Can IRS issue a general letter for employees to provide to other government agencies to show that although the official pay date for PP26 was 01/03/2019 (hence January income), that if the employee receives their pay by direct deposit, their actual payday was 12/31/2018 (hence December income)? This matters to qualify for some benefits. They are not accepting the Treasury Shared Services Center pay period and payroll chart (catalog 61885R) as proof, or even bank statements because the leave and earning statement shows 01/03/2019 date. Although you received your pay in your account prior, the official pay day does not change. The official pay date for pay period 26 was 1/3/2019. If a furloughed or an exempt employee resigns before the shutdown ends, will they still be entitled to receive backpay per the recently passed Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 up to the last day they were on federal rolls? We have an employee who's considering resigning to seek employment. Employees who choose to resign will get backpay up to the effective date of their resignation. Managers need to submit the resignation PAR as soon as possible. Is the SETR code 990 59819, for excepted employees recalled by IRS, allowed to be used with night differential? No, night differential is invalid for OFP Code 59819. The only exception to this regulation is OFP Code 59825, Religious Comp Taken, or if the employee is a Wage Grade. On 1/15/19 under the Pay FAQ, someone asked about essential/exempted personnel being paid, stating that some had and some had not. The answer provided stated that all exempt employees were paid, HR and IT were consulting a "list", and once "decisions" are reached communication will be sent to all IT employees. What are these decisions and what is the list mentioned? No one from my group or even field office have been paid and we have been working throughout the shutdown for Criminal Investigation. If all exempt employees are to be paid, why is there a separate list outside of the entries in the payroll system (SETR), as it clearly shows who is recording work hours vs. furlough time. Exempt employees will be paid for hours worked. Excepted employees input their time; however, they will not be paid until appropriations are made. There is a list of EXEMPT employees that Memphis Payroll Center was given to release payment to these employees only. CI is not on the list. If it is your understanding that CI is exempt, please speak with your manager and have them contact their Lapse Coordinator. Once the appropriations have been approved, will back pay be paid in a lump sum or paid as a regular bi-weekly payment. My concern if paid as a lump sum is that the withholding taxes will be substantially higher, and therefore, take home pay will be less. At this point, back pay for employees is expected to be processed through the normal bi-weekly procedure, which means it should be taxed the same as your normal paycheck deductions. Once the Shutdown is complete and we are provided further guidance by the National Finance Center, we will be able to provide additional regarding the disbursement of missed salary payments. What is the process for requesting waivers to the biweekly pay cap for excepted FLSA exempt employees who are required to work and cannot receive compensation for hours worked beyond their biweekly pay cap during a shutdown furlough? Business units must work in conjunction with their servicing Business Based Human Resources (BBHR) Professional, if applicable, and HCO: Payroll and Personnel Systems (PPS) Division to compile information and draft a memorandum (waiver package) that includes the following: Detailed description of the emergency or mission-critical work; Timeframe (e.g., December 22, 2018 – March 1, 2019); Cost analysis and number of employees for whom a waiver is requested contained in one report submitted on Excel spreadsheet which includes employee name and SEID of employees required to work, pay plan, series, grade, step, salary, estimated hours worked, FLSA status, city and state, detailed by TIMIS org code separated by pay period. This memorandum (waiver package) is first approved by the business unit and routed through HCO: Worklife Benefits and Performance (WBP), Awards, Compensation and Leave (ACLP) Branch for routing through the HCO for final approval by the Commissioner. Contact your BBHR professional for all steps involved in the process. Will invoices for excepted or non-excepted contracts be paid during a lapse in funding? There have been a number of questions raised by contractors on when they can expect to be paid for services they have provided the IRS. During a lapse in appropriations the IRS is not able to make any payments to contractors. When the lapse in appropriation is resolved the IRS will work the invoices as quickly as possible to minimize the impact on our contractors. When will 2018 W-2s be issued to employees? Per the National Finance Center Notification dated January 11, 2019, the mailing process will continue through Thursday, January 31, 2019, and the majority will be available on the Employee Personal Page as early as Friday, January 25, 2019, and no later than Monday, January 28, 2019. How do payroll payments to Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) loans work? Does the lack of payment on the loan put the employee in default status on their TSP loan? Government Shutdown and Loan Payments — (January 8, 2019) The TSP allows for the suspension of loan payments when you go into nonpay status to prevent your loan from going into default. Normally, we require documentation from your agency or service. However, the TSP does not need documentation of your furlough at this time. If your loan payments were up to date prior to the furlough, missing one or two payments will not cause your loan to be in default. You can check the status of your loan by logging into My Account, selecting “TSP Loans,” and then selecting “Are my payments up to date?” Or you can call the ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778 and speak to a Participant Service Representative. As long as retroactive pay is approved, all missed loan payments will be submitted and posted to your loan. We will provide more information as the furlough continues or as events change. Please refer to the TSP loans website for more information https://www.tsp.gov/whatsnew/Content/index.html An employee was selected to serve on a civil grand jury case. How would this employee charge time during a shutdown? It depends. If the testimony was work related, and the employee was identified as excepted for this work, the time should be posted using normal OFP codes. If the testimony was not work related and the employee is not an excepted employee, the time should be reported under 990-59566 admin leave for any time in their tour of duty, and the remainder of the day should be reported to the appropriate code that would have been used had there not been a shutdown. Please check with your manager. I was on paid leave, due to the furlough my leave was cancelled, I reported to work to perform orderly shutdown activities, how do I post my SETR T&A record? All paid time off during a shutdown furlough period must be cancelled because the requirements to furlough supersedes leave and other paid time off rights. If you reported to conduct orderly shutdown activities, post Organization, Function and Program (OFP) code 800 84010 (Orderly Shutdown) for the length of time needed to conduct those activities. The IRS resumed activities at 9am (EST). Post OFP code 990 59566 (Administrative leave) in anticipation of Congress authorizing pay for employees, for the period of time from the completion of orderly shutdown activity until IRS resumed activities at 9 a.m. (EST). If you are returning to work you may post up to four hours administrative leave prior to resuming work. If you are not resuming work but are approved paid leave, post the corresponding OFP code for that leave beginning at 9 a.m. EST. I was on paid leave, due to the furlough my leave was cancelled, I did not report to work to perform orderly shutdown activities, how do I post my SETR Time and Attendance record? All paid time off during a shutdown furlough period must be cancelled because the requirements to furlough supersedes leave and other paid time off rights. If you did not report to conduct orderly shutdown activities, post OFP code 990 59566 (Administrative leave) in anticipation of Congress authorizing pay for employees, for the period of time from the beginning of your tour of duty until IRS resumed activities. Post the corresponding OFP code for paid leave through the end of your tour of duty. How should we post excepted employees on an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) who came into work on their regular day off (RDO) to perform duties essential to the service during a shutdown? Non-Senior Executive Service excepted employees on AWS who were required to perform duties essential to the Service during a shutdown on their scheduled RDO, may earn overtime or compensatory time off in lieu of overtime during a shutdown, in accordance with existing approval procedures and overtime thresholds found in IRM 6.550.1.1. Employees may not change their tour of duty (TOD) or RDO because the pay period already began. All changes to an employees’ TODs must be made prior to the beginning of the pay period. What if I receive an overpayment that I'm not entitled to? If you were overpaid and a retroactive correction is processed to correct the overpayment, you will receive a debt letter outlining the steps you need to take to repay the money. The debt letter will contain all the rights and options that are available to you. You are encouraged to put the overpayment aside and use it to pay the bill once you receive your debt letter. Will excepted employees be paid for performing work during a shutdown furlough? If so, when will excepted employees receive such payments? Agencies will incur obligations to pay for services performed by excepted employees during a lapse in appropriations, and those employees will be paid for their hours worked after Congress passes and the President signs a new appropriation or continuing resolution. (Note: Presidential appointees who are not covered by the leave system in 5 U.S.C. chapter 63 are not subject to furlough, but are also barred from receiving pay during a lapse in appropriations. These Presidential appointees will be paid after Congress passes and the President signs a new appropriation or continuing resolution.) Will employees who are furloughed get paid? Congress will determine whether furloughed employees will receive pay for the furlough period.
