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Can anybody here who has done two clerkships recently shed some light on what needs to be done in the way of paperwork, background check (if that's even necessary), and employee benefits stuff when moving between two clerkships? Do the judges themselves need to be involved or is this strictly an exercise where the two HR departments correspond with each other. Any info would be much appreciated.

I went from a federal clerkship to a federal job, so not the same thing, but I don't see any reason why the judges would be involved - my judge wasn't involved in any of those things for the clerkship to start with. I would imagine it would all be HR. The only thing a judge would be involved in, to my knowledge, is signing on to moving you up on the payscale once you hit the right amount of experience.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed May 27, 2020 12:39 pm

Can anybody here who has done two clerkships recently shed some light on what needs to be done in the way of paperwork, background check (if that's even necessary), and employee benefits stuff when moving between two clerkships? Do the judges themselves need to be involved or is this strictly an exercise where the two HR departments correspond with each other. Any info would be much appreciated.

Maybe two months before your clerkship starts, HR for your new court will reach out with a packet that will greatly resemble the one you've already completed. Once you fill that out, it seemed like everything else was largely handled behind the scenes. It depends somewhat on how long the transition is between your clerkships. Because mine was like two weeks, they had to treat it like I left the government and then rejoined. This meant I needed to re-enroll in insurance too, although the government picks up the tab on the month following your separation, so I had no gap in coverage.

Yes, I had to reenroll in coverage too, because I had about a 3 week gap between DC and COA. The two HR departments were entirely independent, so I had to fill out everything again. But it could be because my DC was outside the circuit in which I clerked?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed May 27, 2020 1:24 pm

Yes, I had to reenroll in coverage too, because I had about a 3 week gap between DC and COA. The two HR departments were entirely independent, so I had to fill out everything again. But it could be because my DC was outside the circuit in which I clerked?

I think the HR departments are still separate - my HR for my DCt clerkship was for the DCt only, not part of the broader circuit.

HR will handle everything. Judges don't need to be involved.

I would strongly recommend talking to HR about what you need to do/not do to keep your benefits, pay bump, etc. A friend of mine took a week vacation in between clerkships and ended up not getting a JSP increase because of it, which was about a $12k mistake, I think.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed May 27, 2020 1:50 pm

HR will handle everything. Judges don't need to be involved.

I would strongly recommend talking to HR about what you need to do/not do to keep your benefits, pay bump, etc. A friend of mine took a week vacation in between clerkships and ended up not getting a JSP increase because of it, which was about a $12k mistake, I think.

Your friend should have gotten bumped to the next JSP once he acquired the additional week of service. There's a form to fill out, but at least my HR was very much on-top of grade increases based on experience. So you'd get paid at the lower rate for 1-2 pay periods, but you wouldn't be stuck at JS-11 or whatever for your whole term.

Unless it had something to do with filling a JSP-14 slot or something, and having it instead filled by a co-clerk?

Does anyone have experience with step (as opposed to grade) increases between clerkships?

I'm currently a JSP 13-1 and understand I'll automatically get bumped up to a JSP 13-2 on my one year anniversary. My last day at this clerkship falls on my one year anniversary, then I have a one week break until I start my clerkship at another court. Does anybody know if I stay at JSP 13-2 or drop back down to 13-1 because of the break in service?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed May 27, 2020 1:50 pm

HR will handle everything. Judges don't need to be involved.

This is incorrect relative to pay raises. While HR will guide you through the process and paperwork, your judge will need to sign off on the raise. Almost all judges are happy to sign off on the increase, but it is discretionary.

Internationalist wrote: ↑

Wed May 27, 2020 3:32 pm

Does anyone have experience with step (as opposed to grade) increases between clerkships?

I'm currently a JSP 13-1 and understand I'll automatically get bumped up to a JSP 13-2 on my one year anniversary. My last day at this clerkship falls on my one year anniversary, then I have a one week break until I start my clerkship at another court. Does anybody know if I stay at JSP 13-2 or drop back down to 13-1 because of the break in service?

My understanding is that you'd remain a JSP 13-2. I've never heard of anyone going backward on the steps.