Workforce
Bill allowing past cannabis users to become feds advances in House
The bipartisan legislation was amended this week to remove provisions allowing current marijuana users to be eligible for federal employment or a security clearance.
Pay & Benefits
Your guide to pay and benefits during a shutdown
Congress is on a collision course with yet another lapse of appropriations, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggles to corral the Republican caucus.
Workforce
New NTEU president scolds GOP over telework, anti-worker rhetoric
The recently elected union leader said labor groups need to do more to educate the public on how federal workers benefit their lives.
Workforce
Regulations aimed at derailing a Schedule F revival proposed by OPM
An effort to insulate the federal workforce from future efforts to strip them of their removal protections could accelerate an “existential” debate over the nonpartisan civil service system, experts said.
Workforce
Telework approach defended by agency leaders amid Republican pressure
Federal HR officials said, contrary to GOP lawmakers’ concerns, agencies monitor employees’ productivity while working remotely and ensure workers are not paid the improper amount in locality pay.
Pay & Benefits
Union warns at least one-third of federal wildland firefighters could walk if Congress walks off ‘pay cliff’
Officials with the National Federation of Federal Employees said Wednesday that competitors like Cal Fire and Pacific Gas and Electric are already looking to recruit federal firefighters fed up with their pay uncertainty.
Workforce
EEOC: ‘Ban the box’ policies are effective at federal agencies, but the government needs to raise awareness
In instances where a federal job applicant had a criminal record, the background check process only ruled them out over past criminal conduct 2% of the time, but many may still see their past as a barrier to joining the federal workforce.
Workforce
'It is fraud, folks. It’s fraud': The latest in a string of Republican accusations against federal teleworkers
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has requested investigations at every major federal department and agency into how telework and remote work have impacted service delivery, and whether federal workers are improperly receiving locality pay.
Management
Social Security Advisory Board urges quick action on SSA nominee, end to 6-year terms
Since the Social Security Administration was made independent from the Health and Human Services Department in the 1990s, only two of the agency’s commissioners have served the full six-year term.
Workforce
The shutdown threat would be off the table, under newly proposed legislation
A bill from Virginia Democrats would automatically trigger a continuing resolution when there is a lapse in appropriations and restrict the Senate’s ability to consider non-spending legislation until funding is figured out.
Workforce
OPM deputy defends administration's telework approach, touts ‘consensus-building’ in workforce policymaking
Rob Shriver argues the White House's calls to increase in-person work are consistent with the HR agency’s prior policies.
Pay & Benefits
Most TSP portfolios stumbled in August
The only fund in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program that finished last month in the black was the G Fund, which increases at a statutorily mandated rate each month.
Pay & Benefits
Biden formally announces 5.2% average pay raise for feds in 2024
The annual declaration of a national emergency preventing large automatic raises from taking effect solidifies that 0.5% of the total pay increase figure will go toward an average boost in locality pay.
Management
Coalition of unions endorses O’Malley to lead Social Security
The Federal Workers Alliance urged senators to move quickly to confirm President Biden’s nominee to run the Social Security Administration, noting that the embattled agency has been without a permanent commissioner for eight of the last 10 years.
Workforce
Pence ‘Day 1’ plan includes a telework rollback, spending freeze and ban on gender affirming care
The former vice president and Republican presidential candidate on Tuesday unveiled a laundry list of executive actions he would take immediately upon assuming office to reverse the Biden administration’s policies.
Pay & Benefits
IRS announces two-year delay to TSP catch-up contribution changes
New rules requiring high-income 401(k) participants to make catch-up contributions only to Roth accounts will not take effect until 2026.
Pay & Benefits
TSP contribution limits will increase again next year, consultants predict
This would mark the third straight year that the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings plan and similar private sector programs see a boost in their annual contribution limits.
Management
EEOC finalizes electronic filing options for feds
Although the agency that investigates complaints of workplace discrimination has offered the option to file documents and track cases online for years, its regulations now finally endorse the current system.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers urge OPM to expand FEHBP infertility coverage for LGBTQ+ feds
A group of 30 congressional Democrats called out “outdated” gaps in how the federal government’s employer-sponsored health insurance program covers infertility treatments, particularly for employees in the LGBTQ+ community.
Pay & Benefits
OPM clarifies pay rules for teleworkers who must travel during work
Guidance aimed at stipulating when employees must be paid for their travel to traditional work sites comes ahead of an expected push by agencies to increase the amount of “meaningful in-person work” this fall.
Almost There!
Help us tailor content specifically for you: