180-day civilian hiring restriction

BrettLawrence

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
Would anyone happen to know if the 180 day civilian hiring restriction for retired military personnel in the NDAA is also applicable to people who retire due to a med board?
 
Yep, I'm in the same boat. As a matter of fact I spoke to CPAC about that issue and since we are or will be medically retired we have to wait the six months before getting hire in a federal job/position. You can always apply for a waiver though.
 
So, as a follow-up, I don't think the 180-day civilian hiring restriction applies in my case. To be specific, I am a Staff Sergeant with 11 years of service being medically retired through the med board. I am currently applying for a federal position but the HR office is stating the 180-day civilian hiring restriction applies to me.

The fact sheet I was provided by my case manager states, under Q7 of the attachment:

“The 180 day waiting period also applies to those who have medically retired and are entitled to retired, retirement , or retainer pay.”

While I am being “medically retired” I am not “entitled to retired, retirement, or retainer pay” because I did not make it to the 20 year mark. I only served 11 years in the High-3 retirement program. There is no retirement pay for me to draw from. Since I don’t meet the criteria after the “and” in that statement I don’t believe it would apply to me. I am only entitled to my VA disability. Not VA disability and retirement. I believe this statement is for Active Duty personnel who made it 20 years, became entitled to the retirement, but were also Med-Boarded during the period they became eligible for retirement.

The fact sheet explains where I believe the following exempts me from the requirement: “However, former service members solely receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are not considered “retired” for the purposes of DoD Instruction 1402.01, Employment of Retired Members of the Armed Forces. As a result, disability compensation is not considered "retired, retirement or retainer pay", therefore a former service member solely receiving disability compensation is not "retired" within the meaning of 5 U.S.C 3326.”

Am I correct in this line of thinking? Additional input would be greatly appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • Military 180 day Fact Sheet.pdf
    636.4 KB · Views: 21
Additionally, would anyone know who to contact in regards to this situation for guidance? I've contacted our VA reps and our Department of Labor rep and they mutually agree this wouldn't apply to me. I would like to see if I could contact the Policy Manager's offices for guidance regarding this.
 
Brett,

Re: Semantics

You mentioned, “While I am being “medically retired” I am not “entitled to retired, retirement, or retainer pay” because I did not make it to the 20 year mark. I only served 11 years in the High-3 retirement program. There is no retirement pay for me to draw from.”

1. Medically retired means being in a retired status. The retired pay is the higher of the disability percentage assigned multiplier x H-3 OR the length of service multiplier x H-3. H-3 = high three. A disability retirement requires a DoD rating of => 30%.
Disability retired pay is not compensation.

2. A disability retiree can agree to accept VA compensation by waiving retired pay dollar for dollar in the amount of VA compensation received. Occasionally, there is residual (left over) retired pay the retiree can keep.

3. Agreement to waive retired pay in order to accept VA compensation does not change the retired status or the retiree’s entitlement to TRICARE and other benefits. There is still an accounting of the retired pay and at least one DFAS RAS will be produced each year.

4. I have no knowledge of Federal hiring practices; my remarks above pertain only to whether an individual is considered to be retired from the military. There is an interesting discussion concerning the 180-day matter at “180 day discussion “<—-LINK

Ron
 
So, as a follow-up, I don't think the 180-day civilian hiring restriction applies in my case. To be specific, I am a Staff Sergeant with 11 years of service being medically retired through the med board. I am currently applying for a federal position but the HR office is stating the 180-day civilian hiring restriction applies to me.

The fact sheet I was provided by my case manager states, under Q7 of the attachment:

“The 180 day waiting period also applies to those who have medically retired and are entitled to retired, retirement , or retainer pay.”

While I am being “medically retired” I am not “entitled to retired, retirement, or retainer pay” because I did not make it to the 20 year mark. I only served 11 years in the High-3 retirement program. There is no retirement pay for me to draw from. Since I don’t meet the criteria after the “and” in that statement I don’t believe it would apply to me. I am only entitled to my VA disability. Not VA disability and retirement. I believe this statement is for Active Duty personnel who made it 20 years, became entitled to the retirement, but were also Med-Boarded during the period they became eligible for retirement.

The fact sheet explains where I believe the following exempts me from the requirement: “However, former service members solely receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are not considered “retired” for the purposes of DoD Instruction 1402.01, Employment of Retired Members of the Armed Forces. As a result, disability compensation is not considered "retired, retirement or retainer pay", therefore a former service member solely receiving disability compensation is not "retired" within the meaning of 5 U.S.C 3326.”

Am I correct in this line of thinking? Additional input would be greatly appreciated.
You are entitled to retired pay and status, you are just waiving the pay in lieu of VA pay, doesn't change your entitlement.
 
[selected information]
While I am being “medically retired” I am not “entitled to retired, retirement, or retainer pay” because I did not make it to the 20 year mark. I only served 11 years in the High-3 retirement program. There is no retirement pay for me to draw from. Since I don’t meet the criteria after the “and” in that statement I don’t believe it would apply to me. I am only entitled to my VA disability. Not VA disability and retirement. I believe this statement is for Active Duty personnel who made it 20 years, became entitled to the retirement, but were also Med-Boarded during the period they became eligible for retirement.
Ref: DoD 7000.14-R Financial Management Regulation Volume 7B, Chapter 1 * March 2018

*010101. Purpose. This chapter provides information for the entitlement to military retirement pay.

*010201. Overview. A. Military retired pay is divided into three general categories: retired pay for Regular service, retired pay for non-Regular (Reserve/Guard) service, and retired pay for physical disability.

*010203. Retired Pay Multiplier. B. A member who retires for disability may choose a multiplier based on years of service or based on the disability percentage awarded by the Service. However, if the member chooses the Service disability percentage, then the percentage is capped at 75 percent.

With regard to ENTITLEMENT to retired pay via a disability retirement:

Table 1-3. Disability Retirement

A person who is ordered to active duty and
is determined to be
unfit to perform duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating because of physical disability
may retire under 10 U.S.C. §
1204, rule 1
or
1205, rule 2
or
1201, rule 1
or
1202, rule 2
[All depending on the number or days active duty involved.]

10 U.S.C. § 1204; 1205; 1201; 1203 are the statutory authority for military disability retirement (therefore, entitlement).

How OPM uses this legal status with regard to the 180-day rule seems to vary.

Ron
 
Thanks for the guidance, Ron. Looks like I'm hosed depending on they want to look at it.
I hope you receive a determination that is in your favor.

I became involved in this thread only because of the characterization of “Retired Pay”.

Recommend speaking to the HR department of a DOD element. They would would have the experience and resources to accurately answer your questions.

Good luck,
Ron
 
I hope you receive a determination that is in your favor.

I became involved in this thread only because of the characterization of “Retired Pay”.

Recommend speaking to the HR department of a DOD element. They would would have the experience and resources to accurately answer your questions.

Good luck,
Ron

What would you consider a good DOD element to contact? I contacted an office at The Pentagon regarding this but they said it was up to the HR office and it was on the HR office to forward up their issues with the policy if they had any.

Also, thanks for the input Dani.
 
What would you consider a good DOD element to contact? I contacted an office at The Pentagon regarding this but they said it was up to the HR office and it was on the HR office to forward up their issues with the policy if they had any.

Also, thanks for the input Dani.
The human resource departments of those listed at U.S. Department of Defense agencies - Wikipedia
<—-LINK

Ron
 
The attached fact sheet is specific to Department of the Air Force (DoD) hiring, and can be extremely misleading if you're taking it as a blanket rule for all Federal positions. They really should add a few caveats to it.

As a retiree, one can still seek and be hired into any other Federal position. The 180 day rule is only for DoD positions.
 
The attached fact sheet is specific to Department of the Air Force (DoD) hiring, and can be extremely misleading if you're taking it as a blanket rule for all Federal positions. They really should add a few caveats to it.

As a retiree, one can still seek and be hired into any other Federal position. The 180 day rule is only for DoD positions.
I agree.

However, the first couple of sentences of the fact sheet include:
“Background: On December 23, 2016, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of fiscal year (FY) 2017. Section 1111 modifies 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) 3326 to eliminate the Department of Defense’s flexibility of paragraph (b)(3) that allowed a retired member of the Armed Forces to be appointed to a position in the civil service (including non-appropriated fund instrumentality) during the period of 180 days immediately after retirement (without needing a waiver) if a state of national emergency exists.”

On the other hand, the remainder of the fact sheet does not distinguish DoD from other government hiring authorities.

Good point on your part.

Ron
 
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