The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

64 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / J A NU A R Y 2 0 0 7 A F S A N E W S T he Court of Federal Claims recent- ly approveda class-action settlement. It provides that employees who retired, died or were separated from one of 17 federal agencies between 1993 and 1999, andwho received a lump-sumpay- ment for their unused annual leave, may be entitled to additional compensation for this leave. Former employees may be entitled to additional compensation because the lump-sum payments did not reflect salary increases, or include compensation for Sunday premiumpay or foreign post housing allowances received immediate- ly before retiring or separating abroad. The list of federal agencies involved includes the Departments of State, Commerce and Agriculture. USAID, USIA and IBB were not included. When federal employees retire, they receive a lump-sum payment for unused annual leave equal towhat theywouldhave received if theyhad remained in the Service until the expiration of their unused annu- al leave. Leave that would have been used during the year of retirement or separation is paid at the salary level of that year. Leave that wouldhave beenused in the next year is paid at the salary level for that year and reflects any salary increase. The settlement is designed to ensure that yearly pay rais- es were taken into account during the six- yearperiodbetweenApril 7, 1993, andSept. 7, 1999. The Settlement Administrator has mailed claim forms to potentially eligible retirees. The claimformsupplies informa- tion about the effective date of retirement or separation, pay plan and agency of each person to whom the form was sent. The former employee is asked to complete the formby supplying a good-faith estimate of his or her unused leave hours. The claim form must be postmarked no later than April 4, 2007. Here are some of the questions asked most frequently by our retirees. Howdo I find out howmuch annual leave I had at the time of retirement? Pull out your last earnings and leave statement, whichwill show the balance for your annual leave. Classmembers are not required to submit supporting documen- tationbut are asked to submit a good-faith estimate, subject topenaltyof perjury. The former employees most likely to benefit fromthis settlement are thosewhowere in the Senior ForeignService and accumulat- eda largenumber of hours of unused leave and retired in the latter part of the year. Please be advised that the Settlement Administrator does not have information about your unused annual leave. I have not received a claim form, but believe I’m eligible for compensation. What should I do? You can request a claimformfromthe Settlement Administrator online at www. mylumpsumpayment.com/requestClaim. aspx or by phone at 1 (866) 833-7924. Or you may request a claim by writing to: Archuleta Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 4540 , Portland OR 97208-4540. There are four different claim forms that address four different factual situa- tions, so be careful to select the correct form. Claim forms were mailed only to potential classmembers who retired; those who quit or were separatedmust request claim forms. Survivors of deceased potential class members who have not received instructions about submitting a claimshould send a letter to the Settlement Administrator, supplying name, address and Social Security number and ask for instructions, or call the administrator at the number listed above. I retired froman agency that was not includedinthesettlement. HowdoIpros- ecute a claim? The Settlement Administrator advises former employees from agencies that werenot included in thepresent settlement who believe they are eligible for addition- al compensation to file a claim and notify the attorney for the plaintiffs at iralech ner@yahoo.com . If the claimis rejected in this settlement, itwill be turnedover to the attorney for the plaintiffs andbe on record for possible sep- arate settlement or litigation. Find more information at mylump sumpayment.com andontheAFSAretiree Webpage at www.afsa.org/retiree.cfm . ARCHULETA CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT ON UNUSED ANNUAL LEAVE Certain Former Employees Can Claim Compensation BY BONNIE BROWN, RETIREE ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR 9. Mandatory 5-percent low-ranking of employees: 49 percent 10. Excessive or arbitrary security penalties: 46 percent 11. Unclear rules for reporting foreign contacts: 35 percent • Secretary Rice gets only a mediocre evaluation for the job she is doing in defending the professional Foreign Service and secur- ing resources for the department and its people. On both tasks, an overwhelming majority rated her performance as either fair, poor or abysmal. Senior officers gave lowermarks to the Secretary than did the general membership. • AFSA continues to draw praise frommembers, four-fifths of whom said they were satisfied with AFSA’s efforts on their behalf. Nearly two-thirds believe that AFSA should be even more “vocal and assertive” in dealing with department management. As was the case in last year’s survey, this poll revealed a broad diversity of views within the Foreign Service. A careful reading of hundreds of individual comments paints a picture of a highlymoti- vated, loyal andprofessional work force that understands anddoes not shy away from hardship service, but at the same time believes there are dozens of problems unique to the ForeignService that are not being addressed. Survey • Continued from page 63