The Foreign Service Journal, November 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2016 55 AFSA NEWS Agreement Reached on 2013 MSI Remedies AFSA is pleased to announce that it has reached an agree- ment with the State Depart- ment that will result in the expeditious implementation of the Foreign Service Griev- ance Board (FSGB) decision regarding the 2013 Meritori- ous Service Increases (MSIs). Under this agreement, we anticipate that the process- ing of MSIs and the payment of awards for the vast major- ity of these individuals will have been completed before the end of October 2016. As many of our members are aware, due to the govern- ment sequester in 2013, the department decided not to pay the monetary com- ponent of the 2013 MSIs. AFSA filed an implementa- tion dispute with the FSGB. The FSGB ruled in AFSA’s favor and the department appealed. The Foreign Ser- vice Labor Relations Board denied the Department’s appeal in April 2016. For a full history of the case, see AFSA News December 2015. The FSGB had ordered the department to pay retroactive MSIs to all those employees (approximately 554 employees) ranked but not reached for promotion (up to the 10-percent cap in the Precepts) by the 2013 Promotion Boards, retroac- tive to November 3, 2013, with interest. As the process- ing of retroactive MSIs would have taken an extraordinary amount of time (because SF50s and corrected SF50s dating back to November 3, 2013, would have to be processed for each employee and back pay computed for each pay period since then), the department and AFSA agreed to a more expedited process. Under this process, the majority of employees should have received a prospec- tive MSI effective October 2, 2016. They also should have received a lump-sum award payment in their October 13, 2016, paychecks (with an SF50 effective date of September 18, 2016) that corresponds to the value of the MSI had it been pro- cessed effective November 3, 2013. The award pay- ment incorporates interest (calculated under the Back Pay Act) and takes into account all rate-affected pay components such as allow- ances and differentials. The award payments are subject to withholding for federal tax, state tax (if applicable), Social Security, and Medicare in the year in which they were received. For employees who have resigned or retired or will be resigning or retiring in 2016, the department will process an MSI retroactive to November 3, 2013, and will pay back pay and interest in accordance with the Back Pay Act. For these groups, the MSI will be part of the employees’ basic salary in the high-3 for their annuity calculation. The department will also process retroactive MSIs for those who were subsequently promoted into the Senior Foreign Service, so that Senior Foreign Service salary computations take into account the 2013 MSI. Employees receiving the pro- spective MSI and lump-sum award payment (discussed in paragraph 4, above) who retire in the next three years will have the opportunity to have the MSI factored into their annuity calculations. Not all employees recom- mended but not reached for promotion by the 2013 Promotion Boards (up to the 10-percent cap in the 2013 Precepts) will be eligible for an MSI. Under the 2013 Precepts, some employees are eligible only for a $2,500 cash award and related interest payments in lieu of an MSI (i.e., those employ- ees who were at the high- est steps of grades FS-06 through FS-02 [step 14] or who were at the FS-01 [step 10 and higher] as of Novem- ber 3, 2013). The depart- ment has already paid these $2,500 cash awards with interest. In addition, a small number of employees are not eligible for an MSI because they retired or resigned before the effective date of the MSI (i.e., November 3, 2013), they were actually promoted in 2013, or they were otherwise granted an MSI in the previous 52 weeks of November 3, 2013. All MSI or cash award recipients should receive an email providing further details regarding their spe- cific remedy by December 1, 2016. Employees who believe they should have received a 2013 MSI but who have not receive an individual email by this date, should con- tact the Bureau of Human Resources Office of Perfor- mance Evaluation by email to HR-PEquestions @state.gov. n —Sharon Papp, AFSA General Counsel Under this agreement, we anticipate that the processing of MSIs and the payment of awards for the vast majority of these individuals will have been completed before the end of October 2016.