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As the federal government shutdown carries on and we miss our paychecks, we understand this creates financial strain and anxiety for many. We encourage our members and other impacted federal employees and contractors to explore the following resources compiled below. Many of these provide avenues to receive financial support (personal loans, delays on utility payments, unemployment insurance, food support) until back pay is provided at the end of this shutdown:
We want to pass on information on how to submit a request for Reasonable Accommodations. This information may be especially relevant given the widespread office moves occurring across NASA Goddard and the unsubstantiated changes to the implementation of the Agency’s telework policies. This is information from the Goddard Disability Program Office as shared with a GESTA member:
We have not received any indication of an imminent Reduction in Force (RIF) including involuntary separations by the NASA agency and as noted above any potential RIFs during a shutdown are paused by court. However, we want to provide updated guidance on your rights during a RIF, specifically regarding your appeal options for any RIF actions (see our prior blog post). Prior to the August executive order abrogating NASA’s unions rights, the only option for appealing an improper RIF notice (unless discrimination is involved) was to file a negotiated grievance through our bargaining agreement grievance procedure. Now that the agency is no longer recognizing our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the primary channel instead is to file an appeal through the Merit System Protection Board. Keep in mind that Merit System Protection board appeals must be filed 30 calendar days from the date of the effective action or termination date. Representation during the appeal process is also allowed (and encouraged by GESTA). Note free and reduced cost legal advice for federal employees is available through the Rise Network. GESTA is also available to help connect you with a lawyer if you need help. Note if there is any injunction or ruling in IFPTE's pending lawsuit and the agency recognizes our bargaining rights once again, the proper appeal method would switch back to negotiated grievance procedures, which have a deadline of 15 work days from the date of the effective action. Although we hope they will not occur, in the event RIFs do occur at NASA Goddard, GESTA will be in touch to provide more guidance and host training opportunities for our members on the details of RIF appeals.
GESTA members attended a whistleblower training on October 9th, sponsored by the Federal Union Network (FUN). We heard from a federal employee whistleblower who, in coordination with other employees, alerted Congress, the public, and legal agencies, of various activities, including those violating civil rights laws going on at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (1, 2). The whistleblower emphasized the importance of an organized approach to whistleblowing, especially in the current environment where whistleblowers have a higher risk of illegal retaliatory firing if they come forward publicly. Our presenter from HUD was in fact fired for his public whistleblower activity (using his name attached to the claims to legitimize them ). We are grateful for his commitment to public service and the rule of law.
Below are some experiences and potential tactics shared from the presentation: We have heard reports of Goddard-campus civil servants being directed to come onsite during the shutdown to complete building move activities, including moves of both offices and laboratories. We have significant concerns that such activities during a government shutdown may be illegal under the Antideficiency Act, which defines what activities may continue during a lapse in appropriations (see also the NASA shutdown Continuity of Operations Plan). Violating the Antideficiency Act carries potential penalties of suspension without pay, removal from office, fines of up to $5000, or up to two years in prison.
Any work that happens during a shutdown also has to be approved, first at the Center management level and then at the NASA HQ-level by a Shutdown Executive Committee (SEC) led by the Agency Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Stephen Shinn. If you receive instructions that you believe may violate the Antideficiency Act, we recommend that you do the following (note that you can do these in any order, or at the same time). IFPTE is considering litigation against the administration and the Executive Order (EO) which categorized NASA as a national security agency and abrogated GESTA’s and other NASA employee unions' bargaining rights. A prior lawsuit was filed in July by IFPTE and other federal labor unions that included agencies impacted earlier by this EO. There was a October 1st ruling on this prior lawsuit that provided a preliminary injunction in that case, restoring those union’s bargaining rights.
Take action by reaching out to your Congressional leaders to encourage them to pass a bipartisan government funding bill which ends the current shutdown, while protecting Congress’s constitutional powers to set agency funding levels. As IFPTE notes on their action page: “a bipartisan CR needs to include legislative language protecting congressionally approved funding levels from being withheld by the Administration and prevent a unilateral implementation of the President’s budget contrary to Congressional intent. The Administration has already used unprecedented tactics such as "pocket rescissions" to withhold funds until they expire, effectively nullifying bipartisan funding agreements. Without legislative safeguards, any 2026 funding deal risks being ignored or overturned, which completely undermines the Constitutional authority of Congress to set and approve spending levels.”
You can send a letter directly via IFPTE’s action page: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-stop-the-shutdown-get-back-to-work-and-pass-a-bipartisan-funding-bill?source=direct_link& The NASA Administrative Grievance System (AGS) has a limited scope and cannot be used to challenge matters that fall under separate statutory or regulatory processes. Specifically, matters including adverse actions under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 75, discrimination complaints under 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, unfair labor practices under 5 U.S.C. § 7116, and prohibited personnel practices under 5 U.S.C. § 2302 are excluded from coverage. These matters must instead be pursued through the appropriate external forum, such as the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB), U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Office of Special Counsel (OSC), or Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA).
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