Frequently Asked Questions Pertaining To DMAT Membership, Employer Sponsorship and Training
Does a DMAT member get paid? Yes – only while on a federal deployment (authorized under a travel authorization) and/or for non-deployment work authorized by the team Commander within NDMS (National Disaster Medical System) budget guidelines. DMAT members, following a formal federal employment process, become "intermittent" federal employees. Federal pay grades are determined during the federal employment process and ranges are preset for all team positions. Otherwise the time is often shared between the person’s volunteer hours and their employer.
Who covers on-the-job injuries when deployed and when they are training? Injuries are covered for team members as federal employees during deployments and during approved functional exercises (2 per year) but not during didactic training or team meetings.
Can the employer of a deployed team member call back personnel and receive reimbursement for overtime as an organization? No – The federal back-fill policy does not allow for reimbursement to team member employers for overtime expenses incurred during the person’s DMAT deployment.
How much training is required and do we pay for their training? There are required pre-deployment and core training requirements and team meeting and exercise attendance requirements. There is no direct cost to the employer for the training per se however the time for the employee(s) to attend is expected. There is no means to reimburse sponsoring employers for the didactic and on-line training and meeting time. Most employer sponsors TDA/TDY their DMAT members for the required meetings and training programs. Every team meetings will have a training component.
Is there an agreement that each employer sponsor must sign? There is no “mutual aid” agreement per se however every team member is required to have employer sponsorship (the level of that sponsorship varies from employer to employer) and is usually worked out between the DMAT team member and employer sponsor. This requires the team member’s department head or supervisor to sign the local application for team selection.
Are employers required to allow DMAT members to deploy out of the area for days or weeks? DMAT members, once federally activated for deployment, fall under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). In general terms, a team member must give the employer notice (if possible) if a deployment is about to occur, the employer must provide for a leave of absence for a federally activated team member and the team member must be re-employed following a deployment. We strongly encourage these issues to be addressed well in advance and that is why we require an employer's acknowledgement and support for those who wish to become DMAT team members. During periods of on-call status or whenever a deployment seems possible, we strongly encourage all members to discuss the possibility of deployment with their employer and families, to make arrangements for work coverage, to get personal affairs in order, etc. More information on specific USERRA rights can be found at http://www.esgr.org/userra.asp.
Why can't federal employees be considered for DMAT membership? Although efforts have been made to develop and execute interagency agreements between NDMS/DHHS and other federal departments and agencies, these efforts have not worked out. Until such time as interagency agency agreements are developed, DMAT teams have been advised to not process applications from those who are already a federal employees.
Anticipated Time Commitment Discussion for VA-1 DMAT Applicants
The time commitment to the team is anticipated to include a required number of the monthly meetings, training and exercises each year. These meetings are designed in a three-hour format with 1 hour for business and/or one-to-three hours for team education. Meetings and training are scheduled for the 3rd Tuesday of every-other month from 1300-1600 hours. Additional dates are scheduled for new member orientation (two 4-hour orientation programs required) and functional exercises. One or two functional exercises each year will encompass at least 1 full day of activity each and at least one night in an austere environment. Any required NDMS (National Disaster Medical System) team member training is available on-line. Our team policy requires that required NDMS Training be completed within 90 days after appointment by NDMS (after receipt of DMAT Training login and password). The on-line training can be completed from any internet-connected computer at a time of each team member’s convenience.
VA-1 DMAT is currently classified as an “augmentation” team which means we support the NDMS program by providing members in a 5-person strike team configuration when requested, or we provide any number of members to supplement another team who needs to fill voids in certain positions. A deployment will “federalize” team members selected for the deployment and place them on the federal payroll for the period from activation through return home. The length for a deployment may be from several days up to one week for physicians and up to two weeks for all other members.
All NDMS teams stand an on-call schedule which is currently once every five months for VA-1 DMAT. During these months, VA-1 will be “up” on-call and members are expected to report their availability for deployment and deploy if needed. The manner of DMAT activation occurs in 3 steps, currently:
1) The team is placed on an advisory status by NDMS and notified that a disaster has occurred or is imminent. Team members are requested to monitor the disaster situation via the local/national news and through their local team.
2) The team is placed on an alert status by NDMS in a 6-24 hour window. Team members are polled internally to see who can deploy within 12-24 hours.
3) The team is activated for a mission deployment – current time to departure for a mission is a maximum of 6 hours. This includes response by team members to a designated mobilization point with their personal gear, mission briefings, travel assignments, equipment loading and departure.
This should helpful to you as you consider applying for a position on VA-1 DMAT in the context of the volunteer/employer-group sponsored time involved.
Revised 01/02/2009
