{"id":73025,"date":"2023-05-18T21:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T21:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/05\/18\/va-hopes-to-end-mandatory-overtime-for-its-claims-processors\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:29:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:29:35","slug":"va-hopes-to-end-mandatory-overtime-for-its-claims-processors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/home\/2023\/05\/18\/va-hopes-to-end-mandatory-overtime-for-its-claims-processors\/","title":{"rendered":"VA hopes to end mandatory overtime for its claims processors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Veterans Affairs officials<\/a> say they want to end their six-year-old policy of mandatory overtime to lessen employee burnout. But it won\u2019t happen right away, because the number of VA claims keeps growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2017, thousands of Veterans Benefits Administration employees have been required to work two to four hours extra each week to help keep pace with the workload of incoming claims. Department leaders said this week that they will suspend the mandate in July and August, to reduce stress and provide flexibility for summer vacation plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For department leaders, the overtime issue shows the difficult balance leaders need to navigate between the potential risk of making veterans wait longer for cases<\/a> to be settled and the potential risk of working staff so hard to keep up with demand that they start to leave in droves.<\/p>\n\n\n\t