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| ![](me           | *\~ **Human Resources Operations**\~ Newsletter*  |
| dia/image1.png){ |                                                   |
| width="1.2375in" |                                                   |
| height="0.9979   |                                                   |
| 166666666667in"} |                                                   |
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| Thursday,        |                                                   |
| November 30,     |                                                   |
| 2006 Volume 3    |                                                   |
+------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| In This Issue    | #  **W                                            |
|                  | hat We Do -- *Human Resources Operations (HRO)*** |
| -   New OST      |                                                   |
|     Employees    | ![                                                |
|                  | ](media/image3.jpeg){width="0.9159722222222222in" |
| -   Changes in   | height="0.65625in"}                               |
|     2007         |                                                   |
|                  | -   **HRO Service Team**                          |
| -   e-OPF        |                                                   |
|     Initiative   | > *HR Consultants in the areas of Recruitment and |
|                  | > Staffing; Pay and Leave; Classification;        |
| -   The Benefits | > Position Management; Employee Relations*        |
|     Corner       |                                                   |
|                  | -   **HRO Processing Team**                       |
| The HRO Team     |                                                   |
|                  | > *Federal Personnel and Payroll System (FPPS);   |
| **[Associate     | > Pay and Leave Issues; Processing Personnel      |
| Director         | > Actions;*                                       |
| ]{.underline}**\ | >                                                 |
| Deborah Mason -- | > *Official Personnel File Maintenance; Entrance  |
| X66202           | > on Duty Orientation; Leave Donor Program;*      |
|                  | >                                                 |
| **[Employee      | > *eLMS Administrator*                            |
| Relations        |                                                   |
| ]{.underline}**\ | -   **HRO Employee Benefits Team**                |
| John Sutherland  |                                                   |
| -- X69444        | > *Retirement Counseling; Thrift Savings Plan     |
|                  | > (TSP); Health Benefits; Flexible Spending       |
| **[Program       | > Account (FSA);*                                 |
| Assistant        | >                                                 |
| ]{.underline}**\ | > *Military and Civilian Deposits; Life           |
| Vacant -- X30554 | > Insurance; Long Term Care Insurance; Workers'   |
|                  | > Compensation;*                                  |
| **[HR Policy     | >                                                 |
| Manager          | > *VERA/VSIP Management*                          |
| ]{.underline}**\ |                                                   |
| Nancy Raum --    | !                                                 |
| X63887           | [](media/image4.wmf){width="0.9944444444444445in" |
|                  | height="0.7388888888888889in"}                    |
| **[HRO Service   |                                                   |
| Team             | ***Join us as we welcome the newest***            |
| ]{.underline}**\ |                                                   |
| Sally Ruble      | ***members of OST...***                           |
| (Supervisor) --  |                                                   |
| X69418\          | *[\                                               |
| Eric Boyd --     | \                                                 |
| X69083\          | EMPLOYEE]{.underline} [ORGANIZATION]{.underline}* |
| Mark Pinkney --  |                                                   |
| X68596           | Mary E. Peters Secretary of Transportation        |
|                  |                                                   |
| **[HRO           | Neftal A. Burnell Office of the Assistant         |
| Processing       | Secretary for Budget & Programs                   |
| Team             |                                                   |
| ]{.underline}**\ | Robert A. Dehaan Office of the Assistant          |
| Vanessa Usual    | Secretary for Transportation Policy               |
| (Supervisor) --  |                                                   |
| X60391\          | Margaret L. Rose Office of the Assistant          |
| Marquee' Holmes  | Secretary for Administration                      |
| -- X63893\       |                                                   |
| Terrance Sims -- | Leonardo San Roman Office of the Small &          |
| X68944\          | Disadvantaged Bus. Utilization                    |
| Main Number --   |                                                   |
| X64075           | Andrew B. Steinberg Office of the Assistant       |
|                  | Secretary for Aviation & Intl. Affairs\           |
| **[HRO Benefits  | Jacqueline D. Stratton Office of the General      |
| Team             | Counsel\                                          |
| ]{.underline}**\ | Karen M. Willard Office of the Secretary          |
| Casey Schaffer   |                                                   |
| (Supervisor) --  | !                                                 |
| X69412\          | [](media/image5.wmf){width="0.9298611111111111in" |
| Zee Grant -      | height="0.7055555555555556in"}                    |
| X66390\          |                                                   |
| Delores Griffin  | **Changes in 2007...**                            |
| -- X64140        |                                                   |
|                  | There are two changes in 2007 that you should  be |
| **[SES Political | aware of.                                         |
| Team             |                                                   |
| ]{.underline}**\ | First, during this year, we will have 27 pay      |
| \                | periods, rather than the usual 26.  This is a     |
| [Departmental    | normal situation that occurs every few years.  It |
| Office of Human  | is particularly important that employees consider |
| Resource         | this impact in planning their 2007 deductions for |
| Managem          | Thrift Savings Plan and Thrift Catch-up.  This    |
| ent]{.underline} | change [will not]{.underline} have any impact on  |
|                  | leave accruals or on employees' Wage and Tax      |
| Nancy Gauthier   | Statement, Form W-2, which will include wages     |
| -- X69453\       | paid and taxes withheld for 27 pay periods.       |
| (SES Appointees) |                                                   |
|                  | !                                                 |
| Joan Simpson --  | [](media/image6.wmf){width="0.7090277777777778in" |
| X63891\          | height="0.6979166666666666in"}                    |
| (Political       |                                                   |
| Appointees)      | Second, based on a Federal Law passed in 2005, to |
|                  | take effect in 2007, Daylight Savings Time will   |
| **"HRO Values"** | start the second Sunday in March, and end the     |
|                  | first Sunday in November (03-11-07 through        |
| -   Superior     | 11-04-07).                                        |
|     Customer     |                                                   |
|     Service      | **\                                               |
|                  | **                                                |
| -   A Commitment |                                                   |
|     to           | ![                                                |
|     Excellence   | ](media/image7.jpeg){width="1.5402777777777779in" |
|                  | height="1.0277777777777777in"}**e-OPF             |
| -   Personal and | Initiative...**                                   |
|                  |                                                   |
|   Organizational | The Office of Human Resources (HR) is preparing   |
|                  | for the Department of Transportation Electronic   |
|   Accountability | Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) initiative.      |
|                  |                                                   |
| **Customer       | The [e]{.underline}lectronic                      |
| Survey Drop      | [O]{.underline}fficial [P]{.underline}ersonnel    |
| Box**            | [F]{.underline}older is an electronic web-based   |
|                  | system that provides online access to OPF data.   |
| ![               | The system allows secured access to employees and |
| ](media/image2.w | HR Personnel.                                     |
| mf){width="0.434 |                                                   |
| 0277777777778in" | Over the next several weeks we will be working on |
| height="0.45in"} | the following to prepare for the conversion:      |
|                  |                                                   |
| We want to hear  | -   Review OPF and purge non-regulatory documents |
| from you! Next   |                                                   |
| time you are in  | -   Prepare the OPF for shipping; and             |
| our suite, room  |                                                   |
| 2225, please     | -   Ship OPFs to the Office of Personnel          |
| take a moment to |     Management\'s Conversion Facility in late     |
| complete our     |     December/early January                        |
| customer survey. |                                                   |
| Your feedback is | !                                                 |
| greatly          | [](media/image8.gif){width="0.9944444444444445in" |
| appreciated.     | height="0.9729166666666667in"}Employees who are   |
|                  | considering retirement during December/January    |
|                  | should notify Casey Schaffer at ext. 69412.       |
|                  | OPF\'s for those employees who are planning to    |
|                  | retire during this period will not be shipped.    |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | We appreciate your patience during this           |
|                  | transition.                                       |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | !                                                 |
|                  | [](media/image9.png){width="0.8694444444444445in" |
|                  | height="0.7423611111111111in"}**\                 |
|                  | The Benefits Corner**                             |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | ![                                                |
|                  | ](media/image10.png){width="0.5055555555555555in" |
|                  | height="0.6201388888888889in"}                    |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | **Is it Time to Change your TSP Election?**       |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | **FERS Employees -- Take Note!**                  |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | As 2006 comes to a close, now is the time to take |
|                  | a look at your TSP contribution for 2007. TSP     |
|                  | contributions are limited by the 2007 IRS         |
|                  | elective deferral limit of \$15,500. It is        |
|                  | especially important for FERS employees to space  |
|                  | your contributions throughout the entire year.    |
|                  | Once the annual limit is reached your             |
|                  | contributions will stop -- ***and so will the     |
|                  | agency matching contribution*.** FERS employees   |
|                  | who want to put in the full \$15,500 should make  |
|                  | their TSP election on Employee Express during the |
|                  | pay period ending December 9, 2006. Your election |
|                  | will be effective on December 10, 2006 and will   |
|                  | come out of your pay on January 2, 2007. Since    |
|                  | there are 27 pay dates in 2007, an election of    |
|                  | \$575 will take you through the entire year.      |
|                  | Note: A final contribution of \$550 will be       |
|                  | deducted during pay period 27 to meet the IRS     |
|                  | limit of \$15,500.                                |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | **Age 50 or over?** -- If you are age 50 or over  |
|                  | at any time during the calendar year AND you are  |
|                  | making the maximum amount of regular employee     |
|                  | contributions, you may contribute up to \$5,000   |
|                  | in additional catch-up contributions. This is a   |
|                  | separate election and can also be done on         |
|                  | Employee Express.                                 |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | ![                                                |
|                  | ](media/image11.png){width="0.9944444444444445in" |
|                  | height="0.6972222222222222in"}                    |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | Questions? Contact your employee benefits staff.  |
|                  |                                                   |
|                  | **\                                               |
|                  | **                                                |
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