Open Recommendations

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations develop a formal process to prevent the duplication of awards for the same contribution or achievement.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations establish procedures to validate the accuracy of award processing and ensure compliance with the OPM Operating Manual.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations implement reconciliation and validation procedures for any office not using the performance award tool to prevent duplicate awards or overlapping appraisal periods.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations provide guidance for prorating awards based on an employee’s work schedule and duration of employment during the appraisal period.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations implement validation controls within the performance award tool to ensure that cash awards fall within the policy-defined limits for each performance rating.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations track time-off awards to maintain compliance with the leave year limit and monitor their impact on productivity.

The Chief, Appeals, the National Taxpayer Advocate, and the Commissioner, TE/GE Division, should discuss the 29 instances of noncompliance with RRA 98 § 1204(b) due to missing or unsigned documents with the responsible managers to ensure that they understand the retention standard documentation requirements.

The Chief, Appeals, the National Taxpayer Advocate, and the Commissioner, TE/GE Division, should discuss the 37 instances where the retention standard was not acknowledged timely with the responsible managers, so employees are aware of the standard to treat taxpayers fairly and equitably.

The Chief, Appeals and the Commissioner, TE/GE Division, should discuss the six instances of the “Not Applicable” retention standard ratings with the responsible managers so they understand that all employees should be rated on the retention standard.

The Human Capital Officer should revise the quarterly self-certification questions to clarify the language used for the responses to increase the accuracy of the certification results and potential ROTERs reported.

Develop procedures to ensure survey responses are properly completed and reviewed in a timely manner and that managers are held accountable for when units are closed without valid justification.

Develop an automated tool for notifying field staff in real-time when units open late or close early and sending justification requests to local staff.

Develop system capabilities for recording, analyzing, reporting, and retaining data on units that open late or close early.

Develop procedures to ensure justification responses are properly completed and reviewed in a timely manner and that managers are held accountable when units open late or close early.

Augment suspension-related policies to include strategies for periodically and regularly communicating suspension statuses to impacted customers.

Establish accountability mechanisms, such as timeliness targets, for resolving suspensions in a timely manner and for monitoring performance.

Develop mechanisms to require Postmasters to properly update the status of suspended units to be displayed publicly on USPS.com.

Rec. 1.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director, Defense Health Agency, develop and implement a comprehensive plan to consolidate Medical Affirmative Claims program activities from the Military Departments to the Defense Health Agency. The comprehensive plan should include objectives and goals of the transition; identification of barriers or challenges to the transition and strategies to address them; and a schedule with key milestones to complete the transition of legal support office personnel to the Defense Health Agency.

Rec. 1.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director, Defense Health Agency, develop and implement a comprehensive plan to consolidate Medical Affirmative Claims program activities from the Military Departments to the Defense Health Agency. The comprehensive plan should include objectives and goals of the transition; identification of barriers or challenges to the transition and strategies to address them; and a schedule with key milestones to complete the development and implementation of standardized positions in the Uniform Business Office and legal support offices.

Rec. 1.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director, Defense Health Agency, develop and implement a comprehensive plan to consolidate Medical Affirmative Claims program activities from the Military Departments to the Defense Health Agency. The comprehensive plan should include objectives and goals of the transition; identification of barriers or challenges to the transition and strategies to address them; and a schedule with key milestones to complete the implementation of a common software platform for tracking and processing Medical Affirmative Claims.

Rec. 1.d: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director, Defense Health Agency, develop and implement a comprehensive plan to consolidate Medical Affirmative Claims program activities from the Military Departments to the Defense Health Agency. The comprehensive plan should include objectives and goals of the transition; identification of barriers or challenges to the transition and strategies to address them; and a schedule with key milestones to develop and implement common legal policies for the Medical Affirmative Claims program.

Complete an analysis and realignment of processing operations staff to improve efficiency and meet clearance time targets at the Omaha Processing and Distribution Center.

Implement a plan for supervisors to hold employees accountable for their performance, promote supervisor engagement with employees, and provide supervisor training to the remaining two supervisors at the Omaha Processing and Distribution Center.

Develop and implement a plan to verify thorough preventative maintenance is performed on all mail processing equipment at the Omaha Processing and Distribution Center.

Develop and implement a plan to verify employees attach accurate placards on mail transportation equipment at the Omaha Processing and Distribution Center.