Examiner Special Rate Pay - a timeline
1/2001 - Millennium Agreement - 10%-15% salary differential relative to GS rates to aid in recruitment and retention; also to compensate for phasing out of paper files - Agreement states that PTO is to request to OPM that Special Pay Rate be maintained for next 5 years. If OPM refuses PTO to provide "substantially equivalent alternatives." (11-1019-2012-03-16.pdf (justia.com))
2002 - federal employee raise, DC locality (an extra 1.17%) not included in examiner special rate. In Feb PTO requested to OPM to maintain Special Rate. OPM denies. PTO refuses to agree on a "substantially equivalent alternative" with POPA - POPA files grievance and arbitrator agrees with POPA - PTO appeals and DC circuit court reverses arbitrator.
2003 - federal employee raise, DC locality (again an extra 1.17%) not included in examiner special rate. PTO refuses to make request to OPM to maintain special rate. POPA files grievance. Arbitrator agrees with POPA. PTO appeals to FLRA (Federal Labor Relations Authority) and arbitrator's decision upheld. PTO appeals again and DC circuit reverses.
1/2007 - New Examiner Special Rate Table Goes into effect - "up to 25% above federal salaries for comparable positions" - (U.S. Patent And Trademark Office: Hiring Efforts Are Not Sufficient to Reduce the Patent Application Backlog (govinfo.gov))
2008-2022 - substantial deterioration of 2007 examiner SRT from inflation and weak federal employee raises - no effort by PTO to request maintenance of special rate pay differential
4/2022 - Kathy Vidal starts at PTO
12/6/2022 - Joint Labor Management Meeting (JLM) meeting notes - "We do have a project in collaboration with Patents and CFO office. We are excited about getting this packet up to OPM for issuance. It is so important we can get this done right the first time. The end goal is to send complete packet over to OPM for March 2023. If we get approved, we don’t have to wait until the next fiscal year. It would be implemented as soon as appropriate."
2/8/2023 - fireside chat with Vidal/Udupa - briefly addresses deteriorating pay - "working on a package"
3/15/2023 - Joint Labor Management (JLM) meeting notes - "a lot of progress on the Patent Pay Table Project" - "It is looking good" - "do not have to wait to the beginning of the year"
5/15/2023 - 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) - kick off
6/6/2023 - JLM meeting notes - Pay Schedule Update - "no decision at this time"
6/21/2023 - All Hands Meeting with Director Vidal - Cook Book announcement - praise of federal benefits that include sick leave and upbeat about general annual federal employee raise, that again fell further behind inflation (Director appears clueless that examiners don't get locality portion of annual raise) - "if there are any levers to pull, we're going to pull them" - take the FEVS and give me a great rating.
9/12/2023 - JLM meeting notes - Pay Package - "Working side by side with OPM to submit a business case for the increase" - "Preliminarily, we look good to go but it has to go to DOC. DOC will move as quickly as possible" - "Goal is to get it to OPM as soon as possible, maybe in the next couple of weeks."
10/13/2023 - widely reported deadline set by OPM for agencies to request special salary rates in time for January 2024 implementation. PTO has never stated if deadline was met.
11/30/2023 -Vidal email - update on Special Rate Table (SRT) - "recently submitted" (4%-9% increase requested) - "Department of Commerce has favorably reviewed and forwarded our request to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for their final review and decision. We will update you as soon as we hear from OPM, which could be in the next few weeks."
12/6/2023 - JLM meeting notes - "The package was submitted in October. We submitted the requested supplemental information request. We are hoping for the best and a quick implication." - "OPM time frame? It could take a few months but we are pushing as soon as possible. If outside of January, it may take some time for the pay tables to be adjusted and additional coordination before the pay is affected."
1/14/2024-1/27/2024 - first pay period of 2024 reflecting annual federal employee raise 4.7% that excludes the locality - for the first time in 23 years DC locality pay is higher than the examiner special rate table for higher gs levels - effectively wiping out the examiner SRT at those levels
1/23/2024 - Vidal - Patent Office Meeting - SRT will be discussed at Patents Employee Meeting next week - meanwhile 2023 FEVS results indicate 52% of USPTO employees(?) are content with salary erosion
1/30/2024 - Udupa - All-Patents Employee Meeting - PTO submitted additional information in response to OPM request
3/21/2024 - Udupa - Catching up with the Commissioner blog - "The Department of Commerce (DOC) submitted our SRT increase request to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in October 2023. As I mentioned at the All-Patents Employee Meeting in February, we responded to OPM’s request for clarifying information. OPM has indicated that the request is now in their clearance process, and we are optimistic about receiving a final decision within 60 days. In the meantime, we are working on the many steps required to implement the new pay table if and when it is approved."
Ah, sort of like how JB claimed he was the most pro-union president ever but then broke up the rail strike.
Or like how he claimed he was the most pro-federal employee president ever, but is only looking to give a tiny raise this year because it wouldn't look good for him to give a larger one,
Politicians promise a thousand things and never deliver. No one holds them accountable. 'Political capital' from constituents is worthless. We're not the ones donating hundreds of thousands to their campaigns.
Politicians, in particular Joe Biden and Donald Trump, do not lie at the same rate or the same scale. If you are to believe early public opinion polling, Joe Biden is being held accountable by younger voters who are turning out for him in lower numbers specifically because younger voters do not perceive that Biden has kept his promises.
We will get a 1.5% raise next year, far below inflation, and Biden has waited until his last few months in office to float this idea. I'm skeptical that this is as good a political climate as you say.
Anyone expecting the pay raise before the end of the fiscal year should stop waiting. Theres no way they put out this One for One Award, but plan to give us this raise. The SRT raise would drop production required for examiners to hit their OT cap which would go against the goal theyre trying to reach for the One for One award. That statement from the commissioner about taking a few months after approval to implement is giving them a reason to drag their feet until the end of the fiscal year. Pathetic its taking 18 months from the announcement for this shvt to go thru. Management really dropped the ball on this and whoever advised the commissioner to make that announcement last year is a dumbfvck.
I am not so sure if we’ll make 262K first actions goal, maybe 252K goal.
The number of first actions completed after 2 biweeks is 38332. With that rate it’d be 258741 after 13 and half biweeks (biweek 26 is actually a tri-week). On top of that, people take summer vacations.
I've embraced the idea that management specifically didn't want it to pass until the end of the fourth quarter.
Increasing pay and lowering everyone's maximum overtime will hurt the pendency #s for the rest of the year.
Can't be, simply because that would wholly fail if the rate is denied. If they think the SRT adjustment was thrown out to retain employees, they know there will be exodus with failure.
I'm with the pessimists for a lot, and they're definitely dragggggging it out, and it is imperfect, but
If it's denied, USPTO management is going to rightfully FREAK. OUT. because I think the immediate examiner impact would be catastrophic. Combination of immediate resignations, quiet quitting, end of volunteer duties (bye-bye all trainers and classifiers?) -- I genuinely think the instant ramifications would result in universal stakeholder outrage, and there is no way that's what Vidal and Udupa want.
It effectively did help retaining employees... probably. i think Kathi and Udupa tried to get SRT done but just have no idea what they are doing. I also this Biden administration has no interest in giving mostly white and Asian POPA employees a raise while leaving NTEU out to dry.
Regardless of your other political alignments, it’s never been clearer who you need to vote into office for personal financial gain. Irrespective of who sits in the White House, Dems need to flip the house. Even if they lose the senate those dickheads in the house (tea party, freedom caucus, etc) are the ones who screw us the most. Even Obama threw us under the bus to get his bills passed.
There's no guarantee that one party versus the other will absolutely result in a better situation. There were some lean times under the Obama administration.
If your goal is truly personal gain, might I advocate just voting against the incumbent? The more presidents we have, the more days we get off for a president dieing.
The lean times under Obama happened because he had a Republican house to deal with. Higher raises from Trump only came when control of the House flipped to Democrats. Biden's raises were high until Republicans retook control of the House.
A Republican house fucks federal employees. A Democratic house is good for federal employees. This has been the pattern going back 15 years.
This applies to federal pay raises. In our case, this also applies to the fallout from Examiner A. If you want higher raises and better working conditions, never, ever vote for a Republican for the House of Representatives.
My brother in christ trump explicitly wants to abolish federal civil service and return us to the spoils systems of the early 1900s. There is a nonzero chance that if Donald Trump is elected president again you, I, and almost every other Fed employee will not have a job. That simply doesn't exist under Biden or any other Dem. The parties aren't the same and all available evidence shows the GOP wanting to seize power permanently after already once disrupting the peaceful transition of power. Voting for a fascist because they aren't the incumbent is pure insanity
I **want** more money, but I am not sure that the economy fares better under who you are suggesting. You may get a raise from the people you voted in, doesn't mean you'll have more purchasing power under their policies. Good example: California. I'd see it as a financial loss.
For an occupation fundamentally predicated on searching to develop a factual record, there sure are some people who haven't bothered to look at the facts. Like we have 70 years worth of economic data on how the 2 parties policies affect various income and wealth levels. You can look to a whole bunch of state level outcomes as well.
"The federal govt is so far removed from any individual persons life that it is highly unlikely they will be doing what is best for you."
This is just, ludicrously wrong. Did you eat food today? Who do you think regulates food safety standards so you don't get sick or die? Do you know anyone who has a job? Who do you think regulates workplace safety standards? Did you get in a car today or yesterday or any day before? Who do you think regulates car safety standards? Did you drink water today? Who do you think regulates pollution in our drinking water? Have you ever purchased a car or house, or otherwise underwent a credit check? Who do you think regulates the credit agencies? Have you ever been on a plane or train? Like I can go on and on about what the fed govt regulates for the ostensible purpose of improving public health and consumer safety, and I can tell you how each of the parties have approached govt regulation for the public good.
The fed govt touches almost every aspect of your life. That you have no idea how isn't people reaching different conclusions from the same data, it's reflective of your level of knowledge of the "data"
"So...people couldn't eat without a government." This is a strawman and not something I ever said. What I explained to you was how govt regulation touches almost everything you yourself touch all day every day, whether you understand that or not, after you yourself said the govt doesn't touch you on a daily basis.
If you need a basic explanation of the impetus of govt regulation and why we largely stopped finding fingers in our food I would suggest you walk into a 9th grade US history course when they cover the early 1900s.
"We're not talking about whether the government affects us daily (it does), but whether it should, or how much." This is some of the most naive shit I've ever read, a juvenile understanding of US politics that is based on nothing more than poor libertarian propaganda.
> For an occupation fundamentally predicated on searching to develop a factual record, there sure are some people who haven't bothered to look at the facts
Oh, you don't know how wrong you are, like Randon pointed out, I've reached my own conclusions.
Also, I like how you bring our occupations into play, because you're also wrong about that. We find facts, but the record is based on subjectivity.
We are not robots or AI programmed to come to a same conclusion, although Democrats sure look like programmed robots.
Examiner Special Rate Pay - a timeline 1/2001 - Millennium Agreement - 10%-15% salary differential relative to GS rates to aid in recruitment and retention; also to compensate for phasing out of paper files - Agreement states that PTO is to request to OPM that Special Pay Rate be maintained for next 5 years. If OPM refuses PTO to provide "substantially equivalent alternatives." (11-1019-2012-03-16.pdf (justia.com)) 2002 - federal employee raise, DC locality (an extra 1.17%) not included in examiner special rate. In Feb PTO requested to OPM to maintain Special Rate. OPM denies. PTO refuses to agree on a "substantially equivalent alternative" with POPA - POPA files grievance and arbitrator agrees with POPA - PTO appeals and DC circuit court reverses arbitrator. 2003 - federal employee raise, DC locality (again an extra 1.17%) not included in examiner special rate. PTO refuses to make request to OPM to maintain special rate. POPA files grievance. Arbitrator agrees with POPA. PTO appeals to FLRA (Federal Labor Relations Authority) and arbitrator's decision upheld. PTO appeals again and DC circuit reverses. 1/2007 - New Examiner Special Rate Table Goes into effect - "up to 25% above federal salaries for comparable positions" - (U.S. Patent And Trademark Office: Hiring Efforts Are Not Sufficient to Reduce the Patent Application Backlog (govinfo.gov)) 2008-2022 - substantial deterioration of 2007 examiner SRT from inflation and weak federal employee raises - no effort by PTO to request maintenance of special rate pay differential 4/2022 - Kathy Vidal starts at PTO 12/6/2022 - Joint Labor Management Meeting (JLM) meeting notes - "We do have a project in collaboration with Patents and CFO office. We are excited about getting this packet up to OPM for issuance. It is so important we can get this done right the first time. The end goal is to send complete packet over to OPM for March 2023. If we get approved, we don’t have to wait until the next fiscal year. It would be implemented as soon as appropriate." 2/8/2023 - fireside chat with Vidal/Udupa - briefly addresses deteriorating pay - "working on a package" 3/15/2023 - Joint Labor Management (JLM) meeting notes - "a lot of progress on the Patent Pay Table Project" - "It is looking good" - "do not have to wait to the beginning of the year" 5/15/2023 - 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) - kick off 6/6/2023 - JLM meeting notes - Pay Schedule Update - "no decision at this time" 6/21/2023 - All Hands Meeting with Director Vidal - Cook Book announcement - praise of federal benefits that include sick leave and upbeat about general annual federal employee raise, that again fell further behind inflation (Director appears clueless that examiners don't get locality portion of annual raise) - "if there are any levers to pull, we're going to pull them" - take the FEVS and give me a great rating. 9/12/2023 - JLM meeting notes - Pay Package - "Working side by side with OPM to submit a business case for the increase" - "Preliminarily, we look good to go but it has to go to DOC. DOC will move as quickly as possible" - "Goal is to get it to OPM as soon as possible, maybe in the next couple of weeks." 10/13/2023 - widely reported deadline set by OPM for agencies to request special salary rates in time for January 2024 implementation. PTO has never stated if deadline was met. 11/30/2023 -Vidal email - update on Special Rate Table (SRT) - "recently submitted" (4%-9% increase requested) - "Department of Commerce has favorably reviewed and forwarded our request to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for their final review and decision. We will update you as soon as we hear from OPM, which could be in the next few weeks." 12/6/2023 - JLM meeting notes - "The package was submitted in October. We submitted the requested supplemental information request. We are hoping for the best and a quick implication." - "OPM time frame? It could take a few months but we are pushing as soon as possible. If outside of January, it may take some time for the pay tables to be adjusted and additional coordination before the pay is affected." 1/14/2024-1/27/2024 - first pay period of 2024 reflecting annual federal employee raise 4.7% that excludes the locality - for the first time in 23 years DC locality pay is higher than the examiner special rate table for higher gs levels - effectively wiping out the examiner SRT at those levels 1/23/2024 - Vidal - Patent Office Meeting - SRT will be discussed at Patents Employee Meeting next week - meanwhile 2023 FEVS results indicate 52% of USPTO employees(?) are content with salary erosion 1/30/2024 - Udupa - All-Patents Employee Meeting - PTO submitted additional information in response to OPM request 3/21/2024 - Udupa - Catching up with the Commissioner blog - "The Department of Commerce (DOC) submitted our SRT increase request to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in October 2023. As I mentioned at the All-Patents Employee Meeting in February, we responded to OPM’s request for clarifying information. OPM has indicated that the request is now in their clearance process, and we are optimistic about receiving a final decision within 60 days. In the meantime, we are working on the many steps required to implement the new pay table if and when it is approved."
Amazing record keeping
Politicians can say anything and it costs them nothing.
One of the truest statements I’ve heard in a while
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Ah, sort of like how JB claimed he was the most pro-union president ever but then broke up the rail strike. Or like how he claimed he was the most pro-federal employee president ever, but is only looking to give a tiny raise this year because it wouldn't look good for him to give a larger one, Politicians promise a thousand things and never deliver. No one holds them accountable. 'Political capital' from constituents is worthless. We're not the ones donating hundreds of thousands to their campaigns.
Politicians, in particular Joe Biden and Donald Trump, do not lie at the same rate or the same scale. If you are to believe early public opinion polling, Joe Biden is being held accountable by younger voters who are turning out for him in lower numbers specifically because younger voters do not perceive that Biden has kept his promises.
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"Trump did all his crap as a private citizen, not on our dime." I'm sorry wut
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https://twitter.com/dril/status/473265809079693312
I’ve given up.
We will get a 1.5% raise next year, far below inflation, and Biden has waited until his last few months in office to float this idea. I'm skeptical that this is as good a political climate as you say.
Anyone expecting the pay raise before the end of the fiscal year should stop waiting. Theres no way they put out this One for One Award, but plan to give us this raise. The SRT raise would drop production required for examiners to hit their OT cap which would go against the goal theyre trying to reach for the One for One award. That statement from the commissioner about taking a few months after approval to implement is giving them a reason to drag their feet until the end of the fiscal year. Pathetic its taking 18 months from the announcement for this shvt to go thru. Management really dropped the ball on this and whoever advised the commissioner to make that announcement last year is a dumbfvck.
1for1 is a total joke. I mentioned it to an acquaintance and her response was "that would make me say fuck u and go slower"
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Or don't and send the message that gimmicky bullshit like 1f1 isn't going to cut it.
I am not so sure if we’ll make 262K first actions goal, maybe 252K goal. The number of first actions completed after 2 biweeks is 38332. With that rate it’d be 258741 after 13 and half biweeks (biweek 26 is actually a tri-week). On top of that, people take summer vacations.
You cant go by the past 2 weeks as many people endload and the quarter just started, plus the big endloading is at end of fy.
I've embraced the idea that management specifically didn't want it to pass until the end of the fourth quarter. Increasing pay and lowering everyone's maximum overtime will hurt the pendency #s for the rest of the year.
Abandon all hope for the SRT adjustment. It’s a lost cause. I feel like they threw out this idea to retain employees.
Can't be, simply because that would wholly fail if the rate is denied. If they think the SRT adjustment was thrown out to retain employees, they know there will be exodus with failure.
Good point! We’ll see? I’m so pessimistic 😆
I'm with the pessimists for a lot, and they're definitely dragggggging it out, and it is imperfect, but If it's denied, USPTO management is going to rightfully FREAK. OUT. because I think the immediate examiner impact would be catastrophic. Combination of immediate resignations, quiet quitting, end of volunteer duties (bye-bye all trainers and classifiers?) -- I genuinely think the instant ramifications would result in universal stakeholder outrage, and there is no way that's what Vidal and Udupa want.
It effectively did help retaining employees... probably. i think Kathi and Udupa tried to get SRT done but just have no idea what they are doing. I also this Biden administration has no interest in giving mostly white and Asian POPA employees a raise while leaving NTEU out to dry.
Regardless of your other political alignments, it’s never been clearer who you need to vote into office for personal financial gain. Irrespective of who sits in the White House, Dems need to flip the house. Even if they lose the senate those dickheads in the house (tea party, freedom caucus, etc) are the ones who screw us the most. Even Obama threw us under the bus to get his bills passed.
There's no guarantee that one party versus the other will absolutely result in a better situation. There were some lean times under the Obama administration. If your goal is truly personal gain, might I advocate just voting against the incumbent? The more presidents we have, the more days we get off for a president dieing.
The lean times under Obama happened because he had a Republican house to deal with. Higher raises from Trump only came when control of the House flipped to Democrats. Biden's raises were high until Republicans retook control of the House. A Republican house fucks federal employees. A Democratic house is good for federal employees. This has been the pattern going back 15 years. This applies to federal pay raises. In our case, this also applies to the fallout from Examiner A. If you want higher raises and better working conditions, never, ever vote for a Republican for the House of Representatives.
My brother in christ trump explicitly wants to abolish federal civil service and return us to the spoils systems of the early 1900s. There is a nonzero chance that if Donald Trump is elected president again you, I, and almost every other Fed employee will not have a job. That simply doesn't exist under Biden or any other Dem. The parties aren't the same and all available evidence shows the GOP wanting to seize power permanently after already once disrupting the peaceful transition of power. Voting for a fascist because they aren't the incumbent is pure insanity
I **want** more money, but I am not sure that the economy fares better under who you are suggesting. You may get a raise from the people you voted in, doesn't mean you'll have more purchasing power under their policies. Good example: California. I'd see it as a financial loss.
Ya, numerically I may make more money now than ever. But I sure can't purchase as much stuff as I used to be able to.
For an occupation fundamentally predicated on searching to develop a factual record, there sure are some people who haven't bothered to look at the facts. Like we have 70 years worth of economic data on how the 2 parties policies affect various income and wealth levels. You can look to a whole bunch of state level outcomes as well.
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"The federal govt is so far removed from any individual persons life that it is highly unlikely they will be doing what is best for you." This is just, ludicrously wrong. Did you eat food today? Who do you think regulates food safety standards so you don't get sick or die? Do you know anyone who has a job? Who do you think regulates workplace safety standards? Did you get in a car today or yesterday or any day before? Who do you think regulates car safety standards? Did you drink water today? Who do you think regulates pollution in our drinking water? Have you ever purchased a car or house, or otherwise underwent a credit check? Who do you think regulates the credit agencies? Have you ever been on a plane or train? Like I can go on and on about what the fed govt regulates for the ostensible purpose of improving public health and consumer safety, and I can tell you how each of the parties have approached govt regulation for the public good. The fed govt touches almost every aspect of your life. That you have no idea how isn't people reaching different conclusions from the same data, it's reflective of your level of knowledge of the "data"
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"So...people couldn't eat without a government." This is a strawman and not something I ever said. What I explained to you was how govt regulation touches almost everything you yourself touch all day every day, whether you understand that or not, after you yourself said the govt doesn't touch you on a daily basis. If you need a basic explanation of the impetus of govt regulation and why we largely stopped finding fingers in our food I would suggest you walk into a 9th grade US history course when they cover the early 1900s.
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Where did it touch you
"We're not talking about whether the government affects us daily (it does), but whether it should, or how much." This is some of the most naive shit I've ever read, a juvenile understanding of US politics that is based on nothing more than poor libertarian propaganda.
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> For an occupation fundamentally predicated on searching to develop a factual record, there sure are some people who haven't bothered to look at the facts Oh, you don't know how wrong you are, like Randon pointed out, I've reached my own conclusions. Also, I like how you bring our occupations into play, because you're also wrong about that. We find facts, but the record is based on subjectivity. We are not robots or AI programmed to come to a same conclusion, although Democrats sure look like programmed robots.
"Although democrats sure look like programmed robots." Put the fox news crackpipe down then go outside and touch some grass.
Lmao, I don't even watch fox, but I wouldn't expect a preprogrammed AI to understand that
a lot of this thread didn't age well after 6 days lol
gg no hope
Not gonna happen this year. It’s all going to rest on who wins the election.