Our negotiated contract contains requirements and guidelines for employee performance evaluations. One of these requirements is that employees will be given SMART goals that they are evaluated on. Department of Veterans’ Affairs scheduler and NAPE Member Gina Johnson was not evaluated on any goals, and her supervisor failed to complete 70% of her evaluation. Gina was denied her two step pay increase on July 1, 2021, because the agency factored the supervisor’s blank portion of the evaluation as a score of 0. Our contract states that when an employee does not receive an evaluation, they are to be considered satisfactory.
When Gina realized she did not receive her two-step pay increase in July, she reached out to NAPE right away, and a grievance was filed with the help of our field services team. The grievance challenged the incomplete evaluation and denial of step increases because Gina was given no SMART goals for 2020, leaving 70% of her evaluation blank, with no score. NAPE argued that if our members receive an incomplete evaluation, they should be considered satisfactory.
After proceeding through the grievance process for a number of months, NDVA agreed to settle the grievance and increase Gina’s salary by two steps retroactively to July 1. If you have questions about your pay or your performance evaluation, reach out to a steward or contact us for help right away – strict deadlines apply.