Management Info on Debts Leaves Out Important Facts
FEA members are urged to use the information provided by the Association when you experience a debt claim against you, rather than relying upon the incomplete information DoDEA recently put out on DoDEA Connects about the debt waiver request process.
The information posted by DoDEA omits important points an employee should be aware of when dealing with alleged debts.
DoDEA’s information does not explain that asking for a waiver is an acknowledgement of the alleged debt that could be used against the employee later.
DoDEA’s information also fails to mention that educators facing an alleged debt have the right to seek assistance from their union.
Members are reminded it is DoDEA’s responsibility to provide the documentation that supports an alleged debt and often that information from DoDEA is incomplete or incorrect.
FEA members in both Stateside and Overseas locations are urged to rely upon the information supplied by the Association, rather than the one-sided and incomplete information from DoDEA, if they receive notice of an alleged debt. Also, members who receive a debt notice should immediately elevate it through FEA’s chain of command – do not wait to do so or pay the alleged debt and seek help later.
Overseas members who receive notice of an alleged debt are advised to use the pay problem information compiled by FEA attorney Bill Freeman.
Stateside members should utilize this information put together by FEA-SR General Counsel Ben Hunter, which is available here.
Both resources can be found at this page.
FEA attorneys have helped hundreds of members with alleged debts that turned out to be incorrect. Be sure to take advantage of their expertise if you receive notice of an alleged debt, rather than relying upon the faulty information put out by DoDEA.
RAT Travel Issues
FEA has heard from many Overseas members about getting their Renewal Agreement Travel (RAT) tickets for this summer. FEA President Brian Chance has been in communication with DoDEA on this issue. Due to a large number of employees reporting travel issues, the DoD’s Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) has contacted DoDEA with additional travel booking options for Overseas employees, including self-procuring your own travel then vouchering for it or DoDEA booking employee travel through the Defense Travel System (DTS).
FEA suggests Overseas members should carefully consider their options and act in their families’ best financial and timing interests. For example, booking your own travel would mean waiting for voucher reimbursement, while booking through DTS may not fit with your timing or destinations.
Read FEA’s update on this issue, including the notice of options from DoDEA.
If members continue to have RAT travel issues this summer, please email FEA President Brian Chance at [email protected].
Reminder: Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer Interest Form
FEA anticipates an opening on the FEA Board of Directors. FEA will then appoint a new Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer when the position is vacant.
FEA is seeking interest forms from Active dues-paying members.
If you are a current FEA Active Member and you are interested in possibly being appointed to the position of Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer on the FEA Board of Directors, please submit this Google form to FEA.
The suspense date is June 8, 2023 @ 0700 Eastern Time.
You can access the showing of interest form by going here.
SF-50 Reminder
If you are retiring and your retirement date comes after your final day at school this year, be sure to leave an addressed envelope with your school secretary and ask the secretary to mail you your final SF-50. Be sure to keep that SF-50 and all records pertaining to your pay and benefits permanently, in case you ever need them in the future to disprove an incorrect debt allegation or other false claim made against you. Online access to those records usually ends within a year of their being issued, so you should keep copies of everything yourself as a precaution. FEA provides folders for all members at the start of each school so you can keep those records together.
Also, Overseas members who are retiring/separating and who will need to close their existing on-base bank accounts are reminded to file the appropriate form with CHRA, notifying them of your new banking information. They will need that information to make sure any remaining funds owed to you after your departure are deposited to your new account. That form can be found here.
Goodbye Grievance
Overseas members who are separating or retiring from the FEA Overseas Bargaining unit (including those who are relocating to the Med or to DoDEA Americas locations) should file and elevate a Goodbye Grievance prior to departing. Your FRS can help you do so.
Retain your Documents
All members are reminded to make sure you permanently retain copies of all your LESs from the entire 22-23 school year, along with any other correspondence about your pay and benefits. LESs are available on the MyPay website for 12 months after the date they are issued. After 12 months they are taken offline. You should download and keep printed copies of all your LESs from the past 12 months as DoDEA will not reproduce the LES if you need it later. Please make a habit of putting a copy of your LES each pay period in the financial records folder FEA sends out at the start of each school year. You never know when you may need those records in the future. Also be certain to retain copies of any grievances you may have filed, especially the Goodbye Grievance.
Submit Academic Salary Lane Credits
Overseas members should be certain to submit ANY Academic Salary Lane credits to DoDEA by August 1, in order to make sure they are grandfathered in before the new Overseas contract takes effect August 1. After August 1, this language from Article 22 of the recently ratified Overseas contract will take effect:
“Management has determined that: 1. Pay Lane adjustments based upon completion of “degree plus hours” (e.g., BA+15) means graduate semester hours completed after the award of the most recent academic degree. This paragraph will apply only to semester hours completed on or after the effective date of this contract found in Article 49, Duration and Successor Agreement.”
Retired Membership
Whether you’re retiring this year or thinking ahead to your eventual retirement, please consider joining FEA Retired or FEA Pre-Retired. Doing so will allow you to continue receiving publications from FEA and NEA, maintain your coverage under NEA’s Educator Employment Liability (EEL) insurance if you substitute teach, and provide you continued access to NEA Member Benefits programs for things like travel discounts, insurance programs and much more. Go to this page to learn more and enroll.
FEA/NEA Annual Meetings
The FEA Annual Membership Meeting takes place June 30 and July 1 at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista hotel. The meeting is open to all FEA members, Active and Retired, and provides an opportunity to hear from and question FEA leaders about issues affecting members. Registration is not required but members planning to attend are asked to send word to [email protected] to help us plan for adequate seating. The NEA Representative Assembly (NEA-RA) will take place July 2-6 in Orlando. Twenty-one FEA members were elected by their peers to serve as delegates to this year’s NEA-RA, which is attended by thousands of NEA members each year.
Summertime
Thank you to all FEA members for your support of and membership in the Federal Education Association this past school year. We wish you all a safe, happy and restful summer (or a very enjoyable retirement, if you’re wrapping up your DoDEA career). We look forward to welcoming you back next school year and continuing to advocate for a better working and learning environment throughout DoDEA.
