Internal NFFE News
May 15, 2024
Earlier this month, the House Veterans Affairs Committee approved in a voice vote H.R. 6538, the VA Correct Compensation Act. The bill would allow federal unions such as NFFE to file grievances on behalf of Veterans Affairs healthcare professionals in the event of payroll errors and underpayments.
“For decades, VA employees who are classified under Title 38 have had no recourse if their compensation was affected by mistakes in the agency’s payroll processing,” said NFFE President Randy Erwin. “This means that dedicated registered nurses, physicians, physician assistants, dentists, and other professionals are subject to unjust wage losses at no fault of their own, with no way to recoup lost pay.”
The VA Correct Compensation Act will amend existing law so that Title 38 employees will have the right to collectively bargain when they experience an underpayment or other payroll error, like other VA employees currently have the ability to do. This technical fix in the law will increase transparency within the VA, which is critical during a time when the agency is struggling with recruitment and retention of medical staff.
“Every VA employee deserves to be fairly compensated for the incredible work they do in caring for America’s Veterans,” continued Erwin. The VA Correct Compensation Act is a simple, but necessary fix to this problem. NFFE applauds Chairman Bost and Ranking Member Takano for their leadership on this issue, and we look forward to this bill being passed on the House Floor and sent to the Senate as soon as possible.”