In a year in which veterans' disability claims backlog ballooned by 155 percent, more than two-thirds of claims processors shared $5.5 million in bonuses, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management. The more complex claims were often set aside by workers so they could keep their jobs, meet performance standards or, in some cases, collect extra pay, said VA claims processors and union representatives. Now they fear the VA’s aggressive new push to finish all one-year-old claims by Oct. 1 — and eliminate the entire backlog by 2015 — could continue the emphasis on quantity over quality. More [BJS]
