New CAPWIZ Alert! HR 3223, the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act

H.R. 3223, the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act   10-9-13            

Take Action!

Legislative Alert:

Please contact your U.S. Senator and urge them to debate and pass H.R. 3223, the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act. This legislation would provide benefits and compensation for federal workers furloughed due to the government shutdown. On October 5, the House of Representatives passed this legislation with a vote of 407 – 0. If the U.S. Senate adopts the House passed bill, it would go directly to the President for his signature.

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Message on Shutdown from NASCOE President Mark VanHoose

NASCOE Shutdown Letter

NASCOE Organizational Meeting Held Sept 21 & 22, 2013

2013 Organizational Meeting Report

Government Shutdown Fact Sheet from NASCOE

A Fact Sheet on Government Shutdown has been posted to the NASCOE website, www.nascoe.org, on the home page under Furlough Information. This was put together by the NASCOE Benefits Chair, Elyse Musil. It contains some good information for you. Check it out and continue to look for posts coming from NASCOE!

Message from Vice President Nicki Miranowski

Brent Orr has the following posted on his FaceBook page.

Please note, the unemployment USDA code is 445 (which I also noticed when I completed my online application this morning.)  If someone is going to file their unemployment form in person, please make sure they check this, as the code CED's received in the email from the STO to complete the form was 455.

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"From Associate Administrator Candy Thompson:

Some recent unemployment guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Employee's will need to provide the a 3 Digit Federal Identification Code (FIC), when they file their claim. The USDA FIC is 445.

Employees can receive information and guidance on the process from their local state offices (by local state office, that means the unemployment office for your state) and please share this info. One office is advising that, if an employee can provide their Agencies' FIC, street address, and the gross salary amount they have earned for the past three fiscal quarters, they can successfully file a claim.

Our office has also suggested that furloughed Federal employees should list their “anticipated return to work date” as November 9th. Federal employees in a furlough status are eligible for up to 6 weeks of benefits, that’s where the November 9th date comes from.

By indicating that they are still attached to their employer and expected to return to work on Nov. 9th – they will avoid having to do all of this:

• Completing an on-line resume
• Demonstrating that they’ve made at least 3 work search contacts each week
• Completing an on-line work search assignment
• Having a case manager assigned"

Message from MNASCOE President Kevin Beekman

I know many of you are concerned about our insurance during this shutdown and if filing for unemployment is something to look at. I encourage employees to go to our NASCOE website to look for updated information. The website is located at www.nascoe.org Here are some things to consider:

Health Insurance - It appears that if we do not have enough money in our pay check, your health insurance provider will bill you for your share of the premium.Lets hope it does not come to this but it sounds like our coverage will continue as long as the premiums are paid.

Unemployment - I have not looked into this personally but I do know of some who have. It is going to be very important that you look into this very soon. It appears the sooner the better and it sounds like your unemployment application should be made within a week of when our furlough started. I am not sure of the website but if you put Minnesota Unemployment into your search engine, you should be able to navigate to a website. You can also make your application on line and it appears that this may be easier than going to your unemployment office. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THE SOONER YOU LOOK INTO THIS, THE BETTER OFF YOU MAY BE! 

We are into some very uncertain times so I encourage you to review that papers you received at the time of the furlough and look into as many things as possible. We do not have access to our experts so seek out help if needed. I will try to send information out as much as I can to help. It sounds like this may last a while so you will need to explore all financial options to you.

--Kevin Beekman
--MNASCOE President

What Happens to My JM Marketing Benefits During a Government Shutdown?

What happens to my JM NASCOE benefits during a “Government shut down?”

JM Marketing is working diligently with all of our insurance carriers in order to prevent any lapse in your insurance should mandatory furloughs be implemented due to a Federal Government budget impasse.  It is JM’s number one priority to keep these valuable coverages in place for all our

customers!   JM will of course continue to keep an open line of

communication with NASCOE leadership to keep them informed and updated as well as to continue our efforts to assist customers with all benefit questions and claims handling.

Should a claim be filed during an extended furlough, or if you have an open claim during a time in which a payroll is missed you will need to catch up on your premiums before a claim payment can be made.  If this issue should arise, we will of course help you through the process.  It is our understanding that your missed insurance premium deductions will be made up when your pay resumes.  If the furlough lasts for more than several weeks, it may become necessary for us to discuss alternative payment methods.

Should you wish to make alternative arrangements via bank draft or other payment arrangements, please feel free to call our toll free number at

1-800-330-6223 or visit us on the web at www.nascoebenefits.com.  Please feel free to reply to this email with your current home phone and private email address to ensure that you are kept in the loop with all communication from JM.

As always, it is truly our pleasure to serve you!

JM Marketing

410 Archibald St

Kansas City, MO 64111

Phone: (800) 330-6223 ext 118

Fax: (816) 841-3790

www.nascoebenefits.com

A VentureUS Enterprises Family Company

NASCOE FY2014 Budget Letter

On behalf of the members of the National Association of Farm Service Agency County Office Employees (NASCOE), I am writing to highlight our concerns with the ongoing fiscal year 2014 budget negotiations.  The current government shutdown and reductions to salaries and expenses continue to impact our ability to retain county office employees and meet the demands of America’s farmers and ranchers.

In order to address our concerns, I urge you to work with the Committee on Appropriations to provide full benefits to those employees furloughed as a result of the government shutdown.  Our association members and other Farm Service Agency employees should not be forced to forfeit their salary and benefits based on Congress’ inability to fund the federal government.

In addition, I call on you to include statutory language in the fiscal year 2014 Agriculture Appropriations bill authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to utilize program funding for Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses.  With other Department of Agriculture mission areas utilizing program dollars, the Farm Service Agency county offices expect similar authority to address ongoing budget shortfalls.    

The Farm Service Agency’s county office footprint has served American agriculture for many years through new farm programs and natural disasters.  By addressing these two concerns, the United States Congress can ensure that our offices remain open for business.    

In closing, a government that is open for business ensures the delivery of programs and services to America’s farmers and ranchers.  Thank you for your efforts to address our concerns.  

CAPWIZ alert October 2, 2013

Concerns about FY 2014 Budget Negotiations          Take Action!

NASCOE Member

Even in this darkest hour we have the opportunity to shine the brightest.  Now it is more important than ever for each member to voice their concern and impact the legislative process.  Your NASCOE leadership and legislative team are working to make sure that you have tools at your disposal to express to Congress how the recent government shutdown affected us.

We are asking that you send the attached letter to your 3 members of congress letting them know exactly how the government shutdown is affecting us as employees, and our customers, all of whom are your constituents.  Again, we ask that each NASCOE member email this letter to their 2 Senators and to their member of congress, either through CAP-WIZ or directly by email.  We would also ask that each member call all three of their congressional representatives and use the attached alert as their talking points.  You can find your members of congress’s contact information at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov by doing a search by your home zip code.  We ask that you report back to your state president and state legislative chair on what was discussed on the call so that we can take further action as needed.

Thank you

NASCOE Leadership

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