Washington, D.C. 20530

August 2, 2005

MEMORANDUM FOR BUREAU HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICERS

Attached is a copy of a memorandum signed by the Assistant Attorney General for Administration concerning the Department of Justice抯 (DOJ) policy to waive the requirement that employees pay their share of the Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) premiums when called to active duty for more than 30 days. Previously the Department抯 policy supported paying the employee抯 share of the FEHB premium for 18 months.

Since September 14, 2001, when the President signed Executive Order 13223, ordering the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to active duty for a period of not more than 24 months, increasing numbers of DOJ employees have been ordered to serve on active military duty for more than 18 months. While the period of time an agency could pay FEHB premiums for certain employees on active duty was specified in FEHB law, the length of extended coverage was not. OPM recommended amending 5 USC �05(a) to give 24 months of coverage to employees called to active duty.

Effective immediately, the Department extends its uniform policy, and authorizes DOJ components to pay the employee share of FEHB premiums, up from 18 months to 24 months, for those DOJ employees who are called to active military duty for more than 30 days. This policy is being made effective retroactive to the beginning of the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after September 9, 2001.

To be eligible to continue FEHB coverage under 5 U.S.C. �05(a) and for payment of the employee抯 share of the FEHB premium under 5 U.S.C. �06(e)(3), the employee must:

1. Be enrolled in FEHB and elect to continue that enrollment.


2. Be a member of a Reserve component of the armed forces. The Reserve components are: 1) the Army National Guard of the United States; 2) the Army Reserve; 3) the Naval Reserve; 4) the Marine Corps Reserve; 5) the Air National Guard of the United States; 6) the Air Force Reserve; and, 7) the Coast Guard Reserve.


3. Be called or ordered to active duty (voluntarily or involuntarily) in support of a contingency operation as defined in 10 U.S.C. �1(a)(13). Due to mission changes, the following list of contingency operations may not be comprehensive over time:
   
   • Bosnia (Operations Joint Endeavor, Joint Guard and Joint Forge)
   • Iraqi Crisis (Operations Southern Watch, Northern Watch)
   • Kosovo (Operation Allied Force)
   • September 11 Terrorist Attacks (Operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle and Iraqi Freedom)
   
   
4. Be placed on leave without pay or separated from service to perform active duty.


5. Serve on active duty for a period of more than 30 consecutive days.

If you or your staff need additional information or assistance, please contact Jamie Higgins, of my staff抯 Workforce Effectiveness Group. She may be reached on (202) 514-5781, or by electronic mail at Jamie.A.Higgins@usdoj.gov. Questions on systems processing should be directed to Terry Cook, Finance Staff, on (202) 616-6328.

Attachments

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