What are My Options and When Do I Have to Make a Decision?

A memo providing updates on DISA’s base realignment and closure (BRAC) move to Fort Meade, Md., was released to the workforce Oct. 29. The correspondence specifically addressed four items of significance to all BRAC affected employees: Transfer of Function (TOF) letters, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) benefits, the DoD Priority Placement Program (PPP), and severance pay.

TOF letters serve as the official notification that an employee’s job is moving. DISA/JTF-GNO employees will receive a TOF letter one year prior to their position being relocated to Ft. Meade. The receipt of letters will depend upon the scheduled move of an employee’s specific organizational element. However, letters will begin to go out to employees in early Oct. 2009 — which is one year prior to the anticipated start of the first phase of scheduled moves (Oct. 2010). Upon receipt of a TOF, employees will have a 30-day period in which to make the decision to accept or decline the transfer. If an employee declines the transfer, recruitment to fill his or her position will begin, and the employee may remain on DISA’s payroll until another person is selected, or no later than the effective date their position relocates to Fort Meade.

PCS is the term the DoD uses to indicate an employee moving because his or her job is moving. Employer-provided means of assistance for the move are called “PCS entitlements,” and are outlined in detail in the Joint Travel Regulation (JTR). DISA has the discretion to offer PCS entitlements when the one-way commuting distance between the residence being occupied while serving at “the old duty station and the new duty station increases by at least 10 miles.” In other words, if the distance of an employee’s commute to work increases by 10 or more miles because DISA’s new location is further away from his or her current home, DISA will offer that employee PCS entitlements as long as he or she is otherwise eligible. Please note, however, PCS orders will only be issued after an employee receives their TOF letter. Employees cannot be reimbursed for relocation costs if they move before their PCS orders are issued.

PPP is an automated mandatory placement program used to match eligible employees with vacant DoD positions. DISA/JTF-GNO employees who do not accept the transfer will not be eligible to be registered in the PPP. The reason employees will not be eligible for PPP is that no one will be losing their job and the transfer of positions will not be outside of the local commuting area.

Similarly, employees who decline the transfer will not be entitled to severance pay. As with the PPP, the reason employees will not be eligible for severance pay is that nobody will be losing their job; no positions are being abolished; and employees will be offered the opportunity to transfer with their job, which will not be outside of the local commuting area.

If an employee is eligible for voluntary (optional) retirement, he or she may choose Discontinued Service Retirement if declining the transfer. Employees will need to discuss this option with a Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) retirement/benefits counselor.

DISA continues to encourage all employees to transfer with the agency to Fort Meade. To assist employees with the decision-making process, the agency is currently developing a series of brown bag sessions focused specifically on Transfer of Function and Permanent Change of Station. More information on these sessions will be disseminated in the near future.