Federal Daily - April 14, 2008

Interior’s Employee Accident Rate One of Highest, Audit Says

The Interior Department’s employee accident rate is one of the highest in the federal government, with the department paying $58 million in workers’ compensation claims in Fiscal Year 2006, said a new department Inspector General (IG) report. The IG audit—which was posted April 9 on the Web site of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)—looked at how well the department was addressing worker health and safety issues. It noted that the department was making progress, but said that some issues remain unresolved. For example, in FY 2006, 4,409 workers’ compensation claims were filed in the department, representing a claim rate of 6.27 out of every 100 employees— exceeding the federal average by 41 percent. Workers’ compensation claims in FY 2006 amounted to 15,000 lost days of employee work, or 58 work years, the audit said. Yet data on the cause of accidents is missing or cannot be tracked in about a quarter of incidents. One of the highest levels of health complaints comes out of Interior’s own headquarters building, which is being remodeled while keeping the staff in place, said PEER. To see more, go to: www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1024.

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AFGE Welcomes Bargaining Rights Bill for VA Medical Workers

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on April 9 applauded a measure introduced in the Senate to restore the collective bargaining rights for medical professionals in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The union says the bill, S. 2824—the companion of H.R. 4089 in the House—would clarify Congress’ original intent to give collective bargaining rights to VA medical employees equal to those afforded other federal employees. The bill’s sponsors include Sens. John D. Rockefeller, D –W.Va., Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Jim Webb, D-Va. The bill also clarifies those workers’ right to appeal arbitration decisions to federal court, and provides employees with a more level playing field in appeals through the VA’s Disciplinary Appeals Board, AFGE said. “This new legislation is a strong endorsement for equity in the workplace,” said John Gage, AFGE national president. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=838.   

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Senator Urges Elimination of Military Personnel File Fees

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to eliminate the fees it charges veterans and their families to access their own military personnel files. Under current rules, NARA charges vets and their families fees of up to $50 to access their individual Official Military Personnel Files. In a letter to Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, Brown asked that the fees be waived for any veteran or family member seeking to obtain their personnel file. “Charging veterans for a copy of their personnel records is an outrage,” Brown said in an April 10 statement. While NARA waives fees for veterans or immediate family members seeking to validate a benefit or entitlement, Brown said this exemption is too narrow, and that charging any fee to any veteran or family member is unjustifiable. To see more, go to: http://brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press_releases/release/?id=a2fc7e42-81d9-4aa9-9e3a-93377bda2ea1.

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