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November Article Club: The Culture Code
The OCFO Article Club will be meeting on Wednesday, November 29th at noon Eastern. This month's discussion will cover a summary of Daniel Coyle's The Culture Code.
If the event isn't on your calendar, you can join by Google Meet on November 29th at noon Eastern.
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🥧 Is your Thanksgiving menu missing something? Need a new dish to bring to the table? 🦃
Easy slow cooker pulled pork, breakfast casserole, bubble pizza, six different varieties of cookies — these recipes (and more!) are waiting for you in the new OCFO Recipe Book! Be sure to check it out before preparing for the holidays. It’s also not too late to add your own special dish!
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Did You Know...? You Can Read Back Issues of the Quarterly Newsletter!
Current and past issues of the OCFO newsletter can be found on the OCFO Google Site (under Communication > quarterly newsletters). Have feedback on the newsletter? Share it through this Google form.
New! Use it or Lose it!
If HR Links forecasts that you will have “use-or-lose” annual leave hours — meaning, hours over the maximum carryover ceiling (usually 240 for GS employees) — be sure to work with your supervisor to take vacation time before those extra hours are forfeited on January 13, 2024.
To see your projected use-or-lose annual leave hours, click on “Absence Requests” on the “Employee Time Requests” tile in HR Links. Next, look at the top left of the screen for the window that contains your annual leave balance. Under that balance is your projected number of use-or-lose hours.
The current 2023 leave year — used to calculate annual leave accrual — began on January 1, 2023 (Day 1 of Pay Period 2, 2023), and will end on January 13, 2024 (Day 14 of Pay Period 2, 2024). Because this range contains a total of 27 pay periods, employees will accrue an additional 4, 6 or 8 hours of annual leave, depending on the number of years of service. This additional amount has already been accounted for within use-or-lose annual leave projection within HR Links.
If you will be unable to take time off to use those extra hours, and consider donating them to other employees. The Voluntary Leave Transfer Program allows you to donate annual leave to individuals facing personal or family medical emergencies.
If you have to forfeit leave because of an exigency of the public business, or illness, you can submit a written request for restoration of leave before Saturday, December 2, 2023.
Reminder! Time and Leave Guidance for the Veterans Day Holiday
Veterans Day, the Saturday, November 11th calendar holiday, will be observed on Friday, November 10th, as the federal holiday for pay and leave purposes and office closures.
Full-time and part-time employees scheduled to work on Friday are excused from duty and entitled to holiday pay.
Employees on a standard or flexible schedule are provided with 8 hours of holiday pay and employees on a compressed schedule are provided holiday pay for the number of hours they would have been scheduled to work (i.e., 8, 9, 10 or 12 hours).
Full-time employees not scheduled to work on Friday are eligible for a substitute “in-lieu-of holiday.” For this holiday, the in-lieu-of holiday is the scheduled workday immediately preceding the Veterans Day holiday. For most full-time employees in this situation, the in-lieu-of holiday will therefore be observed on Thursday, November 9th, 2023.
Reminder! Indicate Your Time-off Award Preference in HR Links by Next Tuesday
If you selected hours for time off last year and prefer a monetary award this year, please update your preference by going into the system and marking the time-off award preference as inactive, otherwise your hours preference from last year will be applied to this year.
If you prefer to receive time off in lieu of cash, then you need to complete the preference in HR Links.
If you prefer to receive a monetary award, then you do not need to complete the preference in HR Links.
Reference the time-off award preference instructions for documenting your time-off award preference, and be sure to save the selection.
NOTE: Award time off is capped at 80 hours for an employee per fiscal year. Employees who select time off for their performance awards that would result in exceeding the cap for the fiscal year will have their awards defaulted to cash. Time-off awards must be used within one year of issuance.
Need further assistance? Direct questions to your servicing HR office.
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Reminder! Open Season Begins on Monday
Register for the GSA Employee Break Room session on federal benefits open season on November 14th!
The 2023 federal benefits open season begins Monday, November 13th and ends Monday, December 11th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
For more information about plan options, register for the Virtual Benefits Fair (live chat dates on November 14th, 17th, 30th, and December 7th). If you have questions or need assistance with enrollment, contact your benefits and retirement specialist.
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Give Happy! The Combined Federal Campaign is Underway
The Combined Federal Campaign is the official workplace giving campaign for federal employees and retirees. Visit givecfc.org to learn more about the Combined Federal Campaign, find a charity to donate to, attend a virtual charity fair, learn how to give, and more!
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ICYMI: Messages from GSA Leadership
No new messages. Check out the Messages from Leadership page on InSite, where you can find past messages from GSA leaders.
Every week we will feature OCFO colleagues who have been recognized by their peers for their great work and character. This is a quick, easy, and fun way to acknowledge and thank one another.
To recognize one (or more) of your peers in the next Week in Review, use the OCFO Shout Outs Google Form.
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Shout out to Jane Binagi and Sherri Pendleton (both BG2ECD)!
I would like to shout out Jane Binagi and Sherri Pendleton for continuing to lend a helping hand. I greatly appreciate them for that.
Submitted by: Teresa M. Potts-Hill (BG2ECD)
Shout out to Brett Bradshaw (BG2EBB)!
Shout out to Brett for stepping in an learning a new process right during month end. I appreciate you being willing to lend a hand and assist where ever you are needed. Thanks for getting all the G-Invoicing transactions processed for month end and ensuring cash was recorded.
Submitted by: Lesley Schmidt (BG2EB)
Shout out to Michelle Morlang (BG2ECC)!
Thanks, Michelle, for your quick response and action on +2. I appreciate your willingness to lend a hand and help get last minute transactions processed.
Submitted by: Lesley Schmidt (BG2EB)
Shout out to Laura Dreyfous (BR3R)!
For her efforts in supporting the Kahua UAT and being a great BR representative as we work through IRA execution issues.
Submitted by: Amber Cochran (BBP)
Shout out to the BR Capital Projects teams!
Shout out for their support and feedback during the Kahua UAT testing efforts!
Submitted by: Amber Cochran (BBP)
Welcome to the OCFO Analytics Corner! Each week, the Analytics Community of Practice (A-CoP) team will be sharing events, training, resources, and more. If you would like to learn more about the OCFO Analytics Community of Practice, you can sign up for updates here.
Looking for New Software Tools? Look No Further!
Are you a data practitioner trying to figure out how to take advantage of different software tools and complementary resources? Resources.data.gov is your solution! It is an online repository of policies, tools, case studies, and other resources to support data governance, management, exchange, and use throughout the federal government! Check out their data tools catalog today!
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Visit the Mandatory Training page on GSA's InSite for mandatory training deadlines and watch the GSA News & Info section for training reminders.
Looking for enterprise-wide training? You'll find a selection of the upcoming offerings below or check out the Online University Events Calendar for a full slate of training opportunities.
Upcoming Enterprise-wide Training
Check out the Online University Events Calendar for more training opportunities.
*These courses fill up fast, so register today! If no more seats are available, join the waitlist or register for a later session.
Updated! GSA IT Training Classes Help You Perfect Your Google Workspace Skills
508 for Google Slides (November 15) - Learn 508 accessibility best practices for slide presentations, including applying image alt-text, establishing reading order, choosing the right fonts and color contrast, avoiding problem features, and more.
Get to Know Google Docs (November 21) - This class will cover how to create and save a document, work more quickly with templates, navigate menus and toolbars, and set margins and more with page setup.
508 for Google Docs (November 29) - Learn 508 accessibility best practices for docs, including choosing fonts, adding alt-text to images, inserting hyperlinks and headings, and applying list structure, color contrast, and more.
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