BIA INCIDENT BUSINESS

1. BIA INCIDENT BUSINESS • Transition to Employee Common Identifier (ECI) • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

2. Employee Common Identifier (ECI) • 10 Digit number to identify casual personnel • Replaces use of Social Security Numbers on the OF-288 • Addresses Personally Identifiable Information (PII) concerns • Will be used in I-Suite as casual’s personal identifier ECI TRANSITION

3. General Information • Beginning January 1, 2014, SSN’s will no longer be used on the OF-288 • ECI’s will be the only identification number used in I-Suite • Existing casuals that have been paid already have an ECI number generated • New casuals will have an ECI number generated as hiring information is entered into FPPS ECI TRANSITION

4. Summary of Responsibilities • Hiring Units: Obtain ECI’s from the Payment Center and relay to casuals • Payment Center: Generate ECI’s for new casuals and provide ECI’s to Hiring Units • Casual Employees: Maintain and provide ECI’s for I-Suite and OF-288’s • Incident Management Personnel: Input casuals ECI’s into I-Suite when on incidents ECI TRANSITION

5. Hiring Unit Responsibilities • Submit hiring information to Payment Center to generate ECI for new casuals (Because of PII concerns, please DO NOT email requests) • Approving Official may call the Payment Center to have ECI generated via phone • Approving Official must provide casuals: Name, SSN and Hired-At location • Approving Official may obtain ECIs for multiple casuals by submitting a list via secured fax • Provide ECI information to casuals when mobilized to incident • Upon return from incident; ensure all OF-288s include ECI prior to sending to Payment Center ECI TRANSITION

6. Payment Center Responsibilities • For Existing Casuals : • Provide ECI’s to Hiring Units via secured fax • Provide ECI’s to Hiring Units over the phone • For New Casuals : • Enter pre-hire profile documents into FPPS to generate an ECI • Enter fax or verbal hiring information into FPPS to generate an ECI ECI TRANSITION

7. Casual Employees Responsibilities • If the casual does not know their ECI, they will contact the Hiring Unit for the information • If Hiring Unit is unavailable to provide ECI, the casual will contact the Payment Center • Provide ECI to Finance Section for I-Suite input when on incidents ECI TRANSITION

8. Electronic Funds Transfer • On March 1, 2013, the U.S. Treasury implemented the requirement for direct deposit and will discontinue the issuance of paper checks. • Expected implementation is April 11, 2014 • If the casual doesn’t have a direct deposit, there are three options: • Electronic Transfer Account (ETA) • US Debit Card • Waiver Request ECI TRANSITION

9. ElectronicFunds Transfer • Casuals may apply for a waiver if electronic funds transfer would impose a hardship because of the individual’s inability to manage an account at a financial institution or a US Debit card account due to: • Mental impairment • Living in a remote geographical location lacking the infrastructure to support electronic financial transactions • The Electronic Funds Transfer Waiver Request form must be completed by the casual and approved by an Agency Official; then submitted to the Payment Center for processing. • The waiver process must be completed and submitted annually. ECI TRANSITION

10. Information Resources Bureau of Indian Affairs: http://www.bia.gov/nifc/operations/IHP/ADFirefighters/index.htm Casual Payment Center: http://www.nifc.gov/programs/programs_PaymentCenter.html