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- Senate COVID Relief Bill Retains 15 Weeks of Paid Leave for Feds Despite GOP Opposition - March 5, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveSenate Democrats on Thursday unveiled their amendments to the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which still contains a provision that would provide federal employees with up to 15 weeks of additional paid leave for COVID-related matters.
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- 3.2% Federal Pay Raise Bill Appears in Senate - March 4, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveA Democratic senator on Wednesday formally introduced a bill that would provide an average 3.2% pay raise to civilian federal employees in 2022, mirroring legislation already under consideration in the House.
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- Neera Tanden Withdraws Nomination for OMB Director - March 3, 2021
- By Courtney Buble, Government ExecutiveNeera Tanden withdrew her nomination to be Office of Management and Budget director on Tuesday evening after several senators said they wouldn’t vote for her.
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- Senate Will Soon Consider Extra Paid Leave and Ethics Crackdown for Feds - March 2, 2021
- By Eric Katz, Government ExecutiveHouse Democrats have moved sweeping pieces of legislation in recent days that will have significant impacts on the federal workforce, including by boosting paid leave and placing tighter restrictions on employees’ pre- and post-government work.
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- Legislation Reintroduced to Target Tax Delinquent Federal Employees - March 1, 2021
- By Ian Smith, FedSmithLawmakers are again making an effort to target federal employees with seriously delinquent tax debts.
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- Biden Rescinds Memo Granting Defense Secretary Authority to Ban Unions - February 26, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutivePresident Biden on Wednesday evening rescinded one of former President Trump’s more controversial, albeit unimplemented, workforce initiatives, stripping Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin of the authority to strip Pentagon employees of the right to unionize.
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- Democrats Introduce Slew of Bills to Strengthen Protections for Federal Workforce - February 25, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveDemocratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a series of bills aimed at improving protections for federal employees and expanding opportunities for those who belong to minority groups to advance in the national security sector.
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- All TSP Funds (Except One) Up in 2021 - February 24, 2021
- By Ralph R. Smith, FedSmithSo far in 2021, returns for investors in the Thrift Savings Plan have been positive. Through February 19, 2021, most of the TSP core funds are ahead for the year. The C Fund is up 4.23%, the S Fund is up 13.07% and the I Fund is up 4.05%. For the bond funds, the G Fund is up 0.13%.
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- Railroad Retirement Board taps Bitzer as HR director - February 23, 2021
- We are proud of FMA's own Nancy Bitzer at the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, who is featured in this article covering her appointment as director of human resources. We are excited to hear from Ms. Bitzer at our virtual national convention in March.Progressive RailroadingThe U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has appointed Nancy Bitzer director of human resources.Bitzer most recently served as the RRB's chief of human services/labor relations, a position she held since since September 2013, RRB officials said in a press release.
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- House Lawmakers Want Federal Government to Handle Vaccinations for DC Area Federal Employees - February 23, 2021
- By Ian Smith, FedSmithA group of lawmakers in the House are asking the federal government to be in charge of distributing COVID-19 vaccinations to federal employees in the Washington, DC area.
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- OPM Implements Recent Pay and Benefits Changes - February 22, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday reminded agencies of changes to federal workers’ pay and benefits that were enacted into law as part of a pair of packages in late 2020, chief among them technical corrections to ensure that a new paid parental leave policy applied to all federal workers.
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- DoD has vaccinated nearly 300,000 civilians for COVID-19 - February 18, 2021
- Jessie Bur, Federal TimesThe Department of Defense is approaching the one million milestone for COVID-19 vaccination doses, as Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, the Joint Staff’s vice director for operations, confirmed to members of the House Armed Services Committee Feb. 17.
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- Extra Paid Leave Proposed for Feds Who Use Up Sick Leave Due to Pandemic - February 17, 2021
- FedWeekThe House is moving toward creating a new central fund that would provide additional paid leave time for federal employees with personal or family medical or care issues related to the pandemic that prevent them from working, but who have no sick leave remaining.
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- OPM Clarifies Weather Closure Policy Amid Maximum Telework - February 16, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday urged agencies to ensure that all federal employees know and understand the policies on closures for inclement weather and other emergencies, particularly in light of the “maximum telework” posture adopted across much of the federal government during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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- Federal Agencies Are Increasingly Avoiding Normal Hiring Procedures to Bring On New Staff Quickly - February 12, 2021
- By Eric Katz, Government ExecutiveFederal agencies are using special, quicker mechanisms to hire a growing proportion of their workforces, leaving in question processes embedded in civil service laws to ensure fairness and equity in the government onboarding process.
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- House COVID Relief Bill Includes 15 Weeks of Paid Leave for Federal Parents, Caregivers - February 11, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveHouse Democrats’ latest COVID relief bill would dramatically expand federal employees’ access to paid leave needed in connection with the pandemic, offering up to 600 hours of time off for those who are unable to work due to COVID-19 symptoms or self-isolation orders and those who need to care for a child whose school or daycare center is closed or relying on virtual learning.
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- Bill Would Terminate Federal Employees Who Knowingly Misspend Federal Funds - February 10, 2021
- By Ian Smith, FedSmithLegislation has been introduced that would terminate federal employees who “knowingly and willfully misspend federal funds and lie to Congress and the public about how the money was spent” as stated in a press release on the bill.
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- Personnel Office Urged to Provide Feds with Administrative Leave to Get COVID-19 Vaccinations - February 9, 2021
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveA group of House Democrats representing the Washington, D.C., area last week urged the Biden administration to grant federal workers paid administrative leave so that they can get COVID-19 vaccinations.
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- Setting the Stage for Improved Performance - February 8, 2021
- By Howard Risher, Government ExecutiveThe pandemic and transition to a new presidential administration has triggered renewed attention to agency management challenges. A number of loosely related recent reports and columns point to a framework that could serve the Biden White House in its efforts to improve agency performance. Central to these efforts is the redefinition of the role of managers based on agencies’ recent experiences with widespread telework. This is a new stage of a revolution in the way work is organized and managed that began in the private sector three decades ago. It starts with a shift in management philosophy.
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- OPM Proposes Prioritizing Job Performance Over Tenure in Layoffs - December 18, 2020
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe Office of Personnel Management on Thursday proposed regulations that would prioritize employees’ recent performance over their length of service when agencies decide who to lay off during reductions in force.
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- BOTH STAFF CUTS AND BUDGET INCREASES FOR FY 2019 - July 13, 2017
Staff Cuts and Budget Increases Are Both on Tap for 2019
By Eric Katz, Government Executive
The Trump administration has provided federal agencies with the latitude to request up to a 5 percent funding boost in fiscal 2019, saying the White House may accommodate a “limited number” of programmatic increases in its final blueprint.
Generally, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said in a memorandum to department and agency heads, agencies should keep their 2019 spending requests in line with what the White House spelled out in the fiscal 2018 budget submission. They should also, however, “identify additional investments in effective programs that further support their mission and fill a clear federal role.”
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- Agencies Could Rehire, Promote Former Employees With New OPM Regulatory Fix - December 24, 2019
- By Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News NetworkThe Office of Personnel Management wants to help agencies rehire former employees who have left government — and offer a non-competitive promotion to a higher grade level to sweeten the deal.In a proposed rule, which is scheduled for publication later this week, OPM will recommend new regulations that will allow agencies to non-competitively reappoint former employees to other positions at a higher grade level than when they left government.
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- How The Government Wants Agencies To Regulate AI - January 14, 2020
- By Andrew Eversden, Federal TimesThe Office of Management and Budget released a draft memorandum Jan. 13 providing guidance to agencies on how they should approach regulation of industry’s artificial intelligence applications.The guidance emphasizes that agencies should consider how any regulatory action would potentially hinder expansion of AI use. The draft memo “calls on agencies, when considering regulations or policies related to AI applications, to promote advancements in technology and innovation."
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