**Frequently Asked Questions**

[**Paychecks / Electronic Funds Transfer**](#Paychecks)

[**WebTADS**](#WebTADS)

[**Retirement**](#Retirement)

[**W-2s**](#LES)

[**Employee Express**](#EE)

[**The Work Number**](#Worknumber)

[**Miscellaneous**](#misc)

[]{#Paychecks .anchor}**[Paychecks / Electronic Funds
Transfer]{.underline}**

**Why does my leave say .15 or .30 or .45?**

The leave formatting of the Department of Interior's Leave and Earnings
Statements displays leave in hours.minutes. So, ¼ hours are .15, ½ hours
are .30, and ¾ hours are .45.

**Why does my Annual Leave PP BEGIN BAL equal my BAL AVAIL? Or Where is
my earned Annual Leave balance?**

The Annual Leave balances (BEGIN PP BAL and BAL AVAIL) include the
unearned (Advanced) leave that an employee will earn through the end of
the leave year, because all full-time employees are able to use their
unearned Advanced Annual Leave prior to earning it. Since the balances
include Advanced Annual Leave for the leave year, the BEGIN PP BAL will
equal the BAL AVAIL unless leave is taken, because when you earn leave
for the pay period, your Advanced Leave is turned into earned Annual
Leave. To calculate an earned Annual Leave balance in preparation for
retirement from NASA, subtract the ADV field from the BAL AVAIL field. 
The Sick Leave balances do not include Advanced Sick Leave, since Sick
Leave is only advanced on a case-by-case basis.

**When is the pay date?**

The official pay date is still the second Tuesday after the pay period.
In nearly all instances, electronic funds transfer will take place on
the Friday following the pay period.

**When will Leave and Earnings Statements be available?**

Leave and Earnings Statements are available online on Employee Express
on the Friday following the pay period. Paper Leave and Earnings
Statements arrive at employees' homes about the second Tuesday following
the pay period, depending on the mail. On August 26, NASA employees
gained the ability to turn off home delivery of the Leave and Earnings
Statement.

**Can you go back and get old Leave and Earnings Statements in Employee
Express?**

This summer Employee Express began storing Leave and Earnings Statements
for 3 years.

[]{.mark}

**What are discretionary allotments?**

An allotment is a preset payments from an employee's paycheck to a
designated recipient. Discretionary allotments can be made in any
amount, and can be distributed by check or electronic funds transfer.
Voluntary allotments can only be made in whole dollars, and must be made
solely by electronic funds transfer. DOI allows 16 voluntary allotments
and 4 discretionary allotments. Employees are able to change voluntary
allotment choices in Employee Express.

[]{#WebTADS .anchor}**[WebTADS]{.underline}**

**Do we still enter time in 15 minute increments?**

Employees can continue to enter time in WebTADS in 15 minute increments.
Data entry into WebTADS has not changed as a result of the transition to
FPPS. While entry into WebTADS should be made as 8.25, 8.5, 8.75 etc.,
all entries will be displayed in hh.mm format on the DOI Leave and
Earnings Statement, e.g., 8.30 is equivalent to 8 hours and 30 minutes.

[]{#Retirement .anchor}**[Retirement]{.underline}**

**How does this affect my retirement information?**

NASA will send all NASA-tracked (pre-August 8) retirement data to the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM). DOI only tracks and provides
information on DOI-tracked (post-August 8) retirement data. Employees
should save their last NASA-produced Leave and Earnings Statement on
August 17th as a record of their NASA-tracked cumulative retirement
information. (NASA Payroll will save them as well.)

**How can employees determine their total retirement contribution?**

Employees can combine the cumulative NASA amount on their last NASA
Leave and Earnings Statement with the cumulative amount on their most
recent DOI Leave and Earnings Statement to calculate their total
retirement. Employees should call their local payroll office with any
questions.

[]{#LES .anchor}

**[W-2s]{.underline}**

**Why will we receive two W-2s for 2004?**

Neither NASA nor DOI can be responsible for the pay tracked by the other
agency, and so each agency will calculate and distribute a W-2
(End-of-year Wage and Tax forms) for the time period during which it was
responsible. Employees must use both forms, which will arrive in
January, in aggregate to file their 2004 taxes. Employees will only
receive one W-2 in 2005.

**Does turning off or changing home delivery of the Leave and Earnings
Statement affect**

**W-2 delivery?**

Turning off home delivery of the Leave and Earnings Statement does not
affect the delivery of W-2s.  However, if an employee changes his
address in order to have his Leave and Earnings Statement sent somewhere
other than his home, then he will receive both his Leave and Earnings
Statement and his W-2 at that new address.

**How will receiving two W-2 statements affect Turbo Tax? Will there be
two employer identification numbers?**

Each W-2 should have a unique employer identification number. The W-2
from NASA will have a different employer identification number than the
W-2 from the Department of Interior. After this year, the transition
year, employees will only receive one W-2, and so this will not be a
concern in the future.

[]{#EE .anchor}**[Employee Express]{.underline}**

**What is Employee Express?**

Employee Express (EE) is a user-friendly, automated system that gives
employees direct control over key payroll and personnel information
without using a form or having to visit a personnel office.

*It allows employees to view or make changes to:*

-   Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB)\*

-   Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

-   Direct Deposit of Net Paycheck

-   Direct Deposit of Allotments (voluntary allotments only)

-   Federal/State Tax Withholdings

-   Savings Bonds

-   Home/W-2 Mailing Address

-   Your Personal Identification Number (PIN)

-   Current and 2 previous Leave and Earnings Statements

\*NOTE: (Can make changes during "open season" only)

**Why is it mandatory?**

Employee Express allows employees direct control over certain key
payroll and personnel information, and is available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Performing changes outside of EE requires time-intensive
manual work by both the employee and HR, such as delivering a hard copy
slip to HR for manual entry, and so the use of Employee Express (EE) has
been made mandatory, except for cases of hardship. If an employee brings
a paper form to HR without having attempted to use EE, HR will either
give them the training and/or materials needed to learn the online
system. HR will still has the ability to make changes for employees, as
a backup to EE, but not in place of it under the new process.

**How can I access Employee Express?**

Employees can access Employee Express in the following ways:

-   Use a touch-tone telephone and dial 478-757-3169 (from work) or
    1-800-571-3453 (from home). For the hearing impaired, dial
    1-888-880-0412 or

-   Use a computer with Internet capability. Type in the following
    Internet address:
    [[https://www.employeeexpress.gov/]{.underline}](https://www.employeeexpress.gov/)

**What information do I need to access the EE system?**

Employees will need their Social Security Number and EE PIN to access
Employee Express.\
\
**How do I obtain an EE Pin?\
**Employees may request a PIN via e-mail through EEs website
([[https://www.employeeexpress.gov/]{.underline}](https://www.employeeexpress.gov/)).
PINs requested via the website will arrive electronically in 1 day.
Employees may also request a PIN by phone 478-757-3169 (from work) or
1-800-571-3453 (from home), but those PINs will arrive in 5-7 business
days via the mail.

**What are the changes that occurred in EE on Aug 26? **

Employees can now allocate voluntary allotments and turn off home
delivery of the Leave and Earnings Statement. 

**If any elective changes are made via Employee Express, does the
employee requesting the change receive an automatic e-mail acknowledging
that it was processed?**

When an employee completes a transaction, Employee Express will ask him
if he would like to receive an e-mail confirmation of it.

**What browsers must I use to use Employee Express?**

PC users can access Employee Express with the Agency-standard Internet
Explorer 5.5 browser or higher. Macintosh users can access the site with
Internet Explorer 5.x. While Netscape Navigator 6.2 is not supported by
the Agency, it will allow both PC and Macintosh users to access Employee
Express.

[]{#Worknumber .anchor}**[The Work Number]{.underline}**

**What is The Work Number?**

The Work Number is an automated service that verifies Employment
Information. This service is provided by the TALX Corporation and is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To avoid delay in the
processing of your apartment lease, car loan, mortgage or other type of
credit, your lender can contact The Work Number® to verify your
employment with NASA.

**What type of verification will the program provide?**

The Work Number provides two levels of verification:

Level 1: Employment Verifications ONLY -- (Usually required for job
reference checks) -- **no salary key is required**

Level 2: Employment and Income Verifications (Usually required for major
loans and mortgages) -- **a salary key is required**.

**How do I get started?**

**Step 1**: First decide what level of verification you require. If you
require Level 1 Verification, proceed directly to Step 4 and provide the
needed information to the verifier. You do not have to visit The Work
Number website. If you require Level 2 Verification, proceed with Step
2.

**Will I need a PIN?**

**Step 2:** If you decide to do an **Employment and Income
Verification**, you will need a PIN in order to obtain a Salary Key.
Your PIN will be the last 4 digits of your SSN and the full 4 digit year
you were born.

**How do I obtain a salary key?**

**Step 3:** You can obtain a Salary Key via:

• Telephone **1-800-367-2884**

• Internet \-- <http://www.theworknumber.com/>

You will need the NASA Company Code (11338), your Social Security
Number, and your PIN to use the system. The system will provide a Salary
Key to you. Be sure to record this code.

**\*\*\* NOTE: You may have up to 3 Salary Keys active at one time. Each
salary key is valid for only one verification. \*\*\***

**What do I give to a verifier?**

**Step 4:** Please provide the following information to the verifier:

• The NASA Company Code: **11338**

• Your Social Security Number

• Tell your verifier to visit
**[www.theworknumber.com](http://www.theworknumber.com/)** and register
inside the verifier area.

• A Salary Key (only if you are doing income verification)

**\*\*\* IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT give the verifier your PIN, only the
Salary Key. \*\*\***

**Where do I go if I have additional questions about The Work Number?**

If you have any questions or need additional instructions on how to use
**The Work Number®,** please dial Customer Service at: **1-800-996-7566
or visit the website,
[http://www.theworknumber.com](http://www.theworknumber.com/).** The
Work Number Customer Service Team is available Monday - Friday, 8 a.m.
to 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

[]{#misc .anchor}**[Miscellaneous]{.underline}**

**Will annual leave be advanced at the beginning of the year like it is
today?**

Yes.