Employee Benefits Corner

NAF RETIREMENT MEDICAL COVERAGE
As a reminder, eligible NAF retirees with 15 years participation in the NAF medical plan can continue health coverage into retirement. Retired employees are required to pay for this post retirement benefit and the amount will be deducted from their monthly annuity payment. Contact Sybil Jones in the Regional Personnel Office for further information, (619) 556-7228.

BUPERS MEDICAL PLAN
Did you know you can find the 2001 employee rates for the NAF medical plan, along with other information about NAF insurance benefits, on the MWR web page at www.mwr.navy.mil? Click on Personnel and BUPERS NAF benefits and general information.

ID CARDS FOR RETIRED NAF EMPLOYEES
A process for retired BUPERS NAF employees to obtain proof of their retirement status to assist them in becoming an authorized MWR patron is currently being developed. Specific information will be released, as available.

ARE YOUR DESIGNATIONS OF BENEFICIARY CURRENT?
When was the last time you checked your designations of beneficiary? Most employees don't realize that they have several designations to keep current. If you don't have an updated designation on file, then the funds will be distributed according to the outdated designation. That may be OK with you, but maybe it isn't. Worse case is an outdated designation giving the money to someone that you no longer wish to give it to. NAF employees may need to update the 401K Mass Mutual Participant Information Change Form, the Designation of Beneficiary 5300/13, the Group Benefits Enrollment Form (GIP-2) and the Retirement Plan Application Form (RP-2). Contact your servicing Personnel Office for these forms. APF employees must update the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program (Standard Form 2823), the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP-3), the Unpaid Compensation Form (Standard Form 1152), the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS - Standard Form 2808) and/or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS - Standard Form 3102). These forms can be downloaded or call the Benefits Hotline at (619) 615-5554.

LEAVE DONATION PROGRAM
The Leave Donation Program provides an opportunity for employees to donate their annual leave to another employee who needs leave because of a "medical emergency" of the employee or a family member.
What is considered a medical emergency? A medical emergency is defined as a medical condition (including maternity) of an employee or an immediate family member that is likely to require the employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of time and will result in a substantial loss of income to the employee because of the unavailability of paid leave. Donated leave may not be used for other purposes.
Who is eligible as a recipient? Regular NAF employees with over one year of service and a zero annual leave and sick leave balance may participate. All APF employees who have a zero annual leave and sick leave balance may participate. Additionally, the medical emergency must require at least 24 hours of donated leave.
Who is eligible to donate leave? It is important to note that NAF employees cannot donate to APF employees and APF employees cannot donate to NAF employees, due to the different pay systems. Further, regulations prohibit employees from donating annual leave to their supervisors.
How do I request leave donation? NAF employees must submit a "Request for NAF Annual Leave Donation" form (available by email from your servicing Personnel Office) along with appropriate supporting documentation for approval by the supervisor. Once approved, the supervisor will forward to the NAF Personnel Office. If approved by the MWR Program Manager, a memo is sent to all NAF employees requesting annual leave donation. APF employees complete a "Request to Donate Annual Leave to Leave Recipient" Form OF 630-A, along with a copy of your latest Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) to the supervisor for forwarding to HRO.
How do I donate leave? NAF employees who elect to donate their annual leave must notify the Regional NAF Payroll Office, in writing, the amount of hours they are willing to donate and the name of the recipient. APF employees complete "Request to Donate Annual Leave to Leave Recipient" Form OF 630-B, along with the latest copy of the LES-1, to the recipient's HRO. APF Forms OF 630-A and OF 630-B can be downloaded from: http://web1.shs.osd.mil/icdhome/OFEFORMS.HTM.
What happens to any unused donated annual leave? Any and all unused donated annual leave is restored back to the leave donors by the payroll office.

MWR Customer Service Rewards Program

Your excellent customer service skills will soon be paying off!
The Regional MWR Marketing Office is very pleased to announce our new MWR Customer Service REWARDS Program. In the last few years, MWR worldwide has placed an emphasis on providing extraordinary customer service. In these days of brand identity overload, Internet shopping and the decline of customer loyalty, MWR has realized the true value of extraordinary service in re-building customer loyalty.

With this in mind, Navy Region Southwest MWR will soon launch our Customer Service Rewards Program. Here's a sneak preview of this fantastic new program.

Customers, both internal and external (remember Module One in Star Service Training?), may nominate a MWR staff member who has provided them extraordinary customer service for the Rewards Program. This service must be "above and beyond"the normal call of duty to truly be extraordinary.

Who's eligible? All MWR employees from:

• NAS Fallon
• NAS Lemoore
• NAF El Centro
• Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach
• The Ventura Complex
• San Diego Metro Area

All nominations from throughout Navy Region, Southwest will be evaluated on a monthly basis and the staff member who has provided the overall best customer service that month will be rewarded with a premium gift basket as a sincere thank you from our MWR Program Manager for a job well done. This gift basket will include:

• Star Service merchandise - clothing, a crystal memento and toys
• MWR ITT dollars
• Gift certificates to area shopping centers and
• More

Look for more details on this new program in the next issue of your Employee Newsletter. Your Marketing Office is also planning a large-scale advertising campaign for this program to educate our customers on what customer service means to MWR.
MWR...we reward extraordinary customer service!

ADP Question of the Quarter

Question:
In Word, things happen that I can't control. Sometimes I want to begin a sentence with a lower-case letter, but Word capitalizes it. When I type things like 4th or 5th, Word makes the "th" smaller. And if I type in a fraction - like 1/2 - Word changes it, using a small 1 and 2. Sometimes, if I begin a sentence with a number, and then press Enter to begin a new line, it gets numbered as well, starting with the next higher number. How can I stop these things from happening?

Answer:
To undo the most recent AutoFormat change, immediately type CTRL Z. To prevent future AutoFormats, click on Tools, AutoCorrect. Then Uncheck "Capitalize first letter of sentences." Next click on the AutoFormat tab and look for things that you want to change, such as putting fractions and ordinal numbers into a smaller format. While you're there, Uncheck "Automated Bulleted Lists." Finally, click the AutoFormat As You Type tab, and repeat the steps listed above. But also make sure you UNcheck "Automated Numbered Lists."

DID YOU KNOW?

Can MWR Employees Hold More Than One Government Job?
Generally speaking, federal employees, civilian and military are prohibited from receiving pay from more than one Federal Government source. The laws on Dual Employment are written in Title 5 of the U. S. Code. However, there are some exceptions that apply to MWR:

1. Federal employees, with agency approval, can work for the U. S. Postal Service.

2. Enlisted personnel may be employed as flexible or part-time employees during off-duty hours in NAF positions.

3. APF and NAF employees are prohibited from entering into any contract with the government while employed by the government.

4. For emergency services relating to health, safety, protection of life or property, or national emergency.

For more information, contact your servicing HRO or Personnel Office.

FORMS, FORMS, FORMS....

NEW NAF ATTENDANCE/LEAVE FORM
This form is available to all employees/supervisors and managers by email from your servicing Personnel Office. A revised NAF SF-71 to request leave or approved absences has been created. This full-page form is accompanied by a second sheet that lists the current MWR Rules and Regulations concerning sick leave, annual leave, leave without pay (LWOP), court leave, military duty, Family Medical Leave Act (FLMA), Federal Employee Family Friendly Leave Act (FEFFLA), Leave Donation Program and Funeral Leave.

INTERNAL APPLICATIONS
These are also available to all employees and supervisors/managers by email from your Servicing Personnel Office. Remember, your application will keep you eligible for future NAF openings for a period of six months. After that time, you must submit another internal application to be considered for future openings.

MWR NAF APPLICATION FORMS
These are now available via email from your Personnel Office at osorio.juan@ns.cnrsw.navy.mil. Please tell your friends and referrals that the application process is easier than ever. You don't need to visit the Personnel Office to be considered for NAF open positions and we will keep all applications on file for 90 days.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR
Wage surveys and COLAs are coming for most MWR employees! Regional Personnel and Payroll Offices are busy ensuring all increases are done as soon as possible. Remember, pay adjustments are always made retroactive to the effective date and you are responsible for verifying the accuracy of your paycheck. If you have ANY questions about your paycheck, contact your supervisor immediately.

Functionality Assessment project surveys customer opinions

The Support Services Functionality Assessment (FA) continues to examine ways to improve our business practices. Customer surveys are currently being conducted to evaluate how we can improve our services to better meet customer needs. Without customer feedback we can only guess at how well we are doing.

Customers are being surveyed at all the programs and locations that fall under Commander, Navy Region, Southwest, Support Services, except Lemoore, as they are not participating in the FA. We provide Bachelor Housing, Food Services, Family Housing, Morale Welfare & Recreation, and Social Services Programs throughout the region. This survey cycle, January 22 through February 2, will create a benchmark against which we can gauge our improvement. Three additional customer surveys will be conducted under the FA during the next 18 months. Please help ensure the success of this program by encouraging your customers to participate in the survey.

RESULTS of Navy Region Southwest Employee Survey

Thanks to all the employees who contributed to the recent CNRSW Employee Survey. This survey was of all Regional employees. The results for MWR and Child Development (CDC) follow. The scores show the mean, or center point, of responses. Five would be a perfect score.

Tired of Junk Mail?

Tired of receiving unsolicited mail, credit card applications, telemarketing calls and unsolicited advertising? Here are some actions that may help you sleep:

1. Reduce the number of unsolicited mailings, calls, and emails by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688) to stop pre-approved credit offer solicitations.

2. You can write a letter to the three major credit bureaus notifying them that you do not want personal information about you shared for promotional services: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union Corporation.

3. Write the Direct Marketing Association asking to stop any further direct mail marketing. Their address is: P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008 or use the DMA on-line form at www.emps.org/en/.

4. Write the Telephone Preference Service asking to stop any further telemarketing. Their address is: P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014.