Trump Admin Ends Official Time Policy for VA
Taxpayers no longer have to pay for union work for medical staffers
Veterans Affairs
BY: Bill McMorris
November 12, 2018 5:00 am
Taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for union officials at the Veterans Administration.
The Trump administration issued a new policy that will put an end to the practice known as official time, which forces the federal government to continue paying employees for work conducted on the union's behalf, for medical staffers.
The agency has been the subject of numerous scandals in recent years following revelations that it doctored records exposing delays in care that resulted in the deaths of dozens of veterans.
President Trump campaigned on reforming the agency and has instituted measures aimed at streamlining service and imposing accountability on employees. In July, President Trump issued an executive order calling on the VA to review its official time practices. The new agency rules will apply to medical personnel, rather than the agency's clerical workers, including all union physicians, dentists, registered nurses, and chiropractors, among other agency employees.
VA Acting Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration Jacquelyn Hayes-Byrd said the measure is intended to focus employees on the agency's duty to care for former service members. Official time, she said, distracts doctors and other medical personnel from their mission. The new rules reflect "common sense."
"Allowing health care workers to do taxpayer-funded union work instead of serving Veterans impacts patient care negatively," she said in a statement. "President Trump has made it clear—VA employees should always put Veterans first. And when we hire medical professionals to take care of Veterans, that's what they should do at all times. No excuses, no exceptions."
Sauce: https://freebeacon.com/issues/trump-admin-ends-official-time-policy-va/