|
|
Post by Serious, J. on Jan 13, 2016 19:09:54 GMT -5
Not wanting to clog the threads where people are reporting receipt of offers, I searched and found this old thread.
My situation: I am a fed, but not with SSA. I tested in October 2015, so don't have my NOR yet. BUT -- heeding the warning that I must have one answer in mind when/if the call comes (and assuming extraneous questions during that call would delay the phone calls to others), it would be nice to know this info in advance.
Are relocation benefits for non-insider feds still part of the deal? Assuming this is not discussed in the phone call when the offer is extended, when is this discussed? Or is it so automatic that it need not be discussed and someone in my situation can expect to get relocation info from someone else soon after the offer is accepted?
Ditto for salary bumps above the lowest ALJ grade. If we are now making more than that level, how and when do we go about negotiating the higher ALJ grade?
|
|
|
|
Post by luckylady2 on Jan 13, 2016 20:07:15 GMT -5
Hi, serious - You ARE planning in advance, aren't you? (There's still getting your NOR, having an agency request a cert for a city that you have in your GAL, being contacted by the agency, returning paperwork, interviewing with the agency, and THEN you get to wait for the call)
But the short answers are probably as you'd expect. Non-SSA feds can get relo, but there are a lot of conditions, so read the threads on it.
As far as salary, if your BASE pay is above the ALJ-3A BASE pay, you will be offered the ALJ level that most closely matches your current salary without asking you to take a pay cut. Locality pay depends upon the location of your post, and doesn't enter into the attempt to match. You'll get whatever locality pay that pertains to the post you accept. The OPM ALJ webpages have links to the ALJ pay scale.
|
|
|
|
Post by hopefalj on Jan 13, 2016 20:11:29 GMT -5
Not wanting to clog the threads where people are reporting receipt of offers, I searched and found this old thread. My situation: I am a fed, but not with SSA. I tested in October 2015, so don't have my NOR yet. BUT -- heeding the warning that I must have one answer in mind when/if the call comes (and assuming extraneous questions during that call would delay the phone calls to others), it would be nice to know this info in advance. Are relocation benefits for non-insider feds still part of the deal? Assuming this is not discussed in the phone call when the offer is extended, when is this discussed? Or is it so automatic that it need not be discussed and someone in my situation can expect to get relocation info from someone else soon after the offer is accepted? Ditto for salary bumps above the lowest ALJ grade. If we are now making more than that level, how and when do we go about negotiating the higher ALJ grade? Relo is for any federal employee, but you can certainly confirm this with the person on the phone at the time of the call. Many of the folks above describing their relo benefits were non-insider feds. The salary bump I'm not sure about. I know if you're within the agency they cannot start you out lower than your current salary (which was good for some OGC attorneys), but I'm not sure if they're locked in for other agencies. I think they are, but I wouldn't swear by anything I say on the topic since this didn't affect me. |
|
|
|
Post by Serious, J. on Jan 13, 2016 20:38:36 GMT -5
Thanks, luckylady2 and hopefalj.
I would change my screen name to worrywart if it were not already taken.
|
|
|
|
Post by aljwantabe on Jan 13, 2016 20:44:01 GMT -5
Course, that could be one way to save money also. Don't hire any insiders. Did I just say that. Forget it. Hire all the insiders!! BOO HISS!  |
|
|
|
Post by Serious, J. on Apr 16, 2016 1:23:34 GMT -5
I'm going to bump this, now that cert emails are out.
|
|
|
|
Post by dcasea on Jun 11, 2016 10:26:27 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by ba on Jun 11, 2016 11:28:08 GMT -5
Since this thread has been bumped, I will say that I have been approached by two NON-FED hires that were incorrectly told (by someone who evidently made a mistake) they would get relo. Please note that if you were told this information and are NOT a present federal employee, it is incorrect. You will most certainly discover this when you have to get your present federal agency employee to sign off on the relocation in the relo package, but I thought it best to put it out there for any non-feds that were similarly misinformed.
|
|
|
|
Post by caisson on Jun 11, 2016 14:00:19 GMT -5
Do current ssa employees get to house hunt on duty time?
|
|
|
|
Post by christina on Jun 11, 2016 14:36:31 GMT -5
Do current ssa employees get to house hunt on duty time? i think so. since you just got offer, i think you will be getting info next week that goes into all that. there is info on ocalj and SSA personnel websites that goes into this too. and CONGRATS!!! |
|
|
|
Post by aljwishhope on Jun 26, 2016 12:33:30 GMT -5
Owl thank you for sparing my typing. Well said!
|
|
|
|
Post by rusty on Jun 26, 2016 13:21:17 GMT -5
This is advice I received that could be relevant to feds and definitely to non-feds. I am not a tax attorney and this should not be considered legal or accounting advice tho. Satisfy yourself. Something to keep in mind while moving. Probably easier to keep up as you go than to try and work backwards months later. Moving expense deduction:
www.irs.gov/publications/p521/ar02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000203491 |
|
|
|
Post by wacokid on Jul 29, 2016 12:48:03 GMT -5
If I understand correctly: A current federal employee that accepts a job where relo has been authorized ( and it was for alj hiring) and the new position is in a different geographical area (apparently defined as more than 50 miles from your current residence), the employee is entitled to relo benefits. Those benefits are very generous and include: I just checked, and on the most recent announcement relocation was not authorized. Does that change the calculus for current feds who are selected off this announcement? |
|
|
|
Post by Gaidin on Jul 29, 2016 19:46:27 GMT -5
If I understand correctly: A current federal employee that accepts a job where relo has been authorized ( and it was for alj hiring) and the new position is in a different geographical area (apparently defined as more than 50 miles from your current residence), the employee is entitled to relo benefits. Those benefits are very generous and include: I just checked, and on the most recent announcement relocation was not authorized. Does that change the calculus for current feds who are selected off this announcement? It varies from agency to agency. OMHA does not offer it. ODAR has for feds. I have no knowledge of other agencies. |
|
|
|
Post by hapi2balj on Jul 31, 2016 15:54:37 GMT -5
Believe it or not, I was blissfully and completely unaware of relo bennies when I, as a fed but not an insider, accepted appointment as an ALJ. First found out about it a week later and felt like I'd won the lottery. Relo was the bomb!! Sincerely sorry for those of you who have to move without it - I obviously was willing to do so but very glad I didn't have to!
|
|
|
|
Post by wacokid on Jul 31, 2016 16:57:53 GMT -5
I just checked, and on the most recent announcement relocation was not authorized. Does that change the calculus for current feds who are selected off this announcement? It varies from agency to agency. OMHA does not offer it. ODAR has for feds. I have no knowledge of other agencies. But does the fact that the 2016 announcement says that relo isn't authorized, which apparently is different than the 2013 announcement according to funkyodar, have any significance? I guess that's what I'm asking. And how and when would an applicant find out definitively? |
|
|
|
Post by wacokid on Aug 2, 2016 17:43:03 GMT -5
Just as an FYI, what I am finding in researching this is that if an agency advertises a vacancy announcement with relocation expenses expressly NOT authorized, as is the case with the 2016 ALJ announcement, then they can NOT pay relocation expenses. Period.
Information or experience to the contrary is welcome, but every agency policy I have found so far is uniform on this point.
|
|
|
|
Post by minny on Aug 2, 2016 21:23:53 GMT -5
Just as an FYI, what I am finding in researching this is that if an agency advertises a vacancy announcement with relocation expenses expressly NOT authorized, as is the case with the 2016 ALJ announcement, then they can NOT pay relocation expenses. Period. Information or experience to the contrary is welcome, but every agency policy I have found so far is uniform on this point. I think there is a point that has been missed here...OPM is the agency that posts the ALJ vacancy announcement to increase the register but OPM is not the hiring agency. I do not think that the hiring agencies are bound by OPM's announcement wording. This would explain why SSA pays relocation expenses for current fed employees, but not others, and OMHA pays no relocation for anyone. |
|
|
|
Post by Pixie on Aug 2, 2016 21:33:54 GMT -5
Just as an FYI, what I am finding in researching this is that if an agency advertises a vacancy announcement with relocation expenses expressly NOT authorized, as is the case with the 2016 ALJ announcement, then they can NOT pay relocation expenses. Period. Information or experience to the contrary is welcome, but every agency policy I have found so far is uniform on this point. I think there is a point that has been missed here...OPM is the agency that posts the ALJ vacancy announcement to increase the register but OPM is not the hiring agency. I do not think that the hiring agencies are bound by OPM's announcement wording. This would explain why SSA pays relocation expenses for current fed employees, but not others, and OMHA pays no relocation for anyone. Yes. Pixie |
|
|
|
Post by wacokid on Aug 2, 2016 22:44:34 GMT -5
Just as an FYI, what I am finding in researching this is that if an agency advertises a vacancy announcement with relocation expenses expressly NOT authorized, as is the case with the 2016 ALJ announcement, then they can NOT pay relocation expenses. Period. Information or experience to the contrary is welcome, but every agency policy I have found so far is uniform on this point. I think there is a point that has been missed here...OPM is the agency that posts the ALJ vacancy announcement to increase the register but OPM is not the hiring agency. I do not think that the hiring agencies are bound by OPM's announcement wording. This would explain why SSA pays relocation expenses for current fed employees, but not others, and OMHA pays no relocation for anyone. That might make sense, although query, then, why the 2016 announcement was apparently changed from the 2013 version to state that relo isn't authorized. Every version of the 2013 announcement that I can find is silent on relocation, which is also important because in contrast to when relo is expressly NOT authorized (like 2016), when an announcement is silent (like 2013), then -- from the agency policies I have seen -- it IS deemed authorized for current employees. All that said, if you are right that hiring agencies aren't bound by OPM's announcement, then I suppose the 2016 announcement may have been changed to eliminate any argument by a fed that silence = authorized in the case of, say, OMHA. |
|
