Workforce

Biden Officials Are Defending Telework Policies Assailed by Republicans

Officials from OPM and OMB stressed that they are focused on improving agencies’ customer service and reforming the recruitment of early career talent into the federal workforce.

Pay & Benefits

The House Has Cleared the Way for Biden’s 4.6% Pay Raise Plan

Lawmakers effectively endorsed the president’s pay raise proposal for federal workers Wednesday, although the Senate has yet to weigh in on the issue.

Pay & Benefits

Here’s How It Could Get Easier to Qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The Biden administration earlier this month announced a wholesale reform of a web of federal loan forgiveness, including a number of measures to make it easier for federal workers to make use of the historically headache-inducing programs.

Workforce

A Schedule F Ban Is Among Many Workforce Provisions in the Annual Defense Policy Bill the House Just Passed

Lawmakers also added language to grant full civil service protections and a pay raise to TSA employees to the must-pass bill before its approval Thursday.

Workforce

AFGE Will Split from Its ICE Union Over Ideological Divide

A union council representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees has been agitating to become independent, although the move presents risks for the group.

Workforce

Federal Employee Morale is Falling, and One Group Thinks the Slow Appointments Process Is to Blame

The Veterans Affairs Department was the only large agency to improve on its 2020 score in the latest annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report.

Workforce

The House’s Defense Policy Bill Could Codify Contractor Minimum Wage

The House is set to vote this week on its version of the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, an annual must-pass bill that often serves as the vehicle for provisions impacting the federal workforce.

Pay & Benefits

Here’s What Needs to Happen for the 2023 Federal Employee Pay Raise

Although the Biden administration and lawmakers appear set on providing feds an average 4.6% pay increase next year, things could change before the end of the year.

Pay & Benefits

TSP Funds Tumble Again in June

The federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings plan continues to suffer from tumult in financial markets.

Workforce

Ketanji Brown Jackson, A Defender of Federal Union Rights, is Now A Supreme Court Justice

The first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court once sided with federal employee unions in a legal challenge against the Trump administration.

Pay & Benefits

OPM: If You Need to Travel for Medical Care, You Can Use Sick Leave

The federal government’s HR agency confirmed that federal employees may use sick leave to travel to obtain reproductive health services, although the measure falls short of employee groups’ request for paid administrative leave after abortion ruling.

Pay & Benefits

TSP Officials Promise Service Will Improve After a Difficult Transition to the New Recordkeeping System

Staffing at the call center that serves participants of the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program has already increased 66%, with more on the way.

Pay & Benefits

Agencies Are Responding to the Supreme Court's Abortion Ruling. Here's How.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees’ access to in-state reproductive health services disappeared Friday after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

Workforce

Coming Soon: More Regs and Bills to Help Modernize the Federal Workforce

Reforms will ease the process of everything from attracting new talent to processing retirement claims, says OPM Director Kiran Ahuja.

Pay & Benefits

The Biden Team Announces Pay Raises of Up to $20,000 Annually for Federal Firefighters

The pay increases, authorized as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, will be retroactive to October 2021.

Workforce

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Works… Sometimes

Readers share their experiences with the Education Department program that was recently overhauled. Challenges still remain, though the October changes did help many.

Pay & Benefits

Feds Can’t Sue Over TSP Gains Lost During Shutdowns, An Appeals Court Finds

A group of FBI employees had argued they were entitled to damages, because delayed TSP contributions meant they missed out on gains from a rising stock market.