Management

OPM Makes It Easier for Feds to Shop for the Best Health Plan During Open Season

New plan comparison tool is more accessible and works better for employees overseas and on Medicare. 

Pay & Benefits

Social Security Ends Telework Program for 12,000 Employees

Workers in all of the Social Security Administration’s operations components have less than two weeks to find alternate arrangements.

Pay & Benefits

Advocates: Congress 'Very Close' to Passing Paid Family Leave for Feds

Union officials and members are hopeful a Defense policy bill provision providing 12 weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child and other medical issues will make it into law.

Pay & Benefits

Federal Retirees Will Get 1.6% COLA in 2020

Although less than last year, a consumer price index increase of less than 2% means the vast majority of former federal workers will see the same increase to their defined benefit pensions.

Pay & Benefits

How to Recruit the Next Generation of Feds: Better Pay, Benefits

Young people are increasingly looking for work-life balance measures like paid family leave and telework, stakeholders and experts said Wednesday.

Pay & Benefits

Most TSP Funds Take a Tumble in August

Only two of the Thrift Savings Plan’s portfolios ended last month in the black.

Oversight

Patent and Trademark Office Examiners Receive Monetary Awards With Insufficient Oversight

Some staff are allowed to make manual changes to their hours worked, while part-time patent examiners’ schedules are often not up to date in the awards calculation system.

Pay & Benefits

TSP Posts Modest Gains in July, Although International Stocks Fall

Most funds in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program saw only slight increases last month.

Pay & Benefits

New Guidance Helps Agencies Assess the Value of Work-Life Balance Programs

The federal government is looking to quantify the costs and benefits of programs such as telework. 

Pay & Benefits

Salary Council Recommends Locality Pay Area Changes

The advisory body found that federal workers earn on average 31% less than their counterparts outside government, but the methodology is highly disputed.

Management

House Passes Defense Policy Bill with Provision to Block OPM-GSA Merger

The must-pass legislation also includes amendments granting paid family leave and protecting feds’ health insurance during shutdowns.