OPM
Your guide to pay and benefits during a shutdown
Congress has just hours to reach an agreement to fund the government past midnight Friday, after President-elect Trump and his confidante Elon Musk scuttled a bipartisan deal earlier this week.
OPM finally issues regulations implementing 2016 administrative leave reforms
An environmental advocacy group sued the federal government’s HR agency earlier this year in an effort to prod the federal government’s HR agency to implement a law aimed at ending lengthy periods of paid administrative leave.
Could Biden’s recent strategy to streamline government hiring be scuttled under Trump?
One of the purposes of the administration’s federal hiring improvement plan is to make agencies aware of hiring tools they already have access to.
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Extraordinary senior executives receive presidential rank award
The selective honor comes with a cash award that is up to 35% of the recipient’s annual basic pay.
OPM’s retirement backlog ticked up slightly last month, though other metrics improved
Statistics measuring the federal government HR agency’s performance in processing departing federal workers’ retirement claims remained stable following the backlog’s removal from OPM’s list of top management challenges.
Feds find open season 'unpleasant'—but may miss thousands in savings
Federal enrollees have until Dec. 9 to make changes to their health coverage ahead of substantial premium increases.
An employee group is miffed by the new Postal Service insurance program’s Medicare Part D coverage
OPM said that they were restricted in how they provide prescription drug benefits to Medicare-eligible enrollees in the new Postal Service Health Benefits Program, but at least one employee association disagrees.
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OPM doesn’t have documented customer experience plans for the Postal Service’s open season, OIG says
The HR agency has developed contingencies if there is a surge of customer experience requests during the Postal Service Health Benefits System’s first open season, but a new report claims that those plans aren’t either defined or comprehensive enough for the multi-agency operation.
OPM issues guidance for agencies to implement anti-Schedule F regulations
The effort to insulate the federal civil service from former President Trump’s plan to replace potentially tens of thousands of career employees in “policy-related” position with loyalists could be short lived if the Republican nominee wins the election next month.
OPM announces a program to make it easier for ex-interns to get full-time federal work
A new feature within USAJOBS’ Agency Talent Portal will allow agencies to hire former interns from other agencies into term or permanent federal positions.
Biden administration launches emergency hiring efforts to support hurricane relief efforts
Federal agencies can quickly appoint new employees, who can serve up to two years.
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Feds’ employee experience and engagement continued to climb in 2024, FEVS data finds
Federal employees’ view of their agency leaders, supervisors and work experience sustained their rebound from 2022, according to OPM’s annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.
OPM sets up leave transfer program for feds impacted by Milton
Federal workers will soon be able to donate unused leave to their colleagues who need time to recover after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida Wednesday.
OPM’s retirement backlog has fallen off the agency’s list of top management challenges
The Office of Personnel Management’s inspector general last month reported that the federal government’s dedicated HR agency faces taller tasks in the form of launching a health insurance program for postal workers and verifying enrollees’ eligibility for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
OPM moves to standardize General Schedule, blue collar locality pay areas
For years, federal employee unions have bemoaned that the pay systems’ differing maps of high-cost regions created pay inequity within agency workforces.
OPM announces leave transfer program for feds affected by Helene
Federal employees will soon be able to donate unused leave to their colleagues who need time to recover after Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction across the Southeast.
Federal workers will see the largest increase to their health care premiums in recent memory next year
In a year where insurers have expanded coverage for multiple medical treatments, federal employees will see their Federal Employees Health Benefits Program premiums increase by an average of 13.5% in 2025.
Multiple FEHBP carriers will offer 'comprehensive' IVF coverage next year
Biden administration officials said that two nationwide insurers in the federal government’s employer-sponsored health care program will offer $25,000 worth of in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.
Why do employees want to be feds? Benefits are a big reason
In a 2023 OPM survey, 90% or more of federal employees said that the availability of health and retirement benefits are important to them.
Expedited STEM and cybersecurity hiring authority extended
OPM grants direct hire authority to agencies when there’s a lack of candidates or major hiring needs.
