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Show r ACTION LINEEXT. 77000 Isn't it my option to call? called in a kudos for a fellow worker and I was in error because I was told by my supervisor I didn't have to go to the general because we should handle something Lke this at a lower level I just wanted to say that I apologize if I was in error, but I thought it was my option to call to complain or extend a kudos without anyone's permission. Exactly what are the QI ACTION LINE is your opportunity to make Rill AFB a better place to live, work and play. When you call Ext. 77000, or send on LOCD1S or Office Vision to ID "ACTION," your comments will be recorded and staffed through the agency responsible for action. Please give your supervisor and chain of command the opportunity to work with you in an- criteria? M You are right. Everyone has the option to call com-plaints or kudos (words of praise) directly to me using the Action Line. I am always very happy to receive kudos, because this allows us to recognize our outstanding people through the Hilltop Times. I'm sorry your supervisor made you feel Lke you were in error to call the Action Line with praise for one of your 1 believe your supervisor misunderstood the intention of the comment to "give your supervisor and chain of command the opportunity to work with you in answering questions and solving problems before calling." Many of the Action Line calls refer to problems which are caused by poor communication between a supervisor and employee. We often find if the employee had asked his or her supervisor about the situation, the misunderstanding would have been quickly cleared up. I expect people to address problems and complaints through their chain of command, and if the situation can't be resolved, then they should pursue the problem through their union representative, the inspector general or the Action Line. Hr, H ( commander QI X . I There is no prescribed time off policy for military members who donate blood. It is up to each unit commander to determine how much time should be granted consistent with workload and recovery from the donation. We do have some specific rules for civilian employees. They may be granted up to four hours of administrative leave as you have been told. However, this time off is not a reward for giving blood. Rather, it is administrative time granted to travel to and from the place of donation, donate the blood and recuperate from the process. If civilian employees need less time to complete the entire process, they should return to work in less than four hours. Jr" r ' V ' C3 -- ALC am active duty military and was told that are allowed four hours administrative leave when they donate blood, but that the policy is not extended to military members. Why is there a difference between military and civilian policy regarding leave for blood donations? f solving problems before calling ACTION LINE. This w ill help me better Ogden . l I Check club cards upon entering non-membe- think the volunteer workers at the base thrift shop deserve a pat on the back for their great service. I went there for the first time this week and was very impressed with their helpful attitude. They really wanted to help and bent over backwards for me, and I would like to thank them. I Would it be possible for a microwave to be installed in the base restaurant? Meals that are otherwise good aren't always as hot as they should be. It would really help if they had a way to heat them. Q Your kind words have been passed on to the ployees of the Thrift Shop. i"i The base restaurant appreciates your suggestion, but that's not the answer to your problem. Restaurant management is very concerned about the claim that food was less than hot enough when served. Immediate steps were taken to correct the problem. Restaurant management and supervisors frequently check food line temperatures and adjust heating units accordingly. Should any patron experience a problem of this sort, please bring it to the supervisor's or management's attention immediately at Ext. 72043. We thank you for your patronage and the opportunity to serve you. Thank you for your positive comments concerning the Hill AFB Class VI. The employee noted will be duly recognized. Recently I got very ill at work and passed out. An emergency medical technician came and worked on me and helped me a lot and then took me to the base hospital. I want to thank all the wonderful people for the fantastic treatment I got. You have a great team there and I wanted you to know it. Thanks a lot. Special rate employees for the past several years have received their pay raises one to two pay periods late. The problem with this is that the contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan have never been taken out of the back pay. As I understand it, public law provides for participants in the Thrift Savings Plan to invest a given percentage of our total salary, not just when payroll gets around to taking it out. This practice has, and continues to adversely affect our TSP contributions and earning. When can we expect compliance with public law to correct the past and future contributions associated with lost earnings? Q Thank you for your kind comments regarding the excellence of our emergency and medical support services. It is nice to know that the efforts of these fine providers and staff members were appreciated. It is even nicer when someone, such as yourself, takes that extra step to recognize those efforts in a public way. i The authority for cost of living raises for special rate employees is delegated to the Office of Personnel Management by Section 301 of Executive Order 11721. OPM conducts surveys to determine if specific special rates will be increased by a greater amount, merged with other authorizations or eliminated al- together. Civilian personnel must wait for directives from OPM before they can implement any raise for special rate employees. This year, our civilian personnel office was not notified of OPM's directives regarding special rate employees until Jan. 22. Civilian personnel prepared res and submitted them to civilian pay as quired quickly as possible. However, civilian pay did not receive the special rate standard form until Jan. 29 too late to be processed for the pay period ending Jan. 26. Civilian pay imn.ediately processed the new rates and made retroactive salary adjustments for the prior pay period. You are correct that the government is liable for lost earnings in most situations. However, Section 8432(a)(2) Title 5, United States Code does not provide for the government to restore interest lost as a result of untimely processing of paperwork, whether the apparent fault lies with the government or the employee. I hope the above information resolves your inquiry. If you have further questions, or you wish to make a retroactive adjustment to your Thrift Savings Plan, please contact Sidney Pennington, chief, civilian pay processing team, at Ext. 77775. SF-50- Schedule cramps education plans organization has requested the which would make it virtually impossible for me to continue my education. Will provisions be made for those who are involved in continuing education? Recently, I had to stay home to care for my child who had the flu, and my supervisor made me take annual leave. Isn't a single parent entitled to use sick leave to care for a child with the flu, since it is a contagious disease? 0 and Office of PersoAir Force Regulation nal nel Management Regulation 5 CFR allows you to use your sick leave to care for a member of your immediate family with a contagious disease. Influenza is not a contagious disease as defined by public health authorities, but is considered a routine illness. In your case, annual leave is appropriate for the day you had to stay home to care for your child. For more information about sick leave, contact Nancy Lucas, HRCEB, Ext. 76142. 1 40-63- 10-ho- ur QMy il All organizations implementing the compressed work schedule review hardship exceptions on a basis. If you are unable to participate in the compressed schedule and continue your education, process your request for an exception through the appropriate channels within your organization. However, if your situation doesn't warrant a hardship exception, than a rearrangement of workweek for educational purposes may serve the purpose. Variations in work schedules for educational purposes may be apbasis. proved on a of A special tour duty may be established to permit employees to take courses at nearby educational institutions. This tour may not be less than the scheduled administrative workweek. For instance, employees working a 410 compressed schedule cannot work less than a workweek; employees working a 54-- compressed schedule cannot work less than the scheduled 35- - or workweek, respectively. Requests are submitted on Air Force Logistics Command Form 3318, Request for Rearrangement of Workweek for Educational Purposes, through directorate or staff office level to the Civilian Personnel Office. The request may be approved when it is determined that: B The rearrangement of the tour of duty will not appreciably interfere with the accomplishment of the work required to be performed; Additional costs for personal services will not be incurred; O Completion of the courses will equip you for more effective work in the agency; D The agency may not pay any premium pay solely because the special tour of duty authorized causes you to work on a day or at a time for which premium pay would otherwise be payable. For more information on work schedules, call Nancy Lucas, Human Resources Direccase-by-cas- e case-by-ca- se 40-ho- ur 45-ho- Which leave is appropriate? em- I have a kudos for the Class VI store manager. There was an item that I couldn't get off base or in the Class VI store, but thanks to the manager's efforts, they now have it at the Class VI store. He kept on top of it and even reordered it when it didn't come in. Even though it took about four months to arrive, he called me the next day to let me know it was in. I really appreciate his determination to provide great customer service. Special rate employees missing out can understand the need for the increase in Club dues; however, I am concerned about the fact that club cards are not checked upon entering. It's not fair to paying members when are allowed to go in free of charge. Would it be possible to check for club cards to make sure only authorized people are patronizing the club? QI Kudos Meals aren't hot enough 11 Hilltop Times Why the difference in policy? n r ..." swering questions and serve your interests through ACTION LINE. Moj. Gtn. Dot W. Thompson Jr. Tur--jr- April 26, 1991 ur torate, Ext. 76142. 9 4 1 agree, club cards should be checked. Random checks are conducted at lunch in the Heritage Room and at dinner. Club cards are also checked for bingo. The Officers' Club is doing a lot of new and different things for members. They have free food, games and a lot of fun for members Monday through Friday. Menus for both lunch and dinner have been streamlined with more value to the customer. In trying to keep all of these benefits for our membership, the club will increase card checks. Thanks for your call. I appreciate your interest in the Officers' Club. Golf fee increase much too high After attending the March 5 meeting at the base golf course, I believe the proposed rate for the independent annual fee is much too high. More than half the annual green fee holders are in the group that will have to purchase a second card, and they will be bearing the brunt of these increased costs. After paying $400 for an independent card, rather than the $320 paid previously, then I still have to buy a card for my wife. We like to golf every day, but that's a lot of money. How can they justify such a large increase? Also, at what time in life do dependent children no longer qualify for regular fees? I also feel that since most establishments use 60 years of age to determine senior citizen rates, they should use that age to determine senior citizen discounts on golf carts. Q i4 As explained at the March 5 meeting, our goal is to have the finest golf course available for all our people at a reasonable cost. Since we no longer receive any appropriated funds, it is imperative that we make enough money each year to meet this goal. We have made a profit each year in the past and this money, plus thousands more from the central Morale, Welfare and Recreation Division fund, has been used to keep our course maintenance equipment running. We will continue to incur this expense each year and needed a rate increase to meet this expense. As to your particular situation: Yes, we did raise the basic annual fee from $320 to $400. However, we lowered the second card from $320 to $280. So, the overall increase for you and your wife was from $640 to $680 not unreasonable for someone who plays golf every day. As far as when a dependent loses dependent status, it is when they lose their identification card. Only dependents 17 and under get their junior golfer fees. I appreciate your views on when to give senior citizen discounts for golf carts. Using the standard age for retirement (65 years old) appeared to have the most merit. We will continue to watch our financial situation each month to ensure the right decisions are made. Thanks for your continued support. I want to use my household goods a member. Because I have single military a fair amount of household goods over Ql'm I submitted a letter to I've been in the the service, years the base commander requesting basic allowance for quarters. My request was denied because the percentage of filled rooms at the dormitory was too low. I didn't purchase my furniture for the purpose of putting it in storage, and I feel this policy encourages individuals to get married before they are ready. Why won't they let us use our household goods? il The commander must make maximum use of government quarters before authorizing BAQ for unaccompanied members. Basewide occupancy rate must be 95 percent before BAQ is granted to grades E-- and below unless household goods storage and drayage would offset the amount of BAQ. When it would cost the government less to store an individual's household goods than to grant BAQ, which was true in your case, the goods will be stored. 5 |