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- Federal HR Leaders Want a Comprehensive Review of the Government's Pay System - April 3, 2020
- In the fiscal 2019 governmentwide human capital survey, agency officials said a lack of funding and the General Schedule are "significant obstacles" to achieving their goals.Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveTop HR officials across the federal government have told the Office of Personnel Management that a combination of scarce funding and the strictures of the General Schedule pay system constitute “significant obstacles” to positive workforce outcomes, and that there must be a “comprehensive review” of the federal government’s pay system.
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- House Lawmakers Accuse GSA of Breaching Ban on Implementing OPM Merger - April 2, 2020
- Oversight panel leaders say newly uncovered emails confirm that the General Services Administration’s pending revocation of the Office of Personnel Management’s building operation authority is part of the plan to abolish the HR agency.Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveDemocrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee said that the Trump administration would violate provisions of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act blocking the planned merger of the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration if it moves forward with plans to rescind OPM’s authority to operate two federal buildings in the Washington, D.C., area.
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- What the $2T coronavirus stimulus means for federal employees, retirees and contractors - March 27, 2020
- Jory Heckman and Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News NetworkCongress is on track to pass a $2 trillion stimulus and emergency appropriations package later this week, part of a sweeping effort by the federal government to respond to the economic and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
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- SENATE, ADMINISTRATION REACH STIMULUS DEAL - March 25, 2020
- Stimulus Deal Gives Agencies $340B, Helping to Boost Telework, Office Cleaning and HiringBy Eric Katz, Government ExecutiveFederal agencies will see a $340 billion boost for operations and response efforts in the face of the novel coronavirus under a more than $2 trillion stimulus package Congress is expected to pass this week, which the Senate passed late Wednesday after painstaking bipartisan negotiations with the White House.
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- Rigas Will Also Serve as Acting Deputy Director for Management at OMB - March 25, 2020
- OPM’s Rigas to take on second position as OMB acting deputyBy Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News NetworkThe White House has tapped Michael Rigas, the newly-appointed acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, to serve concurrently as the acting deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget.
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- House Democrats Introduce Stimulus Bill With Federal Employee Protections - March 24, 2020
- Scott Thompson, My Federal RetirementHouse Democrats yesterday introduced the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act (HR 6379), describing it as “a bold and comprehensive phase three coronavirus response bill that injects more than $2.5 trillion into the American economy.”
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- Agencies Request Funds for Emergency Boosts to Telework, Overtime and Hiring - March 23, 2020
- The $46 billion White House request would also help bring home feds stationed abroad in response to the coronavirus pandemic.Eric Katz, Government ExecutiveThe White House has requested nearly $46 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, with much of the spending influx going toward boosting telework capacity, hiring supplemental workers and repatriating employees currently serving overseas.
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- The Coronavirus Pandemic and Your TSP - March 23, 2020
- By Thiago Glieger, FedSmithAs you have already heard, the Coronavirus has become an international issue that is sweeping the globe. Many countries have issued border restrictions and cancellations of public events. Companies have shut down their retail locations and many have had issues in supply.
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- Lawmakers Urge Mandatory Telework, and OPM Highlights Defense Policy Act Pay Provisions - March 19, 2020
- Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveDemocratic lawmakers in both chambers of Congress this week are urging President Trump to sign an executive order mandating that federal employees work remotely to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
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- OPM DIRECTOR RESIGNS - March 17, 2020
- Cabaniss resigns as OPM directorBy Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News NetworkThe director of the Office of Personnel Management, Dale Cabaniss, has resigned, Federal News Network has learned.She resigned late Tuesday afternoon, as the federal government continues to juggle a growing coronavirus pandemic and provide highly-sought guidance to its workforce.
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- A MANDATE TO PROTECT FEDS - March 16, 2020
- Senators to call for a mandate to protect federal workersBy Jessie Bur, Federal TimesMaryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin will send a letter to President Donald Trump March 16 calling for more concrete requirements to keep federal employees home and away from a potential exposure to coronavirus.
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- AGENCIES, TELEWORK, AND THE CORONAVIRUS - March 12, 2020
- Some Agencies Reluctant to Embrace Telework and Take Other Precautions, Despite Growing Coronavirus ConcernsBy Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveMany federal workers remain fearful that they or their customers may contract the novel coronavirus, as agencies appear reluctant to take basic precautions to slow the spread of the virus, despite increasingly urgent recommendations from federal human resources and health agencies that they move quickly to expand workforce flexibilities like telework.
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- NASA hosts an agencywide telework day to test emergency systems - March 9, 2020
- Jessie Bur, Federal TimesNASA leadership told employees and contractors to spend March 6 working from home as part of a test to ensure that the agency’s infrastructure is capable of handling mass telework in the event of a cononavirus outbreak.
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- House Democrats Reintroduce Bill to Protect Telework at Federal Agencies Amid Coronavirus Fears - March 6, 202
- The measure would prohibit agencies from making across-the-board cuts to telework programs, and require annual goals for participation in such programs.Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThree House Democrats on Thursday reintroduced a bill aimed at protecting telework at federal agencies, amid increasing calls to expand access to remote work in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
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- House Passes Bill Granting TSA Employees Full Workers Rights - March 5, 2020
- The Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act would bring the Transportation Security Administration workforce under Title 5 of the U.S. Code, granting them access to the General Schedule pay system and a slew of other rights and protections.Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe House on Thursday voted 230-171 to pass a bill that would grant employees of the Transportation Security Administration the rights and protections enjoyed by the vast majority of the federal workforce.
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- Unions Report No Sign of Telework Flexibilities Amid Coronavirus Outbreak - March 4, 2020
- Although both OPM and the CDC have strongly encouraged allowing employees to work remotely to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, several agencies have yet to respond to those recommendations.Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveAgencies on the front lines of the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back telework so far have shown little sign of relenting in the face of the novel coronavirus, despite the federal government’s HR and medical agencies strongly encouraging expansion of workplace flexibilities.
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- OPM wants to know how student loan repayments help feds - March 2, 2020
- Jessie Bur, Federal TimesFederal agencies spend millions of dollars each year to repay student loans for desirable employees joining the federal workforce, and the Office of Personnel Management called on agencies Feb. 27 to start collecting data on the number of employees that received such payments and for how much in 2019.
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- TSP Urges Investors: ‘Stick With Your Plan’ - February 27, 2020
- Scott Thompson, My Federal RetirementDue to the recent volatility of the stock market, the Thrift Savings Plan issued a reminder to participants to “Stick to your plan: Avoid chasing returns.”
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- OPM’s hiring time measurement makes room for innovation - February 26, 2020
- Jessie Bur, Federal TimesThe Office of Personnel Management wants agencies to get a more comprehensive picture of the federal hiring process and areas that can serve as roadblocks or levers for success in reducing agency hiring times.
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- Setting the Retirement Process in Motion - February 21, 202
- You’ve met your retirement goals. Now it’s time to start the countdown.Tammy Flanagan, Government ExecutiveMany federal employees dream about the day they can start their life after government. If this is your year for retirement and you’ve already set a date, then it’s time to begin the process of actually filing your paperwork.
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- OPM Proposes Pay, Bargaining Changes in 2021 Budget - February 20, 2020
- Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe Office of Personnel Management last week proposed legislation to change how most federal workers receive pay increases, as well as a measure to make it easier to implement policies to crack down on labor groups.
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- WEICHERT LEAVING OMB IN MARCH - February 14, 2020
- Trump's Federal Personnel Point Person to Step DownBy Eric Katz, Government ExecutivePresident Trump’s top point person on agency management and federal personnel policy is stepping down next month after a nearly three-year tenure that saw mixed results for an aggressive agenda to shake up the civil service.
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- Budget Proposes Cutting and Simplifying Federal Employee Leave, and More - February 13, 2020
- Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe Trump administration this week revived a proposal to consolidate most of the categories of paid leave available to federal employees into one pool, and reduce the overall number of leave days available to them.
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- AGENCY REFORMS IN WHITE HOUSE FY21 BUDGET REQUEST - February 11, 2020
- 11 Major Agency Reforms in Trump's 2021 BudgetBy Eric Katz, Government ExecutivePresident Trump proposed many significant reforms to federal agency programs and operations in his fiscal 2021 budget, offering a path to slash $4.4 trillion in spending over a 15-year period.
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- MEMO AUTHORIZES DOD TO OUTLAW COLLECTIVE BARGAINING - February 8, 2020
- White House Memo Could End Unionization at the PentagonBy Erich Wagner, Government ExecutivePresident Trump signed a memo last month that could pave the way for his administration to outlaw collective bargaining by the Defense Department’s 750,000-person civilian workforce.
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- LAWMAKERS PROPOSE MAJOR CUTS TO FEDERAL WORKFORCE - February 7, 2020
- Task Force Proposes Eliminating FERSBy Ralph R. Smith, FedSmithMost readers are probably not aware of the Government, Efficiency, Accountability and Reform Task Force. There is no way of knowing what Congress will do, but this task force has issued a new report entitled 100+ Commonsense Solutions to a Better Government.
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- Federal Employee Retirement Requests Hit Highest Level Since Trump Took Office - February 6, 2020
- Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe number of new federal employee retirement claims in January marked the most in a single month under the Trump administration, according to statistics from the Office of Personnel Management released Wednesday.
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- Federal Retirement Applications, Processing Both Down in October - November 12, 2019
- By Erich Wagner, Government Executive,The Office of Personnel Management announced last week that the backlog of pending federal retirement claims nearly reached 18,000 last month. Although the number of requests has decreased in recent months, so too has the pace by which the federal government’s HR agency has processed them.According to agency statistics, only 7,044 federal employees filed for retirement in October. That represents about 400 fewer claims than OPM received in September, and a decrease of nearly 2,000 requests compared with the 9,012 that were filed in October 2018.
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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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