News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"The deadline that federal workers must meet to actually get a buyout over the next 15 months depends on their 'break-even' point with their agency. That point, the final date when Uncle Sam can save money by paying you to leave, depends on the worker's grade, salary and length of service versus the cost of the buyout itself (Monday)..."All executive branch agencies now have authority to offer buyouts. All they need to do is get clearance from OMB, then submit their plans to their authorizing and appropriations committees in Congress (Sunday, The Washington Post).

SSA SNAFU--"The Social Security Administration estimated yesterday that about 300,000 retirees who continued to work after starting to draw retirement benefits are entitled to $442 million in back benefits because of a software glitch that didn't credit them with the extra work" (The Washington Post).

OTHER VIEWS--Dominic M. Cermele received a certificate honoring his participation on the Philadelphia Presidential Rank Awards Program Meritorious Review Board from an OPM representative (South Philadelphia American, Philadelphia, PA, August 30)...Federal partnership training network advances toward maturity (Quality Progress, Milwaukee, WI, September 1996)...Breast cancer transplant reimbursement is easing (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, New York, NY, August)...A law allowing workers to combine retirement credits earned under different systems will exclude many people who need the help (Army Times, Springfield, VA, September 2)...Picatinny Arsenal receives National Partnership Award (Reporter, Ramsey, MN, September 13).

OF INTEREST--Every once in a while, stress in the workplace bubbles over. Office fights may not be pretty, but some of them are bizarre, and all of them seem memorable (The New York Times)...Some companies find that employees will come to work sick and save the days off for personal use or to extend vacations. So many companies are putting all leave into one category called "paid days off" (The New York Times)...If you worked at Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., you'd get free ice cream as a perk. Eli Lilly gives free prescription drugs including Prozac. Other companies offer their employees everything from beer to compost (The New York Times)...Parents can help children find the career that fits them best (The Washington Post, Workplace)...The first 30 seconds of a job interview may decide your fate (The Washington Post, Odd Jobs).