TO: FEA Members Worldwide
FROM: Brian Chance, FEA President
RE: FEA President’s Report
DATE: May 19, 2020

SCHOOL CLOSINGS AND RE-OPENINGS

Even as the school year ends this week for the Southeast District schools in DoDEA Americas and the rest of DoDEA schools work toward their closings next month, the Association is already at work trying to ensure the safety of employees and students is safeguarded next school year.

We have been engaging in weekly phone calls with DoDEA on this and other subjects. I have been in frequent contact with all the members of our FEA Board of Directors as well as with the Division and Country leaders serving Overseas members in order to make sure their input and concerns related to reopening are raised with DoDEA Headquarters. The FEA Director for DDESS has similarly been in touch with Local Association Presidents throughout DoDEA Americas to address what reopening may look like across Stateside schools and Guam.

While DoDEA HQ may have an overarching framework for the reopening, the Association continues to advocate for local input at the school level to ensure any reopening plans take into account all of the nuances of our varied site situations.

As always, hats off to our local leaders and educators who have continued in the face of adversity to meet the mission — quality education for our military connected students! We will continue to advocate for balancing the education mission of DoDEA with the need to protect the health and safety of those who work and learn in our schools.

ACCESS TO MY PAY SYSTEM AFTER RETIREMENT/SEPARATION

As you prepare to leave service, it’s important to update your myPay and payroll accounts so you can easily access your pay and tax information without your Common Access Card (CAC). This is especially important for those who may need their pay information for processing of RITA reimbursements of PCS taxes (see FEA’s update on RITA information at this page)

On My Pay you can create a login with a username and password. If an employee does so they can still access My Pay without a CAC. You’ll have access to your My Pay account for 13 months after you leave service. Take the following steps before you separate and try to log on to your account on a personal device.

1. Update your Email Address
2. Update your mailing address.
3. Update your ‘Security Questions for Passwords Resets’.
5. Save/print a copy of your My Pay W2s within 13 months of separation.

Go to the DFAS site to learn more about this process.

OVERSEAS RETRO PAY COMING MAY 29

A reminder to Overseas employees to be on the lookout for the retroactive pay adjustment owed to you now that salaries for SY 19-20 have been finalized. That adjustment should appear on your May 29 LES, in addition to your regular pay for that period. The pay adjustment comes each year as a result of Association legal action to make sure Overseas employees receive the full amount of pay owed to them within a given school year. Read FEA’s update on the adjustment at this page.

RETURN OF ERRONEOUS DUES ASSESSMENT

FEA continues reaching out to DoDEA, urging them to quickly refund the erroneous 11th dues assessment that was deducted from some Overseas members’ pay earlier this school year. As a precaution, FEA did file an Association Grievance over the issue, to protect members’ rights regarding the repayment owed to them. It is our hope the government will be able to restore the incorrect deduction to all affected employees as part of one of the next few LESs.

FILE YOUR GOODBYE GRIEVANCE

If you are retiring or otherwise separating from FEA’s Overseas bargaining unit at the current school year — including if you are relocating to a DoDEA Americas school or to the Med — you should file your Goodbye Grievance RIGHT NOW so you have time to elevate it prior to the end of the school year. The Goodbye Grievance was devised by FEA Europe Attorney Bill Freeman as a way to help protect rights for members under the current Overseas Negotiated Agreement. To learn more and to find the current pay package including the Goodbye Grievance information, go to this page.