Management

Shriver assumes acting OPM director role

The federal government’s dedicated HR agency will be led by its long time deputy director, following Director Kiran Ahuja’s resignation.

Management

OPM updates list of skills needed for federal HR jobs

Officials hope that the changes will better equip agencies to tackle skills gaps and help finally address the more than two-decade-long struggle to remove human capital management from the government’s High Risk List.

Management

OPM launches a new one-stop shop for agency HR needs

Federal agencies can now directly compare shared service providers, as well as more easily find assistance on human capital challenges, thanks to a new online marketplace.

Pay & Benefits

OPM reminds agencies of pay provisions in 2024 NDAA

The most recent iteration of the annual defense policy bill extends a number of temporary pay and benefits provisions for both civilian and military service members and allows veteran feds to credit active duty service toward paid parental leave requirements.

Management

OPM guidance details when agencies can ask about applicants' criminal history

Though the federal government had already implemented a form of “ban the box” administratively, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act necessitated an update of the policy.

Pay & Benefits

Congressional Dems urge OPM to fully cover IVF in feds’ insurance program

More than 175 Democratic lawmakers said the federal government must do more to protect access to health services like in-vitro fertilization in light of a recent Alabama court ruling that effectively banned the procedure alongside abortion services.

Pay & Benefits

Postponing retirement problems: Part 1

It’s important to know the difference between a postponed retirement and a deferred retirement. 

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.