Management

OPM Failed to Issue Guidance for D.C. Federal Workers During Insurrection

There was substantial warning ahead of the arrival of the group that violently stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election.

Pay & Benefits

OPM Issues Guidance on Law Allowing Feds to Temporarily Carry Over More Annual Leave

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act allows all federal employees to carry over an additional 25% of unused leave due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Management

It's Time to Rethink Employee Performance Management

The Trump administration’s plan to link layoffs to performance ratings is not credible because the ratings themselves are not credible.

Management

OPM Proposes Prioritizing Job Performance Over Tenure in Layoffs

Officials at the Office of Personnel Management are seeking to finalize a provision of President Trump’s controversial workforce executive orders before he leaves office.

Management

As White House Steps Up Schedule F Implementation, ‘Lawmakers Don’t Get It’

Recent moves by OPM are stoking fear that the Trump administration is accelerating plans to politicize federal jobs as the window closes on Congress’ ability to block the move.

Management

Proposed Executive Order for Biden Would 'Reinvigorate' Federal Workforce, Make OPM a Cabinet-Level Agency

The National Academy of Public Administration has drafted a directive that would reverse Trump's workforce edicts and elevate the federal government's personnel agency.

Management

OPM Quietly Abandons Proposed Merger with GSA

The Trump administration’s merger plan was criticized by lawmakers in both parties and was eventually blocked by Congress.

Management

The Speed of Workforce Change Is Undermining the Civil Service

Personnel practices rooted in blue collar work from the last century continue to hold government back.

Management

Agencies to Have Wide Latitude In Deciding Which Jobs to Strip of Civil Service Protections

OPM issued initial instructions Friday for implementing a Trump executive order that allows federal policy-making positions to be converted from career jobs to at-will appointments.

Management

OPM Finalizes Rule on Trump Executive Order to Ease Firing and Discipline of Feds

Regulations set to go into effect next month will implement several key provisions of President Trump’s executive order.

Pay & Benefits

Feds Will Pay 4.9% More Toward Health Care Premiums Next Year

The Office of Personnel Management said Wednesday that it has revamped its online plan comparison tool and encouraged greater transparency from insurance carriers to tamp down on surprise billing.

Pay & Benefits

OPM Seeks to Limit Back Pay Awards for Employees, Unions

Officials at the Office of Personnel Management want to upend a nearly 40-year-old set of regulations, restricting which actions are subject to grievances under the Back Pay Act, and banning unions from being awarded attorney's fees when their members win their cases.

Management

OPM Updates Job Qualifications Following Hiring Executive Order

The Office of Personnel Management is asking agencies for feedback on a draft list of the qualifications required for federal jobs as part of the implementation of a recent executive order emphasizing applicants’ skills and experience, rather simply education.

Management

We Must Address the Crisis in the Merit System

The historic system for hiring and promoting federal employees is failing the nation, and the consequences are profound.

Management

OPM Moves to Formally Shift Administrative Law Judges Out of Competitive Service

Proposed regulations implementing a 2018 executive order confirm that existing judges at federal agencies will not be subject to the change unless they transfer to another agency or leave and return to federal service, but they will no longer be eligible for a number of financial incentive programs.

Oversight

OPM Isn’t Doing Enough to Prevent Political Meddling in Reassignments of Senior Executives, Watchdog Finds

GAO reports that several agencies have made efforts to ensure that they comply with rules designed to prevent capricious reassignment of senior executives by political appointees, but gaps remain and OPM is unwilling to conduct oversight.