JBER hosts furlough town hall Published March 8, 2013 Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Public Affairs JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - Col. Brian Duffy, JBER and 673d Air Base Wing commander, hosted a series of civilian call sessions alongside Linda Boyd, the civilian Personnel Office Chief; and Dave Owens, President of the American Federation of Government Employees local 1101 here March 7. If enacted, employees will be furloughed a total of 176 hours beginning in late April. The net effect will approximately be a 20 percent reduction in pay. The town hall meetings were designed to inform and address concerns for the fiscal year 2013 budget and the potential for impacts to elements of JBER's civilian workforce driven by sequestration for the weeks to come. "Thank you again for all you do to support the many missions on JBER," Duffy said. "I recognize these are not ideal circumstances and subjects that we will talk about today are not the most popular. We are committed to keeping you informed and will pass out information as it is received." While furloughed civilian employees are not paid and may not work or volunteer. Employees will be furloughed one day per week for up to 22 weeks beginning in late April. According to Duffy, if enacted the administrative furlough will affect all appropriated fund employees with few exceptions. He specified those who are deployed in combat zones and those necessary to provide safety, life, and property, but only to the minimum extent, would be exempt. "We anticipate should this furlough be put in place, we will provide formal notification to all affected employees around the third week of March," Duffy said. "We will provide an opportunity for feedback by the following week and see the furlough potentially start around April and extend until the remainder of the fiscal year." According to Boyd, the civilian personnel office chief, it is against the law to perform any work-related activity during furlough days. Work related activity such as: - Scheduling leave - Using holidays as furlough days - Using overtime, compensation time or credit hours to compensate for furlough days - earning overtime, compensation time in/work from home - being on official travel - using cell phone to call work - coming in to get work papers, etc. "Supervisors/employees are subject to disciplinary action for employees working on furlough days," Boyd said. Commonly asked questions included: Q: "Will annual and sick leave accrual be affected? A: "Yes, furlough time off is treated like regular leave without pay. When a full-time employee accumulates a total of 80 hours of non-pay status from the beginning of the leave year (either in one pay period, or over the course of several pay periods, the employee will not earn annual and sick leave in the day the pay period in which that 80 hour accumulation is reached. Q: "Will the government's contribution to the retirement fund affect an employee's retirement? A: "No, an aggregate non-pay status of six months in any calendar year is creditable service. Coverage continues at no cost to the employee. Q: "Will retirement calculations be affected? A: "Yes, retirement, deductions are adjusted in proportion to their basic pay." Further questions that were asked and answered will be posted on the www.jber.af.mil website. Personal planning is important and financial planning/assistance is available from the Military and Family Readiness Center (552-4943) and the Army Community Services (384-1502) For more information, go to. www.jber.af.mil/sequestration.aspwww.facebook.com/JBERAK https://Elmendorf.eim.pacaf.af.mil/default.aspx Civilian Personnel Customer Service: 552-3572