Oversight

Merit board advises equal treatment for teleworkers and office employees

Assignments and expectations should be comparable for agencies to realize the full benefit of the work arrangement, report notes.

Defense

Air Force to cut officers, spur early retirement, news report says

Congressional mandates require 436 Air Force captains and majors to lose their jobs, Federal New Radio reports.

Defense

Defense offered buyouts to 35 senior executives

Incentives were part of a purging of 200 senior positions in August and September.

Oversight

OPM responds to USAJobs complaints

Officials emphasize increased security and direct some blame on users.

Pay & Benefits

House approves bill giving flags to families of deceased federal employees

Civilian Service Recognition Act to honor public servants killed in the line of duty passes unanimously.

Pay & Benefits

Redesigned job search website attracts barrage of complaints

OPM stands by product, answering criticisms on search tool, technical glitches and contracting strategy.

News

Government rapidly depleting Deepwater Horizon cleanup fund, GAO finds

Continued BP spill relief may result in lack of money for future spills.

News

Justice employees fight proposed office closings

Lawyers want a Senate hearing on cuts the department says are in line with Attorney General Eric Holder’s call to ‘do more with less.’

Defense

FEMA urged to increase accountability

Improper payments and stretched resources affect the agency’s performance, lawmakers say.

Oversight

Justice plans to cut four antitrust division field offices, employee relocation time

Measures are part of plan to reduce spending by $130 million.

Oversight

FAA failing to keep airport terminal safety incidents grounded, GAO reports

Air traffic controller errors and other incident types are on the rise, auditors find.

Pay & Benefits

Workers’ Compensation Woes

Benefits for employees hurt on the job need an upgrade, but nothing is changing -- yet.

Oversight

EPA plagued with poor budgetary and workforce organization, GAO reports

Agency produces unreliable budget reports and overlaps resources.

News

Lawmakers urge super committee to address contractor salary cap

Bipartisan letter seeks a lower limit that applies to all contract employees, not just the top paid executives.

Oversight

The IRS isn’t watching purchase card transactions closely enough, study finds

Thousands of improper purchases took place between 2007 and 2009, IG says.

News

IRS hiring response time could still be faster, despite progress, IG finds

Improvements to hiring software and employee training have helped, report says.

News

Cuts to IRS funding would increase deficit, union says

The agency needs resources to collect taxes, Congress is warned.

Oversight

GAO recommends OMB help fund long-term efficiency initiatives

Upfront investments in projects to streamline operations can help save money down the road, report says.