Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

VA atty again. Not true, many come in at 13 base on experience. We currently have several 13 vacancies available in my group. And you get promoted every year as long as you get a good performance appraisal. I didnt have any trouble getting promoted to a 14

Isn't there some bizarre situation there where you are on case production even on extended (e.g. maternity) leave there, or have they changed that?

What? No way! I turned my blackberry and my laptop off the entire 10 weeks I was out. Before I left, I was wrapping up things and then got pre-eclampsia at 38 weeks on a Friday. My midwife told me to e-mail my boss I wasn't coming in on Monday! We don't have case production at all in my group though. Account for your case time, work your tour of duty.

NP here. You work in OGC, right? I've heard similar things about mandatory GS11 and absurd production requirements, but they were in reference to disability appeals jobs only.

Anonymous wrote:Re: job offer. It was for the claims processing of appeals. Board of veterans appeals division.
Attorney advisor.

Okay, the Board is completely different than VA OGC. People try to leave there as quick as possible. Count yourself lucky!

Re: job offer. It was for the claims processing of appeals. Board of veterans appeals division.
Attorney advisor.

Anonymous wrote:

VA atty again. Not true, many come in at 13 base on experience. We currently have several 13 vacancies available in my group. And you get promoted every year as long as you get a good performance appraisal. I didnt have any trouble getting promoted to a 14

Isn't there some bizarre situation there where you are on case production even on extended (e.g. maternity) leave there, or have they changed that?

What? No way! I turned my blackberry and my laptop off the entire 10 weeks I was out. Before I left, I was wrapping up things and then got pre-eclampsia at 38 weeks on a Friday. My midwife told me to e-mail my boss I wasn't coming in on Monday! We don't have case production at all in my group though. Account for your case time, work your tour of duty.

VA atty again. Not true, many come in at 13 base on experience. We currently have several 13 vacancies available in my group. And you get promoted every year as long as you get a good performance appraisal. I didnt have any trouble getting promoted to a 14

Isn't there some bizarre situation there where you are on case production even on extended (e.g. maternity) leave there, or have they changed that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recent va offer and was told the policy no longer allowed starting anyone higher than gs11. Best you could get was max step. Trust me I tried and was experienced enough to qualify but they indicated the policy changed..and I know folks who lateralled in at a higher gs two years prior. So maybe they will change back but as of late word was no.

Can you say which group this was for or who in HR told you that? I can pull up the job postings for my group when I get into the office tomorrow, and they are all 13s. And with HR, there's always some "policy," yet you never see it in writing. Hell, I'm still not even sure if my CWS makeup day for New Year's Day was Thursday or today because of conflicting "policies" that no one actually saw lol.

Also, each position has an "authority to hire as," so maybe that position only had authorization to hire at an 11.

Anonymous wrote:Recent va offer and was told the policy no longer allowed starting anyone higher than gs11. Best you could get was max step. Trust me I tried and was experienced enough to qualify but they indicated the policy changed..and I know folks who lateralled in at a higher gs two years prior. So maybe they will change back but as of late word was no.

Can you say which group this was for or who in HR told you that? I can pull up the job postings for my group when I get into the office tomorrow, and they are all 13s. And with HR, there's always some "policy," yet you never see it in writing. Hell, I'm still not even sure if my CWS makeup day for New Year's Day was Thursday or today because of conflicting "policies" that no one actually saw lol.

Telework is such a sham. People don't really work very many hours -- they just pretend. They're really doing errands, sleeping late,, etc.

This. And don't forget free childcare.

this is such an outdated and old-school concept. With technology the way it is today and the way it's growing, if you have a job that has to produce something, it shouldn't matter where you do your job. Only the older generation that doesn't "get" technology or the way things are now think telework is a sham. If all I did when I teleworked is personal errands, sleeping late, childcare, shopping, whatever, then I wouldn't get my job done and I'd be fired. It wouldn't matter if I didn't do my job at home or didn't do my job at the office.

People like you encourage employees to show up at the office. Do their job from 9-5 but then play solitaire on their computer until 7 pm just to show their faces are in the office until late and you consider them the better employees. It's really sad.

Recent va offer and was told the policy no longer allowed starting anyone higher than gs11. Best you could get was max step. Trust me I tried and was experienced enough to qualify but they indicated the policy changed..and I know folks who lateralled in at a higher gs two years prior. So maybe they will change back but as of late word was no.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that the VA encourages telework due to resource constraints (i.e. no space).

But starts GS 11 step 1 regardless of prior experience and eligibility could take a year more or less.

VA atty again. Not true, many come in at 13 base on experience. We currently have several 13 vacancies available in my group. And you get promoted every year as long as you get a good performance appraisal. I didnt have any trouble getting promoted to a 14.

I am an attorney at the VA. OGC at headquarters is pretty strict about telework, and it's supervisor specific. It's super political too. Not many litigators telework, but again it's supervisor specific. My supervisor allows my group to telework 2 days a week. And I do the CWS schedule, and have every other Friday off. We just bought in one of the "exurbs," and I take the commuter bus. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you like your job, I'd just move someplace close in but cheaper so u can go bigger.

Yeah, unfortunately that doesn't do what we need to do. I know I'm being vague, but don't want to get into the reasons we want to move out.

I wouldn't move further out OP. There will come a time when you're telework is cut off and you'll be up shit's creek without a paddle. Or even worse, you'll be on I-66 battling it out daily.

What about looking for jobs in Reston or Tysons instead? LOTS of federal jobs there (perhaps less for attorneys, we're in science/engineering fields). I live in Loudoun and have a 15 minute commute to Reston daily.

Anonymous wrote:If you like your job, I'd just move someplace close in but cheaper so u can go bigger.

Yeah, unfortunately that doesn't do what we need to do. I know I'm being vague, but don't want to get into the reasons we want to move out.

If you like your job, I'd just move someplace close in but cheaper so u can go bigger.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telework is such a sham. People don't really work very many hours -- they just pretend. They're really doing errands, sleeping late,, etc.

That may be true for you, but not for me. I get more done on my telework days. I have an easier time writing at home. Have always been that way, even in college and grad school. The library was distracting. I got my real studying done at home at my desk or kitchen table.

I work from home and do the job of 2 ppl. I continually ask for more work, because I don't want to jeopardize my set-up, and appreciate what I've been given: no commuting, can pick up my child from school, begin work at 5am, etc. Perhaps some teleworkers take advantage, but I don't. It's ironic, I work for a large defense contractor where telecommuting is frowned upon.