Management
Coronavirus Roundup: Senate Votes to Declassify Information on COVID Origins, the White House Won’t Say if Biden Supports the Bill
There’s a lot to keep track of. Here’s a list of this week’s news updates and stories you may have missed.
Oversight
President Biden Issues a Sweeping Anti-COVID Fraud Proposal
One piece would be to give law enforcement and oversight agencies more time and resources to go after fraudsters.
Workforce
The Generational Shift Needs to Happen in the Federal Workforce
Anthony Fauci and Max Stier join the podcast to discuss hiring more young people into public service.
Pay & Benefits
Why Are Federal Courts Denying Hazardous Duty Pay For Feds Forced To Take Risks With COVID?
“On its face, in this case, it looks like one of those situations where hazard pay is denied for narrow, technical reasons,” says one labor historian.
Pay & Benefits
Feds Driven Away By Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Could Return or Get Payouts, Under a New Bill
Few if any were ever fired, but the bill would also apply to those who left voluntarily after Biden demanded vaccination against COVID-19.
Management
Coronavirus Roundup: Labor Secretary Leaving His Post; Vaccine Access Updates
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s a list of this week’s news updates and stories you may have missed.
Pay & Benefits
Federal Prisons Employees Aren’t Entitled to COVID Hazard Pay, Appeals Judges Rule
In a 10-2 decision, the appeals court said OPM regulations around hazardous duty pay only address the handling of “virulent biologicals” in a laboratory setting, not “ambient” exposure to infected individuals.
Oversight
Transitioning into the New 'Normal' of Post-Pandemic Life
Courtney Bublé joins the podcast to discuss the upcoming end of the public health emergency.
Oversight
Era of ‘Free’ Vaccines, Test Kits, and Treatments Is Ending. Who Will Pay the Tab Now?
Insurers, employers, and taxpayers will all be affected as drug manufacturers move these products to the commercial market.
Management
Coronavirus Roundup: Watchdog Slams Trump-Era ‘Project Airbridge’ For Medical Supplies
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s a list of this week’s news updates and stories you may have missed.
Tech
Congress Told HHS to Set Up a Health Data Network in 2006. The Agency Still Hasn’t.
Since 2006, federal officials have been charged with setting up a network to let various parts of the U.S. health system share information during emergencies. It still hasn’t been built or even planned, even after the communication and data-sharing failures put on display during the pandemic.
Management
Here’s What the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Could Mean for Federal Agencies
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked Congress for more authority related to health data and the workforce.
Management
The HHS to Industry: Let’s Connect on Medical Supply Chain Issues
The pandemic showed “the need for critical public health industrial investments at a scale never seen before in the United States,” an HHS official says.
Oversight
Biden’s Plan for Ending the Emergency Declaration for COVID-19 Signals a Pivotal Point in the Pandemic—4 Questions Answered
President Joe Biden’s intention to end the national COVID-19 emergency will have long-lasting ripple effects on federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Management
Coronavirus Roundup: The Emergencies Declared Due to COVID-19 Will be Ending
There’s a lot to keep track of. Here’s a list of this week’s news updates and stories you may have missed.
Oversight
Watchdogs to Congress: Keep the COVID-Era Data Center
The first hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability for the 118th Congress focused on pandemic money and fraud.
Workforce
Why Zoom Happy Hours Fall Flat
Alcohol doesn't have the same power to lubricate social interaction online as it does in person, new research suggests.
Workforce
Fed Managers Shouldn't Distance Themselves from Remote Work
Bob Westbrooks joins the podcast to discuss telework lessons learned from his experience at the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
Oversight
Fixing The Fraud Problem is Going to be a Heavy Lift
Natalie Alms joins the podcast to discuss two new GAO reports.
Management