Management
OPM Director will leave the Biden administration
Kiran Ahuja oversaw efforts to transform the federal government’s HR agency into a government-wide leader on human capital policy, issuing new policies governing interns, telework and civil service protections.
Workforce
Biden rescinds COVID-era executive orders, folding safer federal workforce task force
The Office of Personnel Management issued new guidance last week rescinding some forms of COVID-19-related administrative leave, but preserving four hours of paid leave for federal employees to get vaccine booster shots.
Management
OPM rule removes Social Security numbers from mailed documents
The federal HR agency finalized a rule Friday that would help prevent potential identity theft by restricting the inclusion of Social Security numbers in mailed documents and establishing criteria for protecting the information.
Workforce
OPM finalizes reforms to federal internship programs
Biden administration officials hope improvements to the federal government’s Pathways Program will make it more appealing for potential applicants and easier to use as an agency recruitment tool.
Pay & Benefits
OPM continued to make strides on retirement process in March
The backlog of pending retirement claims fell below 17,000 last month, a feat that did not occur until June in 2023.
Workforce
Senators take another crack at improving federal telework data
The latest bipartisan bill aimed at better measuring the workplace flexibility’s effectiveness would require agencies to publish their telework policies, as well as implement already planned improvements to data collection on its usage.
Workforce
Employee groups laud Biden’s anti-Schedule F regulations
Unions and management organizations alike applauded the Office of Personnel Management’s effort to at least slow a future Republican administration’s efforts to strip federal employees of their civil service protections.
Updated
Workforce
OPM issues its final rule for Schedule F protections
The federal HR agency finalized its rule offering protections for career civil servants meant to safeguard against the potential reemergence of the Trump-era Schedule F policy.
Workforce
OPM’s labor-management forum guidance charts new ground for union policies
Federal agencies will be expected to embrace the return of collaborative councils, where federal employee unions may weigh in on future workplace policies, and measure the forums’ impact on employee engagement, agency performance and cost savings.
Oversight
OPM slices record retirement processing time in February
The overall retirement backlog ticked back under 20,000 last month, amid the federal government’s HR agency’s busy season.
Workforce
Biden administration details strategic plan to hire military spouses
Improving the recruitment and retention of spouses of servicemembers has been a bipartisan priority in recent years, as military families report economic precarity as a reason to leave public service.
Management
OPM unveils its ‘future of work playbook’ for agencies to revamp HR processes
The federal government’s dedicated HR agency’s latest piece of guidance offers a list of concrete ways that human capital leaders can implement the Biden administration’s workforce agenda.
Management
Is it time to get rid of OPM?
COMMENTARY | One former House human resources official says it is.
Pay & Benefits
The Postal Service Health Benefits program, prescription coverage and Open Season 2025
The federal health care enrollment period is months away, but you can start preparing now.
Management
OPM announces survey to analyze AI in government jobs
The move marks the second step in a years-long process to prep federal agencies for working with artificial intelligence.
Workforce
OPM’s 2024 equity goals aim to expand data-based approach
The federal government’s HR agency plans to expand the use of data to analyze recruitment barriers for underserved communities as well as outreach at minority-serving educational institutions in the coming year.
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
10 years on, OPM keeps its pay freeze in place for senior officials
With budget negotiations ongoing, OPM officials said that the pay rates for the vice president and other senior political officials will remain frozen until at least the expiration of the latest continuing resolution.
Pay & Benefits
OPM faces its first test of recent retirement processing tweaks
The number of new retirement claims received by the federal government’s HR agency doubled in January, marking the start of the annual busy season.
Management
OPM to tweak draft dodging rules, delegate investigations to agencies
The federal HR agency said its new plan for investigating when a federal job applicant failed to register for the draft will give applicants a better—and faster—chance to explain themselves.
Almost There!
Help us tailor content specifically for you: