Good day Stakeholder,
In keeping with
Secretary Perdue's Nov. 13 letter to Congress, AMS will largely begin
operating under the new organizational structure beginning Dec. 10. This means that affected employees joining the new Fair Trade Practices
Program (FTPP), the Commodity Procurement Program (CPP), and Information
Technology Service (ITS) will begin reporting to their respective Program areas
on Dec. 10. In addition, we are finalizing the details of the
operation for AMS’ Headquarters-based functions (e.g., Administrative Services,
the Budget Office, Civil Rights, Public Affairs, and the Safety Office). We
expect to complete the finishing touches for these functions in the next week
and will communicate information for those employees in the very near future. We
also have a special "One Team AMS" column that further outlines how
different processes and actions will be handled so that everyone is one the
same page
In the coming weeks, employees new to AMS will
receive an email with directions on how to schedule appointments to update their expiring LincPass credentials. While LincPass updates will not affect whether
employees will be paid, it will affect accessibility to various websites
and documents.
Next week, we will also be sharing a preview of the first round of
website updates with staff before they are made public. The initial updates are
relatively small and primarily involve agency branding. We want everyone to
have a chance to provide feedback on this step in the process of combining
websites. During December, the web council will continue to plan the details of
where and when other pages from the GIPSA and FSA websites will move into the
AMS system. We appreciate the work of the program and IT staff involved in this
project.
As always, thanks for all that
you do!
Bruce Summers
Acting AMS Administrator
Becoming One Team AMS
In
terms of reporting for FTPP, CPP and ITS, affected employees will begin
providing certain information (e.g., weekly report submissions, correspondence,
press releases for clearance) through their respective Deputy Administrator
offices as of Dec.10. And, once we have additional guidance on
performance plans from the Department, affected employees would receive their
performance plans through their new Program area. This shift in reporting is an
important and exciting step in fully standing up these new or expanded AMS
Programs.
Administrative changes such as moving funds,
changing accounting codes, and putting a coding structure in place to realign
employees takes time and is currently an area of focus for the transition
team. Until we complete these tasks, there will still be key administrative
functions that need to continue to be processed through the existing/current
servicing contacts of affected employees. For example, affected FSA, GIPSA and
AMS employees should continue submitting and receiving WebTA approvals through
their current supervisor under their current accounting codes. Once the
transition team is able to implement the administrative changes, we will send
another e-mail with additional information on what actions you will need to
take.
Most importantly, “What Does this All Mean
for You” if you are a FTPP, CPP or ITS employee affected by the
transition?
A. Please begin submitting the following
items through your supervisory chain to your new Deputy Administrator’s office
as of Dec. 10:
- Correspondence on AMS letterhead
- Weekly Activity Report (WAR), Hot Issues, and Monthly
report submissions
- Press releases for clearance
- Briefing, Info, Decision Memos and “e-memos” for the
Deputy Administrator’s signature
- Rulemaking packages with new cover sheets reflecting
the appropriate Deputy Administrator’s signature
- Office of General Counsel (OGC) list updates
B. Please continue submitting the
following items through current supervisory or resource management chain and
accounting information until otherwise notified:
- WebTA
- Concur authorizations and vouchers
- SF-1164s for reimbursement
- SF-52 requests (e.g., for details, promotions, hiring)
- Agreements/contracts approvals
- Conference packages through CTAT
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Usually when an employee transfers to another Agency, certain leave categories (e.g.- Comp, Credit,
Time-off Award) are paid or lost upon transfer. With FSA transferring to
AMS, what will happen to FSA employees' leave categories? If any impact will
occur to leave balances, will stakeholders be notified of impact and options
well in advance of transition?
A: If you transfer to
another Agency within USDA, e.g., GIPSA to AMS or FSA to AMS earned CTOT
will transfer with you. You must still use the CTOT within the 26 pay
periods. The time for using the leave will not be extended because you transferred to
another USDA Agency.
Q: What happens to
affected employee(s) on the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program when they transfer
to AMS?
A: The records for the
individual employee(s) will be transferred to the AMS leave and comp
staff.
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