Appointing Accountable Officials Policy

15 July 2008

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA)

On

Policy for Appointing Accountable Officials

1. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 214 and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), hereafter referred to as the Union and Management, hereby enter into this MOA regarding subject policy as it applies to bargaining unit members in matters covered by the Master Labor Agreement (MLA) between the parties.

1. Subject policy stems from Public Law 10 USC, paragraph 2773a, which requires Air Force assign appropriate “accountable officials” to share liability with certifying officials whom they support in certain payment-related activities.  Accountable officials will bear a form of “pecuniary” liability for erroneous payments which result from their own negligence and for which the money cannot be recovered.  This is a lower level of pecuniary liability than born by certifying officials and does not apply to ordinary mistakes or bad payments that can be corrected.  This change will initially affect select employees in three financial management functions or areas:   Travel Pay, Military Pay, and Accounting/ Vendor Pay.  In the future, the scope may be expanded to include select employees in other financial management functions or areas.  If/when this occurs, the union will be briefed.

1. To minimize the adverse effects on impacted BUEs, management agrees to the following:

1. The position descriptions (or core documents) of affected employees will be updated to document the increased accountability and pecuniary liability of the positions.

1. Prior to implementation, affected employees will be made aware of their rights and obligations under the new policy through appropriate training.  In particular, they will be made knowledgeable for the conditions under which the government could attempt to recover money directly from them and their associated appeal rights under law and this agreement.  Prior to implementation, installation management will offer a preview of this training to the union local and will consider reasonable suggestions for improvement.

1. Employees shall not be considered accountable officials until they have signed a DD Form 577 “signature card” and have countersigned an “appointment letter” acknowledging they understand their responsibilities under the new policy.  Employees who object to signing because they do not understand shall be given additional training.  The employee will have access to these documents on request.  Due to the sensitivity of information on documents, the union will receive requested documentation through the FOIA process, if appropriate.

1. The decision to find an employee liable for illegal, improper, or incorrect payment shall be grievable under Articles 6 of the MLA.

1. All remedies available under the MLA or 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71 are available to the parties if either party believes the other has failed to comply with any of the requirements of this MOA.

FOR MANAGEMENT                                              FOR THE UNION

//SIGNED//                                                                 //SIGNED//

MARY MILLER                                                        TOM ROBINSON

AFMC/FMP                                                               Executive Assistant

HQ AFMC/A1KK                                                      AFGE Council 214

//SIGNED//                                                                 //SIGNED//

STEPHANIE PETERANGELO                                KRISTINE KEELER

AFMC/A1ZL                                                             Executive Assistant

                                                                                    AFGE Council 214