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PMA's sponsor FEDS Protection offers discounted professional liability insurance to our members and has done so for more than 14 years. PMA members also enjoy a 50% premium reimbursement from the IRS. FEDS announced that it is joining the CRC Group which will allow it to offer additional lines of coverage to our membership. Read more
This week, FEDS published its very first quarterly newsletter, which you can find attached to this email. This issue includes "Kalkines vs. Garrity Warnings – What’s a Government Employee to Do?"; Current OIG Investigations Embroiling Feds in "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"; Message from Attorney, Mark E. Schamel of Lowenstein Sandler LLP; & "FEDS Protection Acquisition Allows for Expansion of Federal Employee and Contractor Coverage."
Enrollment takes just five minutes. Please enter “PMA” when prompted for the discount code.
For the 2021-22 academic year, PMA continues to offer ten $2,000 scholarships through our official charity, the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund. As a further benefit, FEEA's common application makes it easy to compete for more than 200 awards valued between $1,000 and $7,500. Be sure to apply no later than March 25th at 3PM Eastern (there are no extensions available to this deadline for any reason so please don't wait for the last minute!). Not a PMA member? Use the attached form to sign up today!
We are also seeking volunteers to serve as readers for this scholarship cycle. Readers review and score 30-40 applications in April or May, with a total time commitment under six hours over two or three weeks. This is performed virtually through an online portal. If you or someone you know is willing to volunteer for FEEA in this capacity, please follow the directions in this link to express interest. Readers need not be Federal employees - this is a great opportunity for anyone you know looking for an easy way to help!
Things have been a bit quiet in DC this week as all attention is focused on the impeachment trial. We expect more movement next week now that both sides have presented their arguments within the Senate. PMA is working with OPM to prioritize guidance for agencies relating to administrative time for COVID vaccinations. You can read more about the congressional effort which PMA has endorsed.
PMA attended meetings this week with HCO's COVID Response Team and Deputy CHCO Keith Walker. Next week, look forward to interim guidance regarding the annual leave carryover increase for most employees resulting from the NDAA veto override. We are pleased to see progress on this item. We also discussed concerns about the computation of NBU performance awards, particularly where a manager has a BU employee in the same grade (e.g., IR-04 with a GS-14) and receives a much smaller performance award for the same overall rating. PMA will continue to work with IRS HQ through the spring and summer as we take a deeper look at these policies. The IRS and PMA want to ensure any changes we may need to make are fully implemented prior to the next award season. The IRS also confirmed its interest in granting administrative time to employees so they can get vaccinated and shared that they elevated their interest to the Treasury Department. PMA will support the IRS by using our voice to urge OPM to take quick action on Treasury's request.
There’s never been a more important time to become a PMA member. Our voice is becoming louder and our leaders are listening. Through our consultative relationship with IRS HQ, we’ve worked to resolve questions, concerns, and inconsistencies around performance pay, leave administration, professional liability, retirement, safety, and leadership succession to name only a few. We are working diligently to strengthen our existing relationships throughout the IRS and to develop new relationships throughout government and with our sponsors so that we can grow our impact. We do all of this and more for a mere $3.50 per pay period – an incredible value. I ask each of you to encourage your peers in the non-bargaining unit to consider signing up using the attached form - please forward this newsletter to one person in your network who might benefit from our advocacy and information. If you know a retiree who would benefit from our advocacy, we offer lifetime memberships to them for a one-time $100 payment. Membership also comes with many additional benefits such as discounted rates from our sponsors GEICO and FEDS Protection. Our scholarship program is open and accepting applications - we offer 10 $2,000 scholarships to members, their spouses, and their college-aged children each year.
Don't forget to follow PMA on social media! You can forward this email to your personal address to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages. We are working to better leverage these tools so we can keep in touch with each of you. Soon we will debut our Instagram and LinkedIn pages as we continue to work on refreshing our virtual toolkit.
FEEA is offering complimentary tutoring services available to many of your K-12 children (available to any federal worker earning under $100,000 inclusive of locality pay) as well as a COVID emergency assistance program that permits small, no-interest loans and grants to families in need. Please visit FEEA's website or email them to learn more about programs available to you.
PMA’s National Board is looking for members throughout the country who are willing to consider serving as chapter president. If you're in Colorado or Georgia, please reach out today! We’re also always happy to hear from members who’d like to found a local chapter in their area. Local chapters are active around the country and work with local executives, FEBs, and GLCs to promote the interests of management. Chapter presidents also attend national calls quarterly with the National Board as members of our Association Leadership Committee. The Committee will participate in PMA's modernization project, which is already underway. The time commitment is minimal and it’s a great way to improve conditions in your office. If you or someone you know is interested, please reply to our newsletter and we will connect you with resources to get started.
Please be sure to contact us with any news, good or bad, on in-office COVID safety measures. Beginning Monday, the IRS plans to have everyone at IRS with non-portable work return to the office. We've been working closely with IRS leadership throughout the pandemic to ensure your safety is their sole priority, and it truly is. At the same time, we understand that locally issues can arise. We encourage you to follow your business unit's reporting protocol for gaps in compliance or supply needs. It is helpful to PMA if you share that feedback with us too so that we can bring it into our weekly COVID response briefings.
As PMA members, please be sure to follow the agency's COVID reporting guidance here. If you have feedback on any of the steps mandated, or on any FAQs and talking points provided, please share with us.
