Frequently Asked Questions

An employee is not entitled to night differential for voluntarily working flexible hours between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

If an employee voluntarily works before 6 a.m. or after 6 p.m. while on a Maxiflex Work Schedule, they are not entitled to night differential.

Yes.  Maxiflex, like all other work schedules, is subject to supervisory approval based on organizational work requirements such as duties of the position, office coverage, or participation in collaborative projects.

Employee participation is an employment benefit and not an entitlement. Bargaining unit employees may participate in Alternative Work Schedules only under the terms provided in a negotiated agreement.

Yes. During core hours, employees must be in a working status or on leave. Working status includes time in the office as well as time teleworking for those employees on an approved telework agreement.

You have several options.

• If there are several days left in the pay period, you can work additional hours. You will need to record any time beyond 80 hours as credit hours, if you are eligible.
• You can extend your work day if you have not reached your IC/O’s total hours cap and are within flexible hours.
• You can also take leave to reach 80 hours. If you attempt to record less than 2 hours of leave on a day that doesn’t have additional regular hours, ITAS will present an error message.

Note: If you have core hours on remaining days in the pay period, you must work or be on leave during that time.

Employees are strongly encouraged to enter their projected hours of work on the Certify Timecard page in ITAS at the beginning of the pay period. That information can be updated as often as needed until the timecard is verified at the end of the pay period.

Please review the Maxiflex-specific guidance on inclement weather.

Yes, a timecard can be certified at any time during the pay period. However, it is strongly recommended that you do not certify your timecard until the end of the pay period. Once a timecard has been certified, you can no longer make changes and must request assistance from your timekeeper.

Employees that work in an alternate time zone and are on a Maxiflex Work Schedule are expected to work (or take leave) during the core hours set by their organization, at the time they are occurring in their organization's time zone. They are expected to record their hours of work/leave using their organization’s time zone.

An employee who works 8 or more hours is entitled to a 30-minute, unpaid meal period. If you are required to enter your start and stop times, ITAS will automatically deduct a meal period for you when you enter a total of 8 or more hours. For example, if you enter a start time of 8 a.m. and a stop time of 4:30 p.m. then ITAS will reflect 8 total hours worked. If you are taking an optional meal period when working less than 8 hours, you must reflect this by using a split in your schedule.

Please review the quick reference guide on this topic.

Yes.  Each year, Open Season runs from the Monday of the second full workweek in November through the Monday of the second full workweek in December.

No.  You do not need to complete new forms, but it is important to regularly review your beneficiary forms to ensure they reflect your wishes.  A relationship change does not invalidate a previously filed beneficiary form.

Yes.  All legally married same-sex spouses and children of legal same-sex marriages are now eligible family members under the FEGLI Program.  This means that employees may add coverage for a same-sex spouse and any newly eligible children under Option C. Optional coverage can only be elected during Open Season or if you have a Qualifying Life Event. FEGLI offers three types of Optional coverage:

• Option A (Standard) has a $10,000 value.
• Option B (Additional) equals one to five multiples of your annual basic pay (after rounding up to the next $1,000).
• Option C (Family) provides coverage for your spouse and eligible children. Again, you can choose one to five multiples of coverage. Each multiple is equal to $5,000 (up to a $25,000 maximum) for your spouse and $2,500 (up to a $12,500 maximum) for each eligible child.

Yes.  Legally married same-sex spouses and eligible children of legal same-sex marriages are automatically covered.

Yes. Your unmarried dependent child age 22 or over is eligible to be covered under Option C if he/she is incapable of self-support because of a physical or mental disability that existed before the child reached age 22.  

The criteria for determination are the same as those for the FEHB Program and FEDVIP. If you have already established eligibility for your child under the FEHB Program, you do not need to establish eligibility again under FEGLI.  To continue your child's eligibility under Option C once he/she reaches age 22, you must submit a doctor's certificate about your child's disability.  For additional information, contact the Benefits Office at 301-496-24046.

Yes.  Legally married same-sex spouses are now eligible family members under a Self and Family enrollment or a Self Plus One enrollment. Current enrollees can make changes to their coverage options during the annual Open Season, or after a Qualifying Life Event.

Yes.  An employee who is enrolled in FSAFEDS may request reimbursement for eligible health care expenses incurred by a legally married same-sex spouse or eligible child. In addition, childcare for a child of an enrollee’s same-sex spouse is eligible under a Dependent Care FSA. Questions should be directed to FSAFEDS at 1-877-372-3337/ TTY 1-800-952-0450.  

Yes, same-sex spouses are now eligible family members under a Self and Family enrollment.  In addition, the children of same-sex marriages will be treated just as those of opposite-sex marriages and are eligible family members according to the same eligibility guidelines. This includes coverage for children of same-sex spouses as stepchildren. 

Yes.  Legally married same-sex spouses of current employees and active members of the uniformed services have 60 days following their marriage date to apply for FLTCIP coverage with abbreviated underwriting.  After 60 days, applications will be subject to full underwriting. To apply for coverage, contact the Long Term Care Partners directly at 1-800-582-3337.

Notify your health carrier that you have a newly eligible family member. Coverage for your same-sex spouse will begin immediately. Your carrier may request supporting documentation to verify eligibility.

Yes.  Legally married same-sex spouses of retiring employees are now eligible for a survivor annuity.  Retirees who are in legal same-sex marriages will have two years from the date of the Supreme Court’s decision (i.e., until June 26, 2015) to inform OPM that they have a legal marriage that now qualifies for recognition and elect any changes to their retirement benefits based on their recognized marital status.  

You must submit a Health Benefits Election Form, SF-2809, along with supporting documentation to support eligibility to the Benefits and Payroll Liaison Branch (BPLB), Bldg 31/Rm B3C23.  Your election will be effective at the beginning of the first pay period after your enrollment form is received in BPLB.

No.  Beneficiary forms are not required if the order of precedence meets your needs:  

Order of Precedence:  If there is no beneficiary designated, to your widow or widower; if none, to your child or children, with the share of any deceased child distributed among descendants of that child (a court will usually have to appoint a guardian to receive payment for a minor child); if none of the above, to your parents in equal shares or the entire amount to your surviving parent; if none of the above, to the executor or administrator of your estate;  if none of the above, to your other next of kin as determined under the laws of the state where you lived.

If you wish to designate a different order, you must complete Designation of Beneficiary forms.  If you do complete Beneficiary forms, it is your responsibility to keep them up-to-date to reflect your current wishes.

To access the myPay system, you will need your login and password. If you have forgotten your login or password, click the "Forgot Your Login ID?" or "Forgot or Need a Password?" link on the left side of the myPay screen. Using this method, your Password can be e-mailed to you if you pre-registered your e-mail address, or it can be mailed to your current home address of record within 7 to 10 business days.

If you encounter problems with your login and/or password or technical issues using myPay, contact the DFAS Centralized Customer Support Unit toll-free at 1-888-332-7411.