Furlough News

This article examines 10 structural safeguards in Coast Guard Suspension and Revocation (S&R) Proceedings that ensure Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decisional independence. These safeguards separate potential agency influences from the ALJ decision making process and are critical to mariner due process and fundamental fairness. We will start with an overview of Coast Guard S&R proceedings, followed by brief discussions of the Administrative Procedure Act, Administrative Law Judges, and U.S. Office of Personnel Management oversight.

A Malaysian businessman at the center of a major U.S. Navy bribery scandal has escaped house arrest ahead of his impending sentencing by cutting off his monitoring anklet, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Monday.Leonard Glenn Francis, popularly known as "Fat Leonard," cut off his GPS anklet some time Sunday morning, and when police went to his home they found it empty, the newspaper reported, citing Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo.Prosecutors said that in exchange for contracts Francis plied Navy officers with cash…

The global pandemic news has been horrific and certainly an historic moment in domestic and worldwide shipping. For many businesses, the action was simple; hang the “closed” sign, furlough or layoff staff and wait for the approval to re-open. Or not, depending how long the virus will linger and continue to cause hundreds or thousands of deaths and rising numbers of cases. Make no mistake, there will be many businesses associated with our industry that will not return. The damages will be far beyond bars and restaurant businesses.

Buckley McAllister, President of McAllister Towing & Transportation, weighs in on the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on the maritime sector.McAllister Towing & Transportation is a long and storied organization based in New York, the original U.S. COVID-19 hot spot that has been transformed from the city that never sleeps into a surreal ghost town. Describe the view from your perspective.All McAllister administrative personnel who can work from home are doing so. Luckily, most office personnel do most of their work online, so the need for actual visits to the office are infrequent.

Swedish ferry company Stena Line said Monday it will furlough 600 employees and make 150 redundant in UK and Ireland due to the COVID-19 pandemic's damaging effect on travel and transport across Europe.The announcement comes several weeks after the company laid off hundreds in Scandinavia and the Baltics as the coronavirus crisis weighs heavily on travel bookings and freight volumes. Already the company has reduced its number of sailings on several routes, and several vessels…

One of the world's busiest cruise ports announced it will furlough some of its employees following a shutdown of cruise line operations due to the coronavirus outbreak, Port Canaveral announced on Friday.The Florida seaport, which remains operational for the flow of commercial cargo and to support naval operations, said it will temporarily furlough employees dedicated to its cruise operations and recreation business segments whose job functions are not required for current operations.The…

What will COVID-19 mean for the offshore wind industry? An industry not yet spinning on its own.Epitomized by the roller coaster ride that defined the stock market over the last few weeks, unpredictability has emerged as one of the few certainties of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. Every industry has seen the effects of the pandemic, from hospitality, to travel, and even to the renewable energy sector. Indeed, even though the US offshore wind industry is not yet fully established…

On December 22, 2018, a continuing resolution passed by Congress to fund a portion of the U.S. Government into the 2019 fiscal year expired and was not renewed resulting in a partial federal government shutdown. Among the affected Executive Departments are the Department of Homeland Security (which includes the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection), the Department of Transportation (which includes the Maritime Administration), the Department of Interior (which includes the Bureau of Environment and Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM))…

The Federal Maritime Commission is closed effective Wednesday, December 26, 2018 as part of the partial federal government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations. The Commission will resume normal operations when appropriations legislation is enacted and the federal government reopens.With the exceptions of Acting Chairman Michael A. Khouri and Commissioner Rebecca Dye, who are Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed officials, all Commission employees have been placed on furlough and are prohibited by law from performing any duties during the shutdown.

Rear Admiral Paul Thomas develops and maintains policy, standards and program alignment for waterways management, navigation safety, boating, commercial vessels, ports and facilities, merchant mariner credentialing, vessel documentation, marine casualty investigation, inspection and port state control activities. He serves as the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy overseeing three Coast Guard directorates: Inspections and Compliance, Marine Transportation Systems, and Commercial Regulations and Standards. A specialist in Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection, he has served at the Marine Safety Center in Washington, DC and many others before that. His other tours include, among others, service as Commanding Officer of USCGC CAPE ROMAIN.

Capt. Howard Goldman relieved Capt. Todd Cramer as commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport during a change of command ceremony on Friday, Nov. 14. A naval submariner originally from Baltimore, Md., Goldman is a 1987 graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas, with a bachelor of science degreein mechanical engineering and a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval War College with a master’s degree in International Security and Strategic Studies. He also…

A statement by Secretary Hagel on the Pay Our Military Act, indicates that most, but not all, DoD civilians placed on emergency furlough during the government shutdown are to be asked to return to work. "Immediately after President Obama signed the Pay Our Military Act into law, I directed DoD's Acting General Counsel to determine whether we could reduce the number of civilian personnel furloughed due to the shutdown. The Department of Defense consulted closely with the Department of Justice, which expressed its view that the law does not permit a blanket recall of all civilians.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (IMF) are seeking shipyard volunteers to help overcome a staffing shortage of more than 600 mechanics, a result of the Navy-mandated hiring freeze. Despite being exempt from Defense Department-wide employee furloughs, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and IMF is struggling to minimize the hiring shortfall on planned availabilities for the submarine USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23), the Trident ballistic missile submarine USS Kentucky (SSBN 737)…

Rear Admiral Joseph A. Servidio is Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy overseeing Inspections and Compliance, Marine Transportation Systems, and Commercial Regulations and Standards. Theses directorates include waterways management, navigation and boating safety, commercial vessels, ports and facilities, merchant mariner credentialing, vessel documentation, marine casualty investigation, inspections, and port state control. His previous assignments include numerous postings in marine inspection, marine safety and investigation billets. Servidio is a graduate of the U.

As you are fully aware, the Department of Defense is facing a historic shortfall in our budget for the current fiscal year. This is the result of current law that went into effect March 1. It imposes deep across-the-board cuts on DoD and other federal agencies. Combined with higher than expected wartime operating costs, we are now short more than $30 billion in our operation and maintenance (O&M) accounts – which are the funds that we use to pay most civilian employees, maintain our military readiness, and respond to global contingencies. The Department has been doing everything possible to reduce this shortfall while ensuring we can defend the nation, sustain wartime operations, and preserve DoD's most critical asset – our world-class civilian and military personnel.

Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation ranking member Garamendi warns resources will be severely slashed, significantly hampering maritime commerce. During the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee hearing yesterday, Ranking Member Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield) exposed that cutbacks to basic maritime services caused by the sequester will significantly hit our economy. Under questioning from Congressman Garamendi, U.S. Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations…

A bipartisan coalition urge Congress to pass a Defense Appropriation Bill to avoid another Continuing Resolution (CR) & Sequestration. A bipartisan coalition of labor unions and maritime business owners affiliated with the Shipbuilding Council of America have jointly sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass a defense appropriations bill and avoid sequestration cuts before the Navy begins widespread lay-offs and cancellation of ship maintenance on February 15, 2013. •    Up to 46,000 Department of Defense civilian employees will be immediately laid off. •    Another 800,000 workers will face furlough days resulting in a 20 percent pay cut. •    More than 100,000 people could lose jobs in the shipbuilding and repair industry and our supply chain.

1830-Navy officers, under furlough from the Navy until April 1832, were given commissions in the Revenue Service. 1941-CGC Modoc sighted the German battleship Bismarck while the cutter searched for survivors of a convoy southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland.  British Swordfish torpedo planes from the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Victorious circled Modoc as they flew towards the German battleship's position.  The Modoc's crew then spotted the flashes caused by anti-aircraft fire from the Bismarck and then sighted British warships on the opposite horizon.  The cutter then maneuvered to avoid contact with any of the warships and managed to steam out of the area unscathed. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) announced on Jan. 6 that it will mothball its Riverview boat manufacturing facility near Knoxville, Tenn., and take additional actions aimed at reducing its work force, production and expenses. One of three manufacturing facilities in the Knoxville area, Riverview makes Sea Ray boats and will wind down production during the first quarter of the year. To better utilize Brunswick's overall boat making capacity, production at Riverview will be moved to nearby plants in Knoxville and Vonore, Tenn., which will remain in operation. In addition, production of certain models will be transferred to Brunswick's Palm Coast manufacturing facility in Florida, and a Brunswick plant in Reynosa, Mexico.

On Nov. 13, Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) announced that it will transfer production of Trophy offshore fishing boats made at its plant in Cumberland, Md., to another Brunswick facility in Ashland City, Tenn. The shift will precipitate ceasing production at the Cumberland manufacturing facility by the end of 2008, eliminating approximately 115 production and support positions. "As we deal with the global economic downturn and its impact on recreational marine markets, we are continuing to shrink our North American manufacturing footprint," Dustan E. McCoy, Brunswick chairman and chief executive officer, said. "This decision is no reflection upon the Cumberland work force or product, but the result of our need to develop a more efficient manufacturing footprint.

The Norwich Bulletin reported that Electric Boat’s reduction in jobs this year can be achieved through attrition and furloughs, rather than laying off employees. More than 1,400 jobs were eliminated at EB this year, far fewer than the initial projections a year ago suggesting as many as 2,400 jobs might be lost this year. Of those jobs that were cut, more than 600 came from a series of layoffs throughout the year and the remaining 800 through attrition. Casey noted, however, an increase in design work has allowed the company to recall all 135 designers and engineers laid off last March. Democratic Congressman-elect Joe Courtney, who defeated Simmons in November, said Tuesday EB management and its work force deserve credit for their efforts to mitigate the loss of jobs.