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I am following in GESTA Area Vice President, Dave William’s footsteps and using popular culture as a starting point for an important discussion. In his case, he wrote about a coach leveling with his team that he was going to leave for a new job, and suggesting that Goddard management would do well to emulate his example. In my case, I will use the Clash song “Know Your Rights” as a motivation for sharing information about your rights as a GESTA bargaining unit employee. The song is “a public service announcement, with guitars”, commenting on life in Thatcher’s UK, but it resonates with me here and now. Knowing your rights under Federal law and GESTA’s agreements with Goddard is important to all of us right now. This is the first in a series of articles covering these rights.
We received information from NASA Goddard HR clarifying how the new Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), Voluntary Seperation Incentive Payment (VSIP) programs and potential Reduction in Force (RIF) may impact Pathways Interns. We are sharing those questions and answers below.
Like all of you, we are trying to learn the details of these new Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), Voluntary Seperation Incentive Program (VSIP) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) program and evaluate them in the context of a potential future Reduction in Force (RIF). We are committed to sharing any information we find in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the following Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) Sharepoint information sites are available:
NASA Deferred Resignation Program Sharepoint NASA VERA and VSIP Sharepoint And you can sign-up for Workforce Workshops about these programs. The application window for these programs is open and will close on July 25th. GESTA does want to reiterate one of our primary concerns about the DRP program, which is that, as in the prior program version, the NASA DRP contract template includes language waiving certain rights, including “Employee waives any and all claims relating to Employee’s employment with NASA, including all rights to file any other complaints with, or appeals to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board or other administrative fora, and civil litigation arising out of matters or events prior to the execution of this Agreement…” As before, GESTA recommends employees considering this offer consult a federal labor lawyer. If you missed the Center town hall on Monday June 16th, further information on these programs was shared by Center management at that time. A few areas captured from the town hall are below. The oath of office (5 U.S. Code 3331) we all took when we became federal civil service employees reads:
“I, ___, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” There has been some misinformation shared about this oath and its meaning lately, and we simply want to note that the word "president" does not appear anywhere. We agreed to defend the Constitution of the United States, the president is simply the head of one of the three equal branches of government whose duties and powers are outlined therein. There are many rules and regulations defining civil servants’ relationships with the head of the executive branch and defining how we "discharge the duties of the office", but we have not sworn any oath to the president of the United States. According to US Code Title V Part III, Subpart D Chapter 55 Subchapter IX, Severance Pay is an entitlement for some employees upon involuntary separation from their government position which may occur during a Reduction in Force (RIF). The question is who qualifies and how much severance pay are they entitled to? Will I be entitled to severance pay if I do not take a potential second Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA), or a Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP) offer and then I get “RIFed”?
 We'd like to make our GESTA members aware of a free legal resource for federal employees. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) has recently partnered with Democracy Forward, We The Action, Civil Service Strong, and other organizations to launch Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network. Their purpose is to connect federal workers to a network of thousands of lawyers who can provide free legal support. GESTA members are encouraged to visit workerslegaldefense.org to connect with a lawyer or to view their compilation of legal resources on timely topics such as Reduction in Forces (RIFs) and whistleblower protections.
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