1. SETTLEMENTS BACK PAY ACT
INDIANAPOLIS PAYROLL OFFICE
DETAILED INTRO- CREDITABILITY
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2. SETTLEMENTS – BACK PAY ACT
The Back Pay Act of 1966 permitted federal employees to be reimbursed for wrongful deprivation of pay under certain circumstances. Reference: 5 USC 5596
The Back Pay Act was amended in 1978 to include the “administrative determination” supporting a monetary award may include “decisions relating to an unfair labor practice or grievance.” 5 USC 5596(b)(1) The amendment also provides for the payment of interest on awards of back pay and attorney fees.
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3. SETTLEMENTS – BACK PAY ACT SOURCES
5 USC
5 CFR
IRS Publication 15-A Page 11, Back Pay
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4. WHAT IS A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT?
A settlement agreement is a legal document which outlines a remedy or series of remedies handed down by a judge, or agreed upon by a Union Representative or Legal Representative of the employee and the Agency to alleviate a grievance.
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TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
Court Ordered/MSPB – A case has been presented to a judge, and a decision has been determined. The judge has handed down a court order detailing the decision and remedy, if any, to be complied by the agency. These actions are time-sensitive, as there is usually a date set in which the agency MUST comply.
Union / Mediator – A grievance has been submitted by the employee, and the Union or Mediator has presented a remedy to the grievance which both the agency and the employee agree with. This type of settlement is usually reached in an effort to avoid further legal involvement, including a court order. These actions are regarded by DFAS as legal Settlement Agreements.
MSPB-MERIT SYSTEM PROTECTION BOARD
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6. TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS (Con’t)
Agency Decision - Often, if the agency is aware of a pending grievance, actions will be submitted by the agency in an effort to comply with the wishes of the employee, and to avoid further legal involvement. These actions should be submitted as a memorandum detailing the actions to be processed and should be signed by an authorized official. (Director, HR Officer, EEO officer, etc.)
Group Arbitration- These settlements are normally due to a decision which effects more than one employee at an agency. Please submit one separate Remedy ticket per employee, including all documentation required to process the request. Please also indicate in the remedy ticket that it is part of a group arbitration.
Please note, if the group settlement is very large, contact the Civilian Payroll Office before submission of multiple Remedy tickets.
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7. SETTLEMENTS – BACK PAY ACT
Information required by DFAS to process back pay agreed upon in settlements or as ordered by the merit systems protection board or the EEOC – Provided from the Office of the General Counsel.
Requests for action will be submitted through the Remedy system.
The Customer Expectation for response is 15 business days from time of submission.
Submit Remedy ticket far enough in advance to assure settlement is in compliance with the judgment.
Allow ample time for PRO to perform proper calculations per the 5 CFR, as the settlement could include several years of back pay, which may require manual offline calculations.
Submit all documentation required through Remedy and/or Imaging.
EEOC-EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION- FED LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION. DISCUSS LEGALITY OF SETTLEMENT TO INCLUDE PUNIITVE DAMAGES FOR VENDOR PAY AND LSL PAYMENTS WITHOUT CERTIFIED T&A. AS WELL OF OGC/ESS POSSIBLE READS
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8. REMEDY REQUEST - DETAILS SECTION
In the Details section of the Remedy request, please include
Statement if unemployment benefits are to be deducted, with the dollar amount, address and POC. This may be validated if all W2’s or pay stubs are attached.
Statement that employee was counseled concerning health benefits, FEGLI and TSP.
Statement if interest is payable with beginning date of accrual.
INTO EXPLAIN THAT EACH ITEM WILL BE DETAILED FURTHER AS WE PROCEED
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9. REMEDY REQUEST – ATTACHMENTS REQUIRED
Documents that may need attached to the remedy ticket for processing.
Settlement agreement, administrative determination, or order requiring the payment of back pay. This document must be provided with initial submission.
Corrected or cancelled SF50’s
For deceased employees; if DFAS doesn’t already have a file for the beneficiary, then all required documentation for Unpaid Wages & Compensation will need to be submitted.
Election forms for Health benefits (FEHB) and/or TSP, if applicable
Benefits counseling statement is required in regard to handling of FEHB and TSP.
FEHB and TSP are considered voluntary debts and require employee approval prior to establishing and collecting any indebtedness from retroactive pay.
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10. REMEDY REQUEST – ATTACHMENTS REQUIRED
Per 5 CFR , Life insurance premiums are collected only if:
Coverage continued during a period of erroneous retirement
Coverage was stopped during an erroneous suspension or separation and the employee suffered death or accidental dismemberment during the period
Additional premiums are owed because of a retroactive increase in basic pay.
Note: If none of the above circumstances apply, Life insurance (FEGLI) should not be collected from back pay.
FEGLI ONLY UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES START WITH THE NOTE
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11. REMEDY REQUEST – ATTACHMENTS REQUIRED (Continued)
If employee was unable to work during any part of the period involved, certification is required in regard to the type and amount of leave to be charged.
Attach all corrected timecards for period that employee is required to charge leave
Copies of all W2s for compensation received from another source (also known as Interim earnings) during prior year period. If the employee worked during the current year, a copy of all pay stubs should be submitted as documentation (This includes unemployment benefits received)
Copies of unemployment benefits statements or the1099-G to include dollar amount, address, and POC. Ensure that the employee understands that an offset of unemployment benefits against the award can reduce their award amount.
EXAMPLE * MATERNITY LEAVE, INJURY, ETC
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12. REMEDY REQUEST – ATTACHMENTS REQUIRED
For interim earnings, the documents required
Official Letter from OPM if retirement annuities have been paid and will need to be collected or a 1099-R
Unemployment statement or a 1099-G
W2, 1099, and/or Schedule C for all outside employee earnings
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13. REMEDY REQUEST – ATTACHMENTS REQUIRED (Continued)
If the employee received annuity payments during the back pay period, a statement from OPM is required to reflect the amount to collect for the erroneous annuity payment.
Payroll is required to submit repayment of the annuity directly to OPM via payroll offset. If monies are insufficient, the agency will be charged and employee will be indebted to repay agency.
Certified timecards or certified corrected time and attendance records, if applicable, to include overtime, night differential, shift premium, Sunday premium pay, etc. Include number of hours and dates for each entitlement.
NOTE: Payroll is required to obtain all certified timecards prior to performing the pay audit to assure accuracy of back pay and leave
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14. REMEDY REQUEST – ATTACHMENTS REQUIRED (Continued)
Please note if any lump sum leave was paid out due to the erroneous separation/action, the payroll office will collect this debt from the back pay (per 5 CFR ) and the annual leave will be restored to the employee. Any annual leave that exceeds the annual leave ceiling will be restored to the proper account following the guidance of 5 CFR
NOTE: Not all of these required items may apply and will depend on each specific situation.
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15. EMPLOYEE’S STATEMENT RELATIVE TO BACK PAY
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16. EMPLOYEE’S STATEMENT RELATIVE TO BACK PAY (Con’t)
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17. REMEDY REQUEST – ATTACHMENTS REQUIRED, EXAMPLE
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18. INFORMATION ABOUT SF50’S
VERY IMPORTANT
Online Personnel actions should not be processed through the personnel interface until the payroll office receives all documentation and advises the servicing Human Resources Office (HRO). This will ensure actions required by the Payroll Office are ready for processing when the HRO actions flow into DCPS.
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19. INFORMATION ABOUT SF50’S AND TIMESHEETS
Online SF50’s should be processed through to DCPS via the Personnel/Payroll interface.
Preferably, this process should coincide with the manual payments for any offline time periods to calculate interest properly.
Time and attendance will need to be processed for the online time frame.
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20. Integrity - Service - Innovation
SPREADSHEET EXAMPLE
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21. Integrity - Service - Innovation
SPREADSHEET EXAMPLE
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22. PRECAUTIONS WHEN SUBMITTING SETTLEMENT TICKETS
Please submit only one Remedy ticket per settlement agreement in an effort to avoid duplicate payments. Always use Remedy title “Settlements Inquiry” only. Use of multiple titles will increase the risk of duplicate processing.
If submitting a Remedy ticket for corrections to a previous settlement payment, please indicate this in the Remedy ticket, and also indicate the actions that are correct, as well as the actions that need correcting.
Please ONLY submit interim earnings documents for items that were agreed upon to be deducted from back pay, to avoid erroneous deductions. If you are unsure, please contact your HR officer or EEO office for clarification prior to submitting the ticket.
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23. PRECAUTIONS WHEN SUBMITTING SETTLEMENT TICKETS
Please review settlement in full prior to submission. If request pertains to punitive damages paid in lump sum or attorney fees, this is NOT processed by the PRO and needs submitted to vendor pay.
Be aware that requests for leave restoration in a lump sum amount must have certified timecard corrections that reflect use of hours. PRO is not authorized to restore leave that would NOT have been earned/used during the impacted period identified in the judgment.
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24. Integrity - Service - Innovation
QUESTIONS
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