Pay & Benefits

Senate Appropriators Endorse Biden’s 2.7% Pay Raise for Feds in 2022

Spending bills unveiled by Senate Democrats Monday were silent on the issue of federal employee compensation, potentially clearing the way for President Biden’s plan.

Pay & Benefits

OPM to Propose Expanding Dental and Vision Benefits to More Federal Workers

In a new proposed rule, OPM would extend eligibility to temporary and part-time workers, as well as federal firefighters and other “intermittent” first responders.

Management

Democratic Lawmakers Offer Advice for White House Racial Equity Initiative

Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., stress that agencies must take a data-based approach to ensure underserved communities do not encounter barriers to access federal programs.

Pay & Benefits

Federal Retirees to See Largest Cost-of-Living Adjustment in Decades in 2022

While CSRS retirees will receive a 5.9% boost to their defined benefit annuity payments next year, enrollees in FERS will only see a 4.9% increase, renewing calls to change the law.

Oversight

ATF Misclassified Jobs as Law Enforcement and Retaliated Against Whistleblower, Agencies Say

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is demanding additional information after revelations that the Office of Personnel Management partially suspended the agency’s authority to classify positions.

Pay & Benefits

Bill to Provide Paid Family Leave for Feds Could Cost $20 Billion By 2027

Officials with the Congressional Budget Office warned that the actual price tag of providing feds with up to 12 weeks of paid family leave could vary widely from their estimate, depending on how much the new benefit is used.

Management

OPM’s Telework Initiatives Dovetail with Climate Change Planning

The agency announced a program to connect leaders from the private and nonprofit sectors with federal agencies to address climate change.

Workforce

White House: Some Feds With Valid Vaccine Exemption Requests Could Still Be Fired

Task force says that for some jobs where no other safety protocols are adequate, federal agencies may require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, without exception.

Workforce

Students Can Now Earn up to $72,000 Annually, Federal HR Director Says

OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said the federal government is looking to overhaul internships, telling students “we need more of you and your colleagues coming into the federal government.”

Pay & Benefits

TSP Portfolios Fall for First Time Since January

After an extended period of steady growth, nearly every fund in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program ended September in the red.

Workforce

Biden Administration Outlines Process for Disciplining, Removing Unvaccinated Feds

Refusal to comply with the president’s vaccine mandate will be treated as violating “a lawful order,” according to guidance from the White House Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce and OPM.

Management

Lawmakers Introduce Smattering of Bills to Avoid Future Shutdowns

The last-minute action to keep federal agencies open past Sept. 30 has spurred a flurry of legislation aimed at automatically funding federal programs in the face of congressional inaction.

Pay & Benefits

Feds Will Pay 3.8% More Toward Health Care Premiums Next Year

Cost growth stems largely from specialty drugs, treatments for chronic illnesses and the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers said, although federal workers will be impacted less than employees of other large organizations.

Workforce

TSA, Merit Board Reach Deal to Provide Appeal Rights to Airport Screeners

As the Biden administration moves to provide full civil service protections to the TSA workforce, lawmakers say Congress must codify screeners’ rights.

Workforce

Judges to Labor Authority: When Does a Contract End, Anyway?

Federal employee union's effort to challenge a controversial FLRA decision allowing agencies to unilaterally implement regulations may hinge on centuries-old common contract law.

Workforce

OPM Finalizes Rule to Boost Agency Hiring of Military Spouses

Regulations removing obstacles to hiring spouses of active duty service members outside of the competitive process will go into effect next month.