This report provides an update on issues affecting federal managers. As always, I encourage you to visit www.fedmanagers.org on a regular basis for more information on these and other matters.

Also, be sure to look for the FMA Grassroots Update, where we offer links to action letters and FMA-PAC matters we do not address in the Washington Report. The grassroots newsletter is sent exclusively to non-governmental email addresses to avoid any Hatch Act violations. If you are not receiving it, contact the national office to provide your non-governmental email address.

Please feel free to provide feedback any time by emailing Greg Stanford at gstanford@fedmanagers.org, or by calling the National Office at (703) 683-8700. Thank you for your membership in FMA. It�s an honor to represent your interests before Congress and the administration.

On March 3, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act of 2021 (S. 561). The bill provides a 3.2 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2022 (2.2 percent boost to base pay and a 1 percent boost to locality pay). It is the companion bill to H.R. 392 introduced in the House by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). FMA has endorsed both bills.

In a press release upon introduction, Schatz wrote, “Federal workers play a critical role in our everyday lives – caring for our veterans, fighting the pandemic through medical research, and cutting our Social Security checks. These hardworking public servants deserve a raise. Our bill gives federal employees a 3.2 percent pay increase to help make up for the paychecks they've lost because of furloughs and pay freezes over the past few years.” 

On February 23, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) introduced the Merit Systems Protection Board Empowerment Act of 2021 (H.R. 1224). The bill reauthorizes the MSPB through 2026. FMA supports this bill, which would also require whistleblower training and allows MSPB to conduct surveys of federal employees to improve operations of the board.

FMA is keenly aware of the need to restore a strong MSPB, which is the primary forum available to federal employees to enforce their workplace rights. As we noted in last month’s Washington Report, MSPB has lacked a quorum for four years – since January 2017 – and has not had any Senate-confirmed members since March 2019. In that time, more than 3,000 federal workers have been deprived of an opportunity for justice and an adjudicative hearing before the body, leaving both them and their former agencies in limbo. FMA has been vocal on this issue for years, and again included it as an issue brief in 2021.

On February 23, President Biden announced Kiran Ahuja as his nominee for Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The Federal Managers Association (FMA) endorsed Ahuja for the nomination. 

FMA National President Craig Carter announced his support in a press release, saying, “FMA is pleased with Kiran Ahuja’s nomination as Director, and believe she is an exceptional choice to lead OPM. Her previous experience and service – including several years as chief of staff at OPM – ensure she has the background and qualifications to effectively lead this agency at this critical time.” 

On January 22, President Biden issued Executive Order 14003 to nullify the creation of Schedule F in the Excepted Service. The EO also revokes EOs 13836 of May 25, 2018 (Developing Efficient, Effective, and Cost-Reducing Approaches to Federal Sector Collective Bargaining), 13837 of May 25, 2018 (Ensuring Transparency, Accountability, and Efficiency in Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Use), and 13839 of May 25, 2018 (Promoting Accountability and Streamlining Removal Procedures Consistent with Merit System Principles). 

On March 5, OPM released guidance on implementation of EO 14003. You can find this guidance at FMA’s website, www.fedmanagers.org, or by clicking here.

FMA supported many elements of EOs 13836, 13837, and 13839, which were rescinded by EO 14003. Additionally, FMA broadly supported the final rule entitled “Probation on Initial Appointment to a Competitive Position, Performance-Based Reduction in Grade and Removal Actions and Adverse Actions,” 85 Fed. Reg. 65940 (October 16, 2020). We note the importance of ensuring that managers have tools available to address employees with unacceptably low performance is unquestionable. 

Shortly after taking office, President Biden created the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force to “give the heads of federal agencies ongoing guidance to keep their employees safe and their agencies operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The task force is led by the White House COVID-19 Response Team, the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Task Force members include: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); the Federal Protective Service (FPS); the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and, the United States Secret Service (USSS).

President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) into law (Pl 117-2) on March 11. As part of the massive Covid-19 relief effort, the bill includes $570 million for emergency paid leave, a new paid leave benefit for federal employees. FMA supported this effort in our 2021 Issue Briefs.

The new law provides 15 weeks of paid leave at $1,400 per week to all federal employees subject to a Covid-19 quarantine order, experiencing symptoms, or caring for a family member, through the end of Fiscal Year 2021. The paid leave also applies to feds unable to work when caring for children, a family member with a mental or physical disability or who is 55 years of age or older and incapable of self-care. The new paid leave will also apply if a fed is unable to work due to “obtaining immunization related to COVID–19 or is recovering from any injury, disability, illness, or condition related to such immunization.”

On February 16, OPM Acting Director Kathleen McGettigan released a memo entitled “Recent Pay and Leave-Related Legislative Changes.” McGettigan wrote, “This is to inform you of several legislative changes and extensions affecting federal employee pay and certain benefits” resulting from enactment of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 (P.L. 116-283) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 260).

The memo summarized the following changes within the FY2021 NDAA:

On March 7 and 8, FMA members from around the country connected for FMA’s 83rd, virtual National Convention. While we could not gather in person due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the convention was a big success and accomplished the objectives of the association.

We were honored to hear keynote remarks from Pam Coleman, the Associate Director, Performance and Personnel Management, at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Dustin Brown, Deputy Assistant Director for Management, at OMB. They provided great insights to the policies and goals of the new administration, and welcomed questions from all FMA attendees.

The convention featured reports from all regional directors and national officers, as well as a government affairs report, discussion of FMA’s 2021 Issue Briefs, and tips for virtually meeting with legislators. Candidates for National Vice President and FMA Treasurer, two seats on FMA’s Executive Board, also gave statements and answered questions prior to the week-long vote. Winners will be announced soon.

Visit the Convention “Download Central” to find management training presentations and other useful information. There are training sessions led by fellow FMA members on habits or diversions that make mentoring tricky, efficiently working from home, empowering employees through effective questions, and how organizational culture improves performance. You can also find a report on the state of labor relations, and helpful information on long term care planning, retirement strategy, and many other topics.