Government Shutdown

[NEatc933]

I had 222 unread emails if that is any indication of how often I check my FAA email.

 

[Shikaka]

So I signed on for some vision insurance, are we enrolled still or is our insurance useless since HR has been gone since before the uear?

 

[Dontbotherme]

So I signed on for some vision insurance, are we enrolled still or is our insurance useless since HR has been gone since before the uear?

Yes, I signed up for vision insurance and you should be enrolled since January 1st. If your premium isn’t deducted for two straight pay periods, they will send you a bill which you must pay directly to continue your insurance. That’s the guidance we’ve received from our RVP.

 

[Dontbotherme]

From our Local VP:
Leave- The agency received guidance to code people for the type of leave they have been taking during the shutdown (SL, AL, credit, etc). The reasoning behind this is that they hope the government will reopen prior to the end of the pay period and they want to charge people accurately for the type of leave they took. The agency also does not want people taking leave they do not have, thinking they will get out of it by being furloughed instead. So those that took leave that did not have it, you might be coded as LWOP for those days which means you will not be getting the backpay since LWOP is a non pay status and not considered furlough. The agency is having another meeting about this today, so as more info comes out, I'll pass it along. Once we reopen, if anyone has any problems with this we can take a look at it. The new leave year starts on the 6th.

Heath Insurance- Your coverage will continue even though the company isn't getting paid. Your premium will continue to accumulate, and once we get our first check after the shutdown is over, your total premium will be deducted.

Dental/Vision- If no payment is received after two pay periods, BENEFEDS will directly bill you for your premium. You'll have to pay it or lose coverage.

TSP- This link describes everything about deductions, loans, etc concerning TSPs in the shutdown: https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/tspfs04.pdf

 

[MJ]

The agency received guidance to code people for the type of leave they have been taking during the shutdown (SL, AL, credit, etc). The reasoning behind this is that they hope the government will reopen prior to the end of the pay period and they want to charge people accurately for the type of leave they took

Grievaaaaannnnccccceeeee

 

[Shikaka]

Wonderful, thank you, guess I might as well get my 4 eyed ass some contacts then.

 

[CF]

My facility must be doing it wrong then. I requested AL for 12/31 and the supe denied it then put in a request for Furlough and approved it. Not gonna complain though.

 

[Dontbotherme]

Grievaaaaannnnccccceeeee

Also, I don’t see how if that were an option, every republican and Democrat wouldn’t have done it before now. From everything I’ve read, it is completely illegal as well. Your options are: show up to work and be guaranteed pay at a later date or be furloughed and may receive pay pending Congressional action. Seems like a scare tactic to get people to show up to work. Kind of gets the point across when six people show up to work, at the busiest airport in the world, for an entire morning shift preventing us from going to TRIPs or even DUALs for hours.

 

[Shikaka]

I'm about 3 days from having to cancel bid leave because of this crap, wish they'd do that at our fac.

 

[CF]

You can say what want about being professional(most of the people I work with are and treat the job as such) but I can see the viewpoint of the people who don't want to show up to work for an employer whose highest leadership is okay with using their livelihoods as a bargaining chip. Being forced to work with no promise of when you'll be paid is bullshit.

 

[GulfCharlie]

Honestly I personally see no quick resolution to this. No one can agree on anything and the flying public is not impacted. Mark my words, so long as they are not impacted nothing will change quickly. Just an observation.

 

[Super Salt]

What impact will cause an uproar quicker:
Delays due to staffing the NAS?
Delays in receiving tax refunds?

 

[CF]

What impact will cause an uproar quicker:
Delays due to staffing the NAS?
Delays in receiving tax refunds?

Refunds for sure. Though a huge portion of the population don't make enough money to worry about getting a refund an even smaller portion use the NAS with any regularity. Only difference is I'd bet the NAS users have a better idea of how to make noise in the right places to see a change.

 

[CaptainObvious]

So are they going to hold an open season again so people can re-enroll in the coverage they lost due to no fault of their own?

 

[BrocolliRob]

If we actually closed airports, this shutdown would be over before the day ends.

 

[axman]

If we actually closed airports, this shutdown would be over before the day ends.

Too bad we can’t pull a patco...

 

[CF]

So are they going to hold an open season again so people can re-enroll in the coverage they lost due to no fault of their own?

Pretty sure loss of coverage is a qualifying event. Not sure this is the same thing though..

 

[KnockKnock]

I have found a government shutdown positive... I am no longer receiving the Faa daily broadcast / ato minute / ato coo weekly message spam emails!

You can create a rule that automatically deletes those emails. When I check my gov email every 3 months I usually only have like 30 unread or so

 

[Shikaka]

@CaptainObvious it looks like the OPM guidance is saying no one will lose coverage, just premium payments stack up until we get paid.

Either way, it's all a great incentive to give the next politician rolling through an airport tour on taxi and flow for controller amusement

 

[Maintainvfr]

You can create a rule that automatically deletes those emails. When I check my gov email every 3 months I usually only have like 30 unread or so

Yeah I have it set to put them all in a separate folder, then I just empty the folder whenever I need to check it