Workforce

Give administrative leave to veterans for VA appointments

COMMENTARY | This is a necessary step in honoring our veterans in federal service.

Updated Pay & Benefits

House panel advances bills to improve FEHBP oversight and fix CBP retirement snafu

A 2022 Government Accountability Office report estimated that ineligible family members covered through the federal government’s employer-sponsored health care program could cost the government between $250 million and $3 billion per year.

Pay & Benefits

The federal government will now offer its employees generous fertility benefits

The nation's largest employer will offer plans that cover a broad menu of fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for IVF procedures.

Pay & Benefits

Public Service Loan Forgiveness passes $60 billion in erased debt

Since a series of tweaks to make the program easier to access, more than 850,000 Americans have had their loans forgiven in exchange for a decade of public service.

Pay & Benefits

OPM taps insurance carriers to service new USPS benefits exchange

The federal HR agency conditionally selected 32 carrier applications to provide health coverage to U.S. Postal employees, annuitants and family members starting in 2025. 

Pay & Benefits

Veterans Affairs expands IVF access to unmarried and same-sex veterans

Up to now, the VA has only provided IVF care for married veterans who were able to use their own eggs or sperm during the process, but the new announcement allows veterans to use donor eggs, sperm and embryos.

Workforce

FLRA: CBP owes backpay to officers denied nightwork premium pay

The chairwoman of the body that oversees federal sector labor issues also expressed an openness to revisiting the legal definition of repudiating a union contract.

Pay & Benefits

OPM makes it easier for ex-military feds to access paid parental, medical leave

The tweak, which allows federal workers to count past military service toward the 12-month service requirement of parental and Family and Medical Leave Act leave, stems from a provision of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

Pay & Benefits

Lawmakers urge OPM to update parental leave policy docs

The federal government’s HR agency’s self-imposed deadline of the end of 2024 to ensure the federal employee handbook and public-facing web pages reflect the enactment of 12 weeks of paid parental leave should be “a floor and not a ceiling.”

Pay & Benefits

GAO: 4% of feds used paid parental leave in the benefit’s first 22 months

In 2022, 81% of federal workers who responded to an annual Office of Personnel Management survey and said they used the then-newly implemented program said they took all 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

Pay & Benefits

GSA could soon update some relocation expense reimbursement caps more regularly

It’s been more than a decade since the agency updated the maximum amounts of payments for miscellaneous relocation expenses that don’t require itemized receipts.

Pay & Benefits

A new rule allows the VA to adjust disability compensation to prevent overpayments

The rule, set to go into effect on Jan. 11, would allow the department to suspend or pause disability compensation for Defense Department servicemembers also receiving active service pay. 

Pay & Benefits

Planning a career change in 2024?

If a new career outside of the federal workforce is on your list of resolutions, here are a few things you need to know about your benefits.

Pay & Benefits

Expanded leave access for veteran feds makes it into defense policy bill

Under a provision of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, federal agencies would be required to incorporate veterans’ military service when determining eligibility for paid leave.

Workforce

Feds are unlikely to get an extra day off at Christmas

With Christmas Day falling on a Monday this year, odds are against federal workers receiving additional time off for Christmas Eve.

Pay & Benefits

Last-minute Open Season advice

Tips and tools to help you with decision-making before the window closes for the year.

Pay & Benefits

Open Season: Medicare Advantage or Disadvantage?

Medicare Advantage options have only been offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program carriers since 2021 and may provide benefits that are not covered under traditional Medicare.