Pay & Benefits

TSP Can Do More to Assess Financial Risk of Climate Change, Watchdog Finds

GAO urged the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program to conduct a more thorough review of participants’ exposure to climate change-related risks next year.

Workforce

Biden Signs Sweeping Order to Improve Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Across Federal Workforce

All agencies will be required to submit a plan to improve their diversity initiatives, while OPM will be tasked with ensuring its various benefits programs are responsive to LGBTQ+ employees’ needs.

Management

Appeals Court Overrules FLRA on Telework Negotiability

A federal circuit court judge said a Federal Labor Relations Authority ruling improperly ignored provisions preserving management rights to deny telework requests.

Pay & Benefits

Lawmakers Spar Over Paid Family Leave for Feds

Democrats argue that the pandemic revealed the need for more expansive leave policies: Republicans dismissed the plan as an unnecessary “perk” for bureaucrats.

Management

Senate Confirms Ahuja as OPM Director in Close Vote

With Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a tie, lawmakers installed the first permanent director for the federal government’s HR agency in more than a year.

Management

Union: SBA Is Preventing Temporary Workers from Organizing

Although the Small Business Administration advertised temporary two-year positions processing Paycheck Protection Program loans as belonging to a bargaining unit, the agency stripped the jobs of that status after AFGE inquired about job conditions.

Pay & Benefits

Most Federal Employees Will Receive Friday Off for Juneteenth

President Biden signed a bill Thursday afternoon making the anniversary of the end of slavery a federal holiday, and OPM confirmed that federal workers will have Friday off.

Pay & Benefits

Juneteenth Will Be a New Holiday for Feds, Although It’s Unclear When

The holiday would typically be observed Friday, but a lack of lead time to implement a newly passed bill could delay when federal workers see a new day off.

Management

Social Security Honors Arbitration Decision, Will Restart Negotiations with Judges Union

Last month, an independent arbitrator took the rare step of requiring the agency and the Association of Administrative Law Judges to completely redo negotiations after finding widespread bad faith bargaining by the agency.

Oversight

GOP Lawmakers Question Ethics Waivers for Former Union Officials at OMB, OPM

House Republicans asked why Democrats have not objected to the use of ethics waivers by the Biden administration, although experts took no issue with the appointees in question.

Management

Biden Administration to Lift Capacity Caps at Federal Worksites

Agencies may set their own limits on how many federal employees can return to the office beginning next month, and in the meantime, the federal government will maintain its maximum telework posture.

Management

Report Calling for At-Will Federal Employment Suggests Trump Workforce Policy Isn’t Going Anywhere

Experts say the release of a controversial paper advocating at-will employment for federal workers portends future efforts to strip employees of civil service protections.

Management

OPM Finalizes Rule Easing Rehiring of Ex-Feds

Under new rules, federal agencies will be able to rehire former federal workers at a higher pay grade than when they left government.

Management

Biden Administration to Grant TSA Employees Full Collective Bargaining Rights, Better Pay

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ordered Transportation Security Administrator David Pekoske to align employees’ rights with those enjoyed by the vast majority of federal workers, including access to the General Schedule pay system.

Pay & Benefits

Employee Groups Continue to Push for Bigger Pay Raise Following Biden Budget Release

Several organizations representing federal employees announce that they support a 3.2% pay increase next year, rather than the 2.7% boost proposed in the president’s fiscal 2022 budget.

Pay & Benefits

Most TSP Funds Continue Upward Trend in May

Only one portfolio in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program lost value last month.