AFGE GCO Scores Important Victory for VA/Military Reservists
Thursday July 10, 2008
For VA Employees/Military Reservists, Use VA Form 0862 To Get Compensation For Lost Leave Between 1980 and 2000
In 2003, AFGE won an important victory for Military Reservists in Butterbaugh v. Department of Justice. In that case, the Federal Court held that Federal Agencies had been improperly calculating military leave for Federal civilian employees/Military Reservists for many years. As a result, employees had to use their annual leave and leave without pay to perform military duties when they should not have had to do so. For this, the Federal agencies are required to compensate these employees. Moreover, they are required to compensate Military Reservist employees for lost leave from 1980 through 2000.
Since that decision, however, the VA has refused over and over again to provide employees with their proper compensation for the lost leave and has refused to even accept employees’ claims for compensation. For years, AFGE has put pressure on the VA to do the right thing and give these VA employees/Military Reservists what they are entitled to. Finally, in the year 2008 – five years after the Butterbaugh decision – the VA has bent to the pressure and is now providing proper compensation and a streamlined mechanism for getting that compensation.
To get what you are entitled to, you simply need to follow a few steps:
- Get VA Form 0862, “Claim for Credit of Annual Leave.” You can find it on the VA Intranet, or on the VA forms website, www.va.gov/vaforms. If you get it from the website, you should simply insert 0862 into the “search” box and then click on the pdf version of the form.
- Fill in the form.
- Attach to that form your military orders, certification of attendance, or other documents indicating that you engaged in periods of active military duty for which you were charged military leave on nonworkdays.
- Submit the filled –in form and documentation to your local payroll office.
Take the time to do this! It’s worth it! We already have one success story for a member who submitted the form and documentation. Approximately two weeks later, he received restoration of a total of 336 hours of annual leave, which amounted to $11,582.00 for this member. Act now to receive restoration of your lost leave!
