Workforce
Lawmakers unveil a new plan to revamp federal wildfire prevention and mitigation
The Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act would create a new Middle Fire Leaders Academy to rapidly bolster the ranks of federal wildland firefighters.
Workforce
Put the telework debate to rest by focusing on productivity
COMMENTARY | Civil servants say telework improves productivity, but Congress wants data to prove it. Here’s one way OMB can reconcile the differences.
Pay & Benefits
Senate plans swift action on IVF bill containing new requirements for FEHBP
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he had already begun the process of bringing a legislative package aimed at protecting Americans’ access to assistive reproductive technology to the floor for a vote.
Pay & Benefits
OPM’s unfulfilled recommendations include health insurance benefits changes, IG says
The agency is making progress on implementing IG recommendations, but three of its top yet-to-be-completed recommendations included changes that would prevent improper and inaccurate payments within the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.
Pay & Benefits
New bill would task VA with more actively promoting veteran transition assistance
The Informing VETS Act would require the department to regularly promote programs designed to assist veterans leaving military service and offer more comparison of information on educational benefits.
Workforce
OPM announces new 'safe leave' for domestic violence victims
Federal workers may now take paid leave to address issues related to their or a family member’s safety or to recover from domestic violence, abuse or harassment, under new guidance from the government’s dedicated HR agency.
Pay & Benefits
Mixed reactions to Medicare Part D in the FEHB
It's been almost five months since Part D was incorporated into many Federal Employees Health Benefit plans. How is it being received?
Defense
House-passed bill would bring parental leave parity to Coast Guard reservists
Members of the Coast Guard reserve currently don’t get the same parental leave benefits as reservists for other armed forces.
Pay & Benefits
Health Savings Account contribution limits to rise in 2025
Federal employees looking for ways to save on out-of-pocket healthcare costs might benefit from using a high deductible health plan with an HSA.
Pay & Benefits
A CBO report raises new questions about Biden’s 2% pay raise plan
Analysis favored by conservatives shows that when comparing workers’ “total compensation,” the private sector has nearly caught up to the federal government’s pay and benefits package for employees.
Pay & Benefits
Most TSP funds took a tumble in April
After two months of sustained gains, only one portfolio in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program finished last month in the black.
Pay & Benefits
Are Consumer Driven Health Plans the right FEHB plan for you?
These are one of the lowest cost FEHB plan types for both active federal employees and annuitants.
Pay & Benefits
OPM reminds agencies of pay provisions in 2024 NDAA
The most recent iteration of the annual defense policy bill extends a number of temporary pay and benefits provisions for both civilian and military service members and allows veteran feds to credit active duty service toward paid parental leave requirements.
Pay & Benefits
Are High Deductible Health Plans the right FEHB plan for you?
For most federal employees, HDHPs will be the cheapest FEHB plan type. Here’s how they work.
Pay & Benefits
Congressional Dems urge OPM to fully cover IVF in feds’ insurance program
More than 175 Democratic lawmakers said the federal government must do more to protect access to health services like in-vitro fertilization in light of a recent Alabama court ruling that effectively banned the procedure alongside abortion services.
Pay & Benefits
OPM has new tools to fight improper health insurance enrollments
Watchdog agencies and Congress have previously chided the federal government’s HR agency for the lack of internal controls ensuring that family members of federal workers and retirees remain eligible for the federal workforce’s health insurance program.
Pay & Benefits
Justice Department outlines benefits rule for Havana syndrome victims
A new interim final rule details how the department would compensate employees and dependents with qualifying brain injuries from anomalous health incidents.
Pay & Benefits
Bill wants to solve the coverage gap for National Guard and reservists by extending VA eligibility
Legislation from Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., proposes to expand VA health care benefits to personnel in the reserve components when not on active duty to help ensure “force readiness.”
Pay & Benefits
Resigning instead of retiring
How you leave the federal government matters when it comes to benefits.
Oversight
VA claims appeal board errors are the target of a new House bill
The Veterans Claims Quality Improvement Act seeks to mitigate errors made by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals with new training, performance evaluations and required reports to Congress.
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