News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

SECTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM:

10th Annual Federal Quality Conference

Get more information on this special conference and download a brochure and registration forms from our special conference section.

U.S. Navy International Logistics Symposium

Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton will be a guest speaker at a three-day International Logistics Symposium sponsored by the Navy International Programs Office in conjunction with the American Society of Naval Engineers, July 14-16, 1997, at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Crystal City, VA. Representatives from government, industry and foreign nations will meet to exchange ideas and review exhibits on a variety of logistics topics related to the Navy's Foreign Military Sales program. For program information contact NAVSEA (703) 602-9000.

The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

**TSP OPEN SEASON**The Thrift Savings Plan Open Season runs through July 31. During this time, you may begin contributing to the TSP, change the amount of your TSP contributions, or allocate TSP contributions to your account among the three investment funds. To get more information and download the forms you will need, click here.

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"The task of tracking, deciphering and interpreting civil service laws and regulations has become so complex that a number of private-sector businesses now specialize in providing information on everything from legislation to benefits and job openings to federal employees, would-be feds and government agencies (The Washington Post).

FAIR RETIREMENT--Congressman John Mica responds to an earlier story about legislation to increase federal retirement (The Washington Post, Letter to the Editor).

SICK BUILDINGS--Members of four federal employee unions rallied outside the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Southwest Washington yesterday to demand new federal guidelines for dealing with "sick building syndrome," a term describing maladies that afflict workers in poorly ventilated office buildings (The Washington Post).

HIRING--Businesses increasingly are turning to pre-employment tests to help find the right workers for the right jobs. As a result, the business of testing is booming, with companies scrambling to create foolproof tests for employers afraid of hiring the wrong person (USA TODAY).

OF INTEREST--Readers respond to an earlier column about job burnout. Most say they saw it coming, but feel helpless in today's competitive environment (The Wall Street Journal).

RESULTS ACT--"Lawmakers questioned agencies' ability to meet the September 30 deadline for complying with the Government Performance Results Act at a June 24 joint hearing of the Senate Governmental Affairs and Appropriations Committees (Federal Human Resources Week, 7/7/97).

WELFARE TO WORK--President Clinton's administration plans to hire 10,000 welfare recipients into the federal workforce over the next four years has begun in several agencies (Federal Human Resources Week, 7/7/97).