Federal Daily - November 17, 2008

MSPB Awards Back Pensions to Some Part-Time VA Nurses

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) recently ruled in favor of a group of retired Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nurses who worked part-time but said they were entitled to full-time pension benefits. The group includes 158 part-time nurses hired beginning in the 1950s, said Timothy P. O’Brien, an attorney in the case. The plaintiffs claimed that they were guaranteed full-time pensions in exchange for promising to be available day and night, and for agreeing not to work anywhere but the VA, O’Brien said. But, in 1986, Congress passed a law that excluded part-time VA nurses from receiving full-time pension credit. Since that law primarily was an attempt to weed out doctors who were abusing the pension system, Congress in 2002 passed legislation meant to rectify the issue. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), however, refused to pay out full-time pensions to those who retired before 1986, saying that the 2002 law was not retroactive. The MSPB ruling, which became official last month, overrides that OPM decision. The government has decided not to appeal MSPB’s decision. According to a firm representing the plaintiffs, hundreds of additional nurses and other part-time VA medical personnel also may be eligible for these benefits. To see more, go to: www.stemberfeinstein.com.

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Former Border Patrol Agent Again Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

A federal judge in Texas has again sentenced former Border Patrol Agent Jose Compean to 12 years in federal prison—the same sentence originally imposed for his role in a highly publicized shooting of an unarmed fleeing suspect in 2005. The new sentence was made necessary when an appeals court in July vacated obstruction of justice charges against Compean, while affirming the majority of other charges of which he was convicted. Former agents Compean and Ignacio Ramos were convicted in the shooting just north of the border near El Paso, Texas. Ramos was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and Compean received 12 years. Both men claimed they shot at Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, an illegal immigrant and admitted drug smuggler, in self defense. In affirming their convictions, the appeals court also denied their request for a rehearing on the matter, said Johnny Sutton, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, in a statement released on Nov. 12. To see more, go to: www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/press_releases/Compean-Ramos/compean_resentence.pdf. 

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SEA Calls on Obama to Reduce Appointees, Improve SES Pay

The Senior Executives Association (SEA) has called on President-elect Barack Obama to reduce the number of appointed positions and improve the government’s pay-for-performance system for the Senior Executive Service (SES). In a briefing paper addressed to Obama and released on Nov. 12, SEA pointed out that all new administrations use the previous administration’s appointed positions as their starting point for determining where appointees go and where federal careerists go. As of December 2007, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reported a total of 3,018 appointees (including 1,641 “Schedule C” appointments), which represents a growth of 955 percent from 1960. SEA suggests that Obama begin his administration with a “zero base” approach and look hard at these appointed positions. For example, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has undertaken plans to ensure that critical jobs at 25 DHS agencies are held by career civil servants—whether in the primary or deputy slot—to ensure a smooth transition. “It has been politically fashionable to denigrate and mistrust the bureaucracy and to give less attention and compass to the career corps,” the briefing paper said. “Rather than being treated as the ‘most valuable players’ in the federal enterprise—which they truly are—they have been increasingly taken for granted and buried under layers of non-career appointees.” SEA also recommended that Obama rework the SES pay-for-performance management system which the group criticized as politicized, unevenly administered and prone to the application of de facto quotas. The group also suggested that the SES pay ceiling be adjusted upward to keep pace with increases in General Schedule pay. To see more, go to: www.seniorexecs.org.

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