew him.

This Local, for one, will never forget the many lessons that Lombardo taught us in all his years of service. Lombardo was very knowledgeable with all things Union-related and he used that knowledge to help so may people.

We would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of Lombardo and the many people that will be affected by such a tragic loss.

BORDER PATROL AGENT FLSA OVERTIME LAWSUIT "AGUIRRE"

STATUS (February 3, 2022): Excellent News! Yesterday, the United States authorized approval of the settlement agreement and the parties signed the agreement.  In the parties’ Joint Status Report filed with the Court yesterday, the parties notified the Court that the agreement had been fully executed and explained that:

The United States will disburse funds in accordance with the agreement.  Distribution is expected to take some time and will be made in batches until the funds for each of the 5,722 plaintiffs has been disbursed to plaintiffs’ counsel, following any administrative offsets for debts owed to the United States.  Once disbursements are complete, the parties will stipulate to the dismissal of this action with prejudice. (Joint Status Report, Dkt. 87). 

 

The next status report is due on May 2, 2022.  We are hopeful that all payments will be made prior to that date and that we will be able to dismiss the case. 

 

Once we receive our first batch of payments, we will distribute those checks and continue to distribute each batch as they come in until all 5,722 plaintiffs have been paid.  Please note, that it can take the Judgment Fund 30 – 60 days to process the first batch of payments once it receives notice of the settlement from the United States.  We will post a distribution log on our website so you can check whether your check has been mailed. In Abad, the Government took approximately three months to make all payments.

 

To ensure that you receive your damages monies, it is extremely important if you have moved since you signed up for the case that you let us know (if you have not already done so).

Your settlement award will be reduced by our contingency attorney fee to which you agreed when you signed up for the case of 25% of your gross settlement amount. However, we were able to negotiate with the Government to recover $109,412.15 in hourly attorneys’ fees, and this reduces the contingent fee paid by each plaintiff to a slightly lesser percentage of 24.79%.