POPA update 2/3/25
Good Afternoon,
Emails need to be sent to popahelp@popa.org. Emails sent to individual POPA reps will not be responded to.
1) POPA is receiving emails asking when employees in our bargaining unit need to return to work.
There is no return to in-person work for POPA-covered employees. POPA-covered employees can continue to telework whether full time (including within 50 miles of an office or TEAP) or partial telework. Follow the appropriate POPA-negotiated telework agreement for your business unit/job.
The agency is who has to direct employees to return to in-person work. That has not occurred. POPA will send further communications if that illegal breach of the CBA occurs.
Questions to popahelp email asking when you need to return to work will no longer be answered.
2) A “Fork in the Road” (FiR) page on the POPA website (http://popa.org/fork-in-the-road-fir-info) has information on the deferred resignation program. POPA does not recommend that employees participate in this program, especially without reading about the concerns that have been made about the program. The USPTO needs examiners and support staff to process patent applications. The agency had been working on decreasing pendency. Fewer examiners would adversely affect pendency and make it harder for the remaining examiners. But each employee needs to make this decision on their own.
- This program was not enacted by Congress, which is what has happened in the past with programs such as VERA and VSIP.
- This program is not a “buyout”.
- There does not appear to be a funding stream for this program except for agencies being responsible.
- Currently the federal government is under a continuing resolution (CR). There is no funding after March 14, 2025 without a budget or another CR.
- Questions about the legality of the program have been raised including who can authorize the program, who can authorize administrative leave and what amount of administrative leave can be authorized.
- Federal employees have been insulted in the emails that have come out encouraging us to take the deferred resignation with language such as "The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector." We categorically reject the characterization of federal government jobs as being lower productivity. I think most of us would agree that jobs at the USPTO are not “lower productivity jobs”.
Thanks,
Kathy Duda
POPA President