Management

Union: Social Security Biased Against Minorities in Performance Ratings

Although more than half of SSA’s frontline workers are minorities, they have accounted for less than 40% of top performance ratings doled out by the agency in recent years.

Management

FLRA Overturns Its Own Regional Director, Busts Immigration Judges’ Union

The lone Democrat on the board of the agency tasked with administering federal labor law accused his colleagues of “sophistry” and “facetious” reasoning to strip more than 450 federal employees of their collective bargaining rights.

Management

The Legal Theories at the Heart of Trump’s Order Politicizing the Civil Service

Federal employees could find it hard to challenge the White House’s move to strip civil service protections from them, since courts traditionally have sought to avoid weighing in on agency terminations.

Pay & Benefits

Most TSP Portfolios Tumble in October

Only two funds in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program saw increases last month.

Management

Coalition of 28 Labor Groups Urges Congress to Block Trump Order Creating Schedule F

Federal Worker Alliance sends a letter to Democratic appropriators urging them to include language in the next round of spending legislation to rescind President Trump’s executive order.

Management

OPM Quietly Abandons Proposed Merger with GSA

The Trump administration’s merger plan was criticized by lawmakers in both parties and was eventually blocked by Congress.

Management

House Democrats Urge OPM to Halt Implementation of Order Politicizing Civil Service

House Oversight and Reform Committee leaders want to investigate the development and analysis of the effort to strip wide swaths of the federal workforce of civil service protections.

Management

Union Sues and Democrats Introduce Bill to Block Trump Order Politicizing Civil Service

As opponents of the president’s effort to convert chunks of the federal workforce into at-will employees kick off their efforts to stop the initiative, the administration has signaled that agencies can push forward ahead of schedule.

Management

Salary Council Chairman Resigns in Protest of Trump Order Politicizing Federal Workforce

Ron Sanders, a key ally in the administration’s efforts to reform the civil service pay structure, said he cannot be party to “an attempt to require the political loyalty” of federal workers.

Management

Agencies to Have Wide Latitude In Deciding Which Jobs to Strip of Civil Service Protections

OPM issued initial instructions Friday for implementing a Trump executive order that allows federal policy-making positions to be converted from career jobs to at-will appointments.

Management

Governance Experts Assail White House Effort to Strip Federal Employees of Rights

Good government groups, unions and lawmakers were nearly unanimous in their scorching criticism of an executive order that could strip protections for hundreds of thousands and politicize the federal workforce.

Management

‘Stunning’ Executive Order Would Politicize Civil Service

President Trump signs directive that would potentially pull thousands of federal employees in "policy-making" positions out of the competitive service, making them at-will employees.

Pay & Benefits

Salary Council: Federal Workers Make 23% Less than Private Sector Counterparts

The advisory council on federal compensation recommended that Carroll County, Ill., be added to the Davenport-Moline, Iowa-Ill., locality pay area.

Management

Trump Administration Requests Info on Contractor Diversity Training as Officials Seek to Clarify What’s Allowed

Federal officials now say at least some unconscious bias training is all right under a recent controversial executive order.

Pay & Benefits

Lawmakers Seek to Increase Retiree COLA for Next Year to 3%

Legislation would set the annual increase in Social Security and federal retiree annuities at 3%, rather than the 1.3% increase currently slated for 2021, and would permanently increase adjustments in future years.

Management

Impasses Panel, Union Debate Appellate Court Decision’s Impact on Appointments Challenge

Government attorneys cited a recent D.C. Circuit Court decision in support of the argument that appointees to the Federal Service Impasses Panel should not require Senate confirmation.

Management

OPM Finalizes Rule on Trump Executive Order to Ease Firing and Discipline of Feds

Regulations set to go into effect next month will implement several key provisions of President Trump’s executive order.

Management

White VA Employees Twice as Likely to Be Promoted as Black Workers

The American Federation of Government Employees said Thursday that new data it obtained via the Freedom of Information Act underscores its allegations of systemic racism pervading the Veterans Affairs Department.