Workforce

EEOC Union Decries Agency’s Unilateral Decision to Return to Office

The American Federation of Government Employees Council 216 has filed an unfair labor practice complaint, alleging the agency bypassed ongoing negotiations over the return to traditional work sites and engaging in “surface-level” bargaining.

Pay & Benefits

As Lawmakers Talk Big Pay Raises, Managers Bemoan Pay Compression

According to the Congressional Research Service, the cap on General Schedule pay is now impacting pay raises in 30 different locality pay areas across the country.

Workforce

Senators, Labor Are Eyeing Adding More ALJs to the Social Security Administration Union

Democrats and advocates feel emboldened after the Biden administration encouraged agencies to search their ranks for misclassified workers.

Workforce

These Agencies Performed the Best—and Worst—on Key Employee Morale Questions

Although the 2021 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is missing some broad historical metrics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a look at individual questions can offer some insights.

Management

OPM Director Highlights ‘Call to Service’ to Hire Thousands to Implement Infrastructure Law

The federal government is hiring more than 8,000 people in the coming months, and officials will use that experience to fuel broader hiring process reforms.

Pay & Benefits

More Than 60 Democratic Lawmakers Want a 5.1% Raise for Feds

The lawmakers asked the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee to override President Biden’s plan to offer an average 4.6% raise for federal employees in 2023.

Workforce

Federal Employees Are Growing Less Engaged and Less Satisfied With Their Jobs

Response rates for the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey also fell 10 points from 2020, amid an abbreviated fall survey period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workforce

The ‘Ban the Box’ Prohibition at Federal Agencies Will Soon Be Expanded

OPM has proposed a rule implementing The Fair Chance Act, which expands a preexisting ban on asking federal job applicants about criminal histories before the conditional job offer phase of the hiring process, and sets up a mechanism for applicants to report violations of the rule.

Pay & Benefits

VA Will Provide Presumptive Disability Coverage to Vets with Respiratory Cancers

Veterans who have developed any number of nine rare cancers associated with burn pits will no longer have to prove that their conditions were caused during their service overseas.

Oversight

USDA Had a Plan for Determining the Best Place to Relocate Two Science Agencies. It Didn’t Follow It.

GAO finds the department's approach to relocating its Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City in 2019 had "significant limitations."

Pay & Benefits

It's Now Easier for Federal Firefighters to File for Workers Comp

For an array of chronic illnesses that have been linked with firefighting as a profession, federal firefighters will no longer have to prove precisely what incident caused their ailment.

Pay & Benefits

Feds Can Now Donate to Ukraine Relief Efforts Directly From Their Paychecks

Between now and June 30, federal workers can pledge to donate to thousands of charities working on relief efforts in Ukraine as part of a special round of the Combined Federal Campaign.

Management

Republican Senators Are Holding Up TSP Board Nominees Over Abandoned I Fund Changes

Three Republican senators have demanded that Thrift Savings Plan board nominees never shift the I Fund’s investments to track a more comprehensive market index that includes Chinese investments.

Workforce

OPM Targets Data and Benefits Education to Improve Equity in the Federal Workforce

The federal government HR agency’s report was one of more than 90 equity action plans released by the Biden administration this week.