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* * ** The January 2010 WSFC Directory of Officers and Chapters is available online from
WSFC Secretary Paul Shell. See "Secretary" In addition, the WSFC Policy and Procedures manual is also
available on the Secretary page (Click "Officers", then "Secretary")
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**A new page, "Senior Issues in Washington" has been added to the Legislative Section.
It will contain information on issues and actions that might affect us at the Washington State level. To access
it, click "Legislative", then "Senior Issues in Washington"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * VA BACK PAY DEADLINE - Feb 9, 2010 Current and former employees of the Department of Veterans’
Affairs (VA) who might be eligible to receive back pay and interest as a result of a decision by a United States Court of
Federal Claims in Washington, DC are now able to file their claims through the website at www.VAbackpay.com. The deadline to
file a claim is February 9, 2010. Some eligible claimants may have received a post card with information about the case.
A Federal Judge ordered the VA to supply a list of names and last known home addresses of current and former employees
to an independent Class Action Administrator. The Class Action Administrator, Epiq Systems, Inc, mailed
post cards to former employees who might be eligible and will process all claims filed in the case. As discussed in the January
issue of NARFE magazine (page 12), the court decided that the VA violated federal pay statutes by failing to pay weekend premium
pay of 25% or night premium pay of 10% to certain groups of health care workers when they used annual or sick leave instead
of working their regularly scheduled weekend or evening shifts. Over 2 dozen job classifications of retired VA workers
in skilled health occupations, including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and pharmacists, are eligible to receive
back pay. The case affects retired health care employees who worked at the VA at night or on weekends between September
1995 and the present. Approximately 150,000 current and former employees are eligible for the settlement. To become eligible for payments, retired
employees must file a claim form by visiting www.VAbackpay.com no later than February 9, 2010. The website
also provides all of the necessary explanations and instructions. Please do not contact the Court
or NARFE.
Legislative and Retirement Benefits Departments
2010 NARFE Scholarship Applications now being
accepted. If you have a child, grandchild
or great-grandchild who is a high school senior headed for college in the fall, please let them know (and encourage them)
to apply for one of the 60 $1,000 scholarships available this year. Information on the scholarships and the application
form is included in the February, March and April editions of the NARFE Magazine. Please talk it up. With the
price of college continuing to go up, $1,000 could be quite helpful.
Get DD-214 forms online. If you are a veteran or an immediate family
member, and need a copy of your Department of Defense form DD-14, you can now get it online from the National Personnel Records
Center (NPRC). The Center has provided the following website for
veterans to gain access to their DD-214s online: http://vetrecs.archives.gov/
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs
a copy of his or her DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers
and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.
Military
veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use the new online military personnel records
system to request documents.
Other individuals with a need for documents
must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because
the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur
when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed
to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time
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