By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

Federal employees will have a choice: get vaccinated, or wear masks when indoors at federal facilities and subject themselves to regular COVID-19 testing

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The House this week is slated to approve its first minibus appropriations bill, which would endorse President Biden’s proposal to increase civilian federal employee pay by an average of 2.7% in 2022.

By Ian Smith, FedSmith

CNN has reported that President Biden will announce a COVID vaccination requirement for all federal employees and contractors on Thursday.

By Futurity, Government Executive

Some of today’s young workers, those ages 21-34, place more value on having respectful communication in the workplace over trendy work perks, a study finds.

By Ralph R. Smith, Fedsmith

In New Locality Pay: Move and Get a Raise?, FedSmith raised this question: Can a federal employee increase purchasing power by moving to a remote area and staying assigned to a more generous locality pay area?

By Tammy Flanagan, Government Executive

According to a National Public Radio report, a new study estimates that life expectancy in the United States decreased by nearly two years between 2018 and 2020, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Maybe this is why I’m getting so many emails from people wanting to retire sooner rather than later. Perhaps they’re thinking about getting the most out of the years they have left.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The Government Publishing Office on Thursday announced that it will continue to allow roughly one-third of its workforce to work entirely remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic, which officials said will be a boon to productivity, recruitment and retention.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

A House panel on Tuesday voted 24-16 along party lines to advance legislation that would provide federal employees with up to 12 weeks of paid family leave each year, over objections from Republicans about a last-minute report from the Congressional Budget Office.

By Greg Klingler, FedSmith

Whether you’re a recent graduate and new federal employee, or perhaps once were and now know one, you likely recognize that the growing list of financial responsibilities that this group faces can feel daunting. Given that the national average student debt is approaching $40,000, you probably also know that burdensome student loans sit atop many young Feds’ list.

By Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey, Carly McCann and J.D. Swerzenski, Government Executive

People who experience sex discrimination, race discrimination and other forms of discrimination at work aren’t getting much protection from the laws designed to shield them from it.

By Courtney Buble, Government Executive

As the Delta variant of the coronavirus surges, particularly among those not vaccinated, a group of Democratic senators reintroduced legislation on Wednesday to better protect federal employees and contractors when they return to workplaces.

By Ian Smith, FedSmith

Recently introduced legislation would prohibit Social Security Administration (SSA) employees from being eligible to receive their federal retirement benefits if they are convicted of a felony as it relates to their official job duties.

By Ralph R. Smith, FedSmith

The latest data has been released on the Consumer Price Index that measures the rate of inflation. Last month, FedSmith wrote: “Inflation is increasing more than expected. The May inflation rate was 5% over a 12-month period.”

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

The Biden administration is once again deploying federal employees across the country to confront rising cases of COVID-19 in some areas, launching new teams to assist communities struggling with outbreaks.

By Adam Butler and Ross Gianfortune, Government Executive

When talking with young people about career planning, many in Generation Z want to make a difference or work for positive change. The federal civil service is one avenue for that, but it’s increasingly difficult for Generation Z to get into the federal government. With an aging workforce, this not only presents a major challenge in the immediate future, but a longer term problem for the government of the future.

By Dallen Haws, FedSmith

With many things in life, when it rains it pours.
The same is true for federal employees retiring. Everyone wants to leave at the same time.

By Jason Kay, FedSmith

After years in the federal sector, you might’ve decided, “Hey, let’s make a change. Time for some work in the private sector.” But if the bulk of your work years have been spent in a federal job, you might need to revisit your resume and retool it for private sector hiring managers.

By Ian Smith, FedSmith

Legislation has been reintroduced to expand retirement options for some federal employees.

For the third time in the past three years, The Federal Retirement Fairness Act (H.R. 4268) is being introduced by Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA). It would ensure that federal employees who began their careers as temporary workers are granted the opportunity to make catch-up retirement contributions so that they can retire on time, otherwise they would have to work longer to obtain full retirement benefits.

OPM has issued pay and leave guidance for the new Juneteenth holiday for federal employees.

Ian Smith, FedSmith

The Office of Personnel Management has issued guidance for implementation of the new federal holiday just signed into law by President Biden to commemorate Juneteenth.

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.”