Va "incentive" Cash To Employees And

[Berta]

http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/

the VA “incentive program” article here today-

I guess they are calling employee bonuses ---- cash 'incentives' now

and link to Harvey V Shinseki:

http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/uploads/court_case.pdf

  “VA Secretary ordered to pay over $19,000 in attorney fees"

[deltaj]

http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/

the VA “incentive program” article here today-

I guess they are calling employee bonuses ---- cash 'incentives' now

and link to Harvey V Shinseki:

http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/uploads/court_case.pdf

  “VA Secretary ordered to pay over $19,000 in attorney fees"

I though that under EAJA that an attorney is barred from collecting the difference between what V.A. paid on attorney fees and the amount billed by the attorney. Am I wrong about this? Ask a knowledgable person inside the V.A. about this and read veterans law and regulations on the subject.

[Berta]

"I though that under EAJA that an attorney is barred from collecting the difference between what V.A. paid on attorney fees and the amount billed by the attorney. Am I wrong about this? Ask a knowledgable person inside the V.A. about this and read veterans law and regulations on the subject."

I think you should read Harvey V Shinseki.

Edited January 28, 2011 by Berta

[Berta]

to further add why Harvey is SO important-

the legal fee EAJA issue is clearly discussed in the decision.

The point of Harvey is this:

"ORDERED that as a sanction, the Secretary shall pay $11,715.49 to the petitioner in costs

and attorney fees; it is further

ORDERED that

as a sanction, the Secretary shall pay $7,879.31 to the amicus curiae in costs and attorney fees."

The Secretary was SANCTIONED.

for your other suggestion ...ask someone inside VA..... I have had direct contact with CAVC clerks over the years on other matters and I am sure they could explain your other concerns as to the EAJA.

They might have an email addy at the CAVC site.or hone number.

[Berta]

Veldrina said:

"That someone is saying we are getting bonus pay and awards is simply not true."

You are suggesting that I have lied here as I have posted this documented info from the VA for years.

Maybe YOU dont reach the level of work to be considered for a bonus but you have suggested here that the VA Inspector General has lied too.

But just in case I will double check with the IG on what you said here and on the info below and within their latest report:

this is but a very brief list of years of VA bonus information.

I think the IG should be made aware if this news on the internet for years obtained from the IG in many cases itself-

is "simply not true" as you stated here.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=155123432368&topic=10183

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/house-committee-questions_b_298651.html

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfmay09/nf052309-1.htm

http://www.military.com/news/article/August-2009/millions-in-va-bonuses-questioned.html

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-22/politics/veterans.affairs.bonuses_1_bonuses-inspector-general-va-s-office?_s=PM:POLITICS

[Vync]

to further add why Harvey is SO important-

the legal fee EAJA issue is clearly discussed in the decision.

The point of Harvey is this:

"ORDERED that as a sanction, the Secretary shall pay $11,715.49 to the petitioner in costs

and attorney fees; it is further

ORDERED that

as a sanction, the Secretary shall pay $7,879.31 to the amicus curiae in costs and attorney fees."

The Secretary was SANCTIONED.

for your other suggestion ...ask someone inside VA..... I have had direct contact with CAVC clerks over the years on other matters and I am sure they could explain your other concerns as to the EAJA.

They might have an email addy at the CAVC site.or hone number.

I wonder if this will come out of his personal budget or his office's budget...

[hedgey]

 I worked for the federal government for over 10 years as a clerk, finally made it all the way to GS-6. I can attest that Bonuses & Incentives did not come to everyone, and most of the drones never saw one. I think that most of the goodies are being passed out to people WAY up on the food chain from the clerks & "specialists" who work on claims.

In my organization, there was an "in" crowd that had been in place for years before I got there. Jobs were created, responsibilities were padded to warrant higher grades, and whenever there were bonuses or incentive awards passed out, it was always the same people getting them. As far as getting Outstanding on your yearly appraisal? Well, the head shed said that only so many employees could be rated as outstanding... and guess who got those?

How well you did your job had very little to do with what your appraisal looked like. The people down at my end of the ramp worked hard and carried the load while the folks at the other end took every Friday afternoon to play golf. When something went wrong, guess which end of the ramp had balls of pooh rolling toward it?

Complain to the IG? Go ahead if you dare. You better have proof. And if you get suspended or lose your job, good luck finding another one.

So it's definitely true that MOST federal employees aren't getting bonuses. It's not true that no one is, because believe me, even in years when the budget was so tight we had to bring our own highlighters from home (I'm not kidding), the usual suspects got awards. Oh, they skipped the award ceremonies, but the awards were still given. I worked in the budget section at the time, and the head of the section was in tears of outrage over it. She just didn't dare file a complaint - she needed her job.

Here's what I believe is a true statement: Most federal employees never get a bonus or incentive award, but some federal employees get one or the other every year.

I think it stinks. The worker bees who work their tails off don't get rewarded and if they don't get burnt out and quit, they quit caring - though I knew a lot of good people who just kept working and doing their best and trying not to let the ulcers kill them.

JMHO

Edited January 28, 2011 by hedgey