Federal Managers Association

In the News

• Congressional committees tackle bills governing telework, marijuana and labor unions - September 18, 2024

• By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

  Congressional committees dedicated to federal workforce issues were busy Wednesday, as both panels advanced bills impacting federal personnel policy via markup hearings.
  
  On the Senate side, lawmakers on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 12-2 in favor of the Telework Transparency Act, (S. 4043) a measure introduced last spring by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, that requires that federal agencies publish their telework policies on their websites. It also requires agencies to establish automated systems to track employees’ use of telework and its impact on federal building occupancy rates and agency performance.
  
  And the lawmakers voted 9-5 to advance the Dismantling Outdated Obstacles and Barriers to Individual Employment—or DOOBIE—Act (S. 4711), another measure sponsored by Peters, who chairs the panel. The bill would codify changes recently implemented by the Biden administration to federal hiring and security clearance policies that clarify that past marijuana consumption cannot be sole reason for denial of a federal security clearance or federal job application.

  To read the full article, click here.

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