AFGE and AFGE C-117 Are Proud To Announce a Payment Schedule for (Former) INS Employees
December 1, 2004
After the close of “suffer or permit” hearings in May 2004, AFGE Council 117, again, asked for the immediate payment of backpay for those former INS employees for which there is no question as to the eligibility for payment under the INS FLSA grievance. There are @8000 of these employees. AFGE C-117 has demanded immediate payment numerous times, the latest being in September 2004.
In response to our latest demand for payment, the Agency responded with a proposed payment schedule that would take over 21 months for payment. Note that this ridiculous Agency proposal was for former INS employees that the Agency has acknowledged that it owes back pay under the AFGE FLSA grievance. Posted on this web site is a copy of the Agency’s September 24, 2004 letter. Please note the timing for payment the Agency proposed on pg.2.
The Union refused to accept this outrageously long payment plan and demanded a hearing on the issue before the Arbitrator. The hearing was held on November 19, 2004 . At the hearing was sworn testimony of managers from the National Finance Center , the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. As the Union had claimed, the Agency’s payment schedule (as reflected in its September 24, 2004 , letter) could not be justified.
I am pleased to post a copy of the Arbitrator’s order dated November 24, 2004 , wherein he orders (pg. 7) that the National Finance Center pay “[o]ld claimants by June 15, 2005 1 ”. (emphasis added)(footnote added). Thus the payment schedule (as ordered by the Arbitrator) has shrunk from the Agency’s 21+ months to less than 7 months; a reduction in the payment time by over 66%.
When you are asked what AFGE and its Locals are doing for you, look at the difference in the Agency’s proposed payment schedule (which only was produced on the demand of the Union) and the payment schedule that the Union was able to obtain after tough litigating on your behalf. This is what your Union does for you.
The Union will keep you posted on additional orders from the Arbitrator when they issue. Remember, if you don’t see information about the INS FLSA grievance here, it’s an unfounded rumor.
Help us continue to help you. Join AFGE today.
Footnotes
1 Remember, this order only affects “old claimants”. All claimants who were not previously recognized by the Agency and filed a claim through the AFGE web site, are currently having their class membership decided by the Arbitrator. These “new claimants” are not included in the Arbitrator’s November 24, 2004 , order. Similarly, all “suffer or permit” claims are currently before the arbitrator for his decision after a long series of hearings that lasted from December, 2003, through the end of May, 2004.