Government Executive - Authors - Katy Saldarini

Report outlines problems with federal pay

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 25 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The report, "A Fresh Start for Federal Pay: The Case for Modernization," looks at the history of the General Schedule, the government's white-collar pay system. While the report outlines problems with the system, it does not propose solutions for fixing them. Rather, the report "is merely intended to open the conversation on the possibilities for a modernized federal pay system for the 21st century," OPM Director Kay Coles James wrote in the introduction.

The report argues that the General Schedule is a great pay system-for the workforce of the late 1940s. The General Schedule was established under the 1949 Classification Act. At that time, 70 percent of federal white-collar jobs were clerical. The General Schedule's system of classifying and paying employees based on their position, rather than performance, made sense since almost everyone did the same type of work. But today that system no longer works, the report says, since employees perform multiple tasks, are highly skilled and have specialized knowledge.

Another problem with the current compensation system is that the government has not found a way to compare federal pay to similar work in the private sector. The 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) tried to tackle the pay gap between the federal and private sectors by creating a formula to close it. But FEPCA has not worked because lawmakers have never fully funded it and because government leaders have disagreed about the usefulness of its methodology.

FEPCA's biggest flaw is that it doesn't allow comparisons between occupations in the private and federal sector, the report states. For example, the FEPCA methodology would not look at what a computer engineer in the private sector earns to determine what a computer engineer in the federal sector should earn. Instead it might compare salaries for all technology jobs without differentiation.

The government needs a way to compare pay rates in the federal and private sectors by occupation, not across-the-board, the report says, because only "a nimble system can recognize and accommodate strategic occupational differences."

The report also argues that a performance-based government needs a compensation system that recognizes and rewards performance. Under the General Schedule, a pay raise is always earned after a certain length of time, but is not guaranteed for outstanding performance. The defining characteristics of the General Schedule--narrow pay ranges, time-based automatic pay increases and across-the-board annual pay raises--all send the message that performances doesn't matter, the report says.

But the American Federation of Government Employees scoffed at the idea of pay for performance. In a statement issued prior to the report's official release, AFGE President Bobby Harnage said, "merit pay invites favoritism and favoritism invites corruption."

Finally, the current system is inflexible, the report says. Since the federal workforce is nowhere near as homogenous as it used to be, a single pay system no longer meets all the needs of various federal agencies. Strategic management of human capital, one of five governmentwide initiatives that make up the Bush management agenda, requires that compensation be tailored to the needs of an agency. While some agencies already have the authority to design their own pay systems, this should be "the rule, rather than the exception," the report says.

Some of the flaws with the General Schedule that the paper points to would be addressed under legislation introduced by the Bush administration in October. The proposed Managerial Flexibility Act, for example, would allow federal managers to make on-the-spot hiring decisions and design personnel systems that could be permanently exempt from portions of the Civil Service Code.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., welcomed the report as an opportunity for "an honest conversation on modernizing federal pay," but said it does nothing to address the private-federal pay gap. "The first step in any modernization is to address the enormous pay disparity between the federal employees and their private sector counterparts. Unfortunately, I don't see anything in this report that gives me the confidence that this will happen," he said.

Paul Light, director of governmental studies at the Brookings Institution, also praised the report for starting a dialogue on pay modernization. "This is a pay system designed for a workforce that hasn't shown up for the better part of a half century and desperately needs to be modernized. This report marks the opening bell in a long-overdue conversation based on an honest, rigorous assessment."

OPM will formally issue the report at a closed gathering of civil service experts sponsored by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government on Monday. OPM will post the report to its Web site on Tuesday.

]]>

Some TSP funds bounce back in March

Katy Saldarini — Fri, 05 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0500

The C fund, which invests in common stocks, gained 3.73 percent in March, its first gain since December 2001. But with all of its fluctuations in the past year, the C fund has only posted a 0.12 percent gain since April 1, 2001.

The S fund, which invests in the stocks of small- and mid-sized companies, was another winner in March, posting a 6.83 percent gain. But in the past 11 months, the S fund has dropped 0.36 percent.

The I fund, which is invested in international stocks, rose 5.82 percent in March, but is still posting negative returns for the last 11 months. The I fund has dropped 14.71 percent since May 2001.

The F fund, which consists of fixed-income bonds, dropped by 1.66 percent in March, it's first dip since December 2001. The F fund has gained 5.45 percent in the past year.

The G fund, comprised of government securities, gained a steady 0.44 percent in March, boosting its 12-month return to 5.35 percent.

The monthly C, F, G, S and I Fund returns reflect net earnings on the amounts invested during the month.

For an index of the performance of the C, I and S funds that is updated each business day, see the "TSP Ticker" on the front page of GovExec.com.

March's rates of return are listed below. The numbers in parentheses are negative.

	G Fund	F Fund	C Fund	S Fund	I Fund
March 2002	0.44%	(1.66)%	3.73%	6.83%	5.82%
Last 12 Months (4/1/2001-2/28/2002)	5.35%	5.45%	0.12%	--	--
Last 11 Months * (5/1/2001-2/28/2002)	--	---	---	(0.36%)	(14.71%)

* The S and I Funds debuted in May 2001.

]]>

GSA to feds: Don’t talk and drive

Katy Saldarini — Tue, 05 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

bulletin published in the Federal Register Friday. Legislation pending in 27 states would ban hand-held wireless phones while driving. New York state has already approved such a ban. In general, federal employees are not exempt from state and local laws dealing with motor vehicles, and agencies should be aware of the potential for increased liability from accidents caused by the use of wireless hand-held phones, GSA said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has several studies under way of such driver distractions as cell phone use. GSA plans to keep agencies informed on the findings and any changes in federal policy on cell phone use, the bulletin said. ]]>

Army headquarters personnel prepare for layoffs

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 28 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Army officials said the potential layoffs are part of the service's efforts to make its workforce smaller, more flexible and better aligned with field operations. They are part of a larger Defense Department initiative to reduce headquarters staff and better align personnel with new missions.

The Bush administration said in its fiscal 2003 budget request that the Pentagon would pursue a 15 percent cut in its headquarters staff, reducing civilian personnel levels slightly in 2003, from 671,800 workers to 664,600.

The memo directs Army headquarters staff to review and update their personnel records, verifying such items as their length of service, position descriptions, performance evaluations and veterans preference status. Employees were asked to provide documentation of any errors they discovered.

RIF rules require agencies to consider employees' appointment type, tenure, veterans preference and performance ratings when deciding who to lay off. In addition, under RIF rules, an employee who has been selected for a RIF-or a representative of the employee-can review retention records that have a bearing on layoff decisions.

Cooperating with the personnel record verification process is not mandatory, but is "strongly encouraged, as this process benefits you alone," the memo says.

The Army will not know how many positions the potential RIFs might affect until reviews of field agencies are completed, spokeswoman Elaine Kanellis said. The reviews are scheduled to be done by the end of March, but then the data will have to be analyzed before a final number is known.

Buyouts, early outs and Defense's Priority Placement Program will also be used to help streamline headquarters staff, Kanellis said. The Priority Placement Program is used to place workers in other federal jobs when installations or agencies close or downsize. In addition, selected headquarters staff were notified earlier this year of an opportunity to apply for buyouts between Jan. 14 and Feb. 8. Under buyouts, agencies pay employees to leave the federal civil service. Buyout applications are currently being evaluated, Kanellis said.

A spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees called the timing of the potential Army RIFs ironic.

"At a time when we're under threat we end up going after the very people that are providing the nation's defense. It was an Army personnel wing that was hit by [a hijacked] plane" in the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, said Wiley Pearson, an AFGE defense policy analyst.

]]>

OPM issues new standards on merit principles

Katy Saldarini — Fri, 15 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

new standards designed to hold all federal agencies, including those exempt from established personnel rules, accountable for applying merit principles in personnel management. The new standards are based on requirements laid out in Executive Order 13197, issued in January 2001. The executive order clarified that all federal agencies in the executive branch, particularly those exempt from Title 5, must comply with the merit system principles of fairness, efficiency and objectivity. Title 5 of the U.S. Code dictates standard personnel rules for the federal government. OPM is required by law to ensure that federal agencies operate their human resources management programs in accordance with merit principles. Under Executive Order 13197, agencies must submit workforce information to OPM for oversight purposes. The agency's merit systems oversight office uses the workforce data to monitor the personnel programs of federal agencies. Under the new standards, agencies must develop a human resources accountability system that supports the agency's mission, helps the agency solve significant HR problems, includes balanced measures of agency human resources management and is appropriately documented to comply with legal requirements. OPM provided several examples of measurements agencies can use to meet these requirements. They included the extent to which employees understand how their jobs fit in and contribute to fulfilling the agency's mission; retention rates; total cost of HR per serviced employee; and the agency's level of compliance with veterans preference or whistleblower provisions. "These standards are part of OMB's "Human Capital Standards for Success." Meeting them is one step to enable your agency to achieve a "green light" under the OMB standards," OPM Director Kay Coles James wrote in a Jan. 4 memo to agency heads in which she issued the new standards. James referred to the Bush administration's "traffic light" scorecard, which uses a red, yellow and green grading system for five areas of agency performance: human capital management, competitive sourcing, financial management, electronic government and linking performance to budgets. On the scorecard, green is for success, yellow is for mixed results and red is for unsatisfactory performance. Of the 26 major federal agencies included on the scorecard, only three got yellow lights in human capital management. The rest were red. The only agencies exempt from new standards of accountability are ones that deal with national security, such as the CIA, FBI, Defense Intelligence Agency and National Imagery and Mapping Agency. For more information on the new standards, see OPM's Questions and Answers. ]]>

New mileage reimbursement rate takes effect

Brian Friel and Katy Saldarini — Mon, 21 Jan 2002 00:00:00 -0500

41 CFR Part 301-10), the governmentwide rate cannot exceed the IRS' rate. GSA announced the higher mileage reimbursement rate in the Jan. 15 Federal Register. Under federal travel regulations, employees may use personal vehicles for official travel if authorized by their agency. If an agency authorizes travel by other means, such as travel by air, and employees drive their own cars instead, reimbursement rates are limited to the cost of the authorized means of travel. Employees may also use personal motorcycles and airplanes if they get approval. The reimbursement rate for motorcycles is 28 cents per mile, up from 27.5 cents per mile last year. Personal airplane travel can be reimbursed at 97.5 cents per mile in 2002, up from 96.5 cents per mile in 2001. ]]>

GSA raises mileage reimbursement rate

Katy Saldarini — Wed, 09 Jan 2002 00:00:00 -0500

41 CFR Part 301-10), the governmentwide rate cannot exceed the IRS' rate. In November, the IRS adopted a new standard mileage reimbursement rate of 36.5 cents per mile for 2002.

GSA's decision to mirror the IRS rate was made on Jan. 8, and is expected to be published in the Federal Register by early next week, according to Jim Harte, an agency spokesman. The rate will be effective for travel on or after Jan. 21, 2002, Harte said. Under federal travel regulations, employees may use personal vehicles for official travel if authorized by their agency. If an agency authorizes travel by other means, such as travel by air, and employees drive their own cars instead, reimbursement rates are limited to the cost of the authorized means of travel.

]]>

Rule clarifies statements of reasonable accommodation

Katy Saldarini — Tue, 11 Dec 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Federal Register Tuesday, provides additional guidance and suggested language. The rule adds a reasonable accommodation statement to the list of required information for all vacancy announcements published on USAJOBS, which lists federal job openings in the U.S. and abroad, and allows users to search by state, agency and occupation. Agencies can word their reasonable accommodation statements however they want, as long as the statements convey the basic message that reasonable accommodation will be provided, the rule states. The rule also cautions agencies not to single out any specific medical conditions as appropriate for a reasonable accommodation request. OPM suggests the following language for a statement of reasonable accommodation:

"This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis."

The rule further says that the reasonable accommodation statement should include contact information for a knowledgeable person who can answer questions about the agency's accommodation policy, "to prevent misinforming or frustrating the applicant with disabilities." Vacancies in the excepted service and the Senior Executive Service must also include reasonable accommodation statements. The interim regulations go into effect on Jan. 10, 2002. Comments are due on or before Feb. 11, 2002 and should be sent to:

Ellen E. Tunstall, Assistant Director for Employment Policy
Office of Personnel Management, Room 6500
1900 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C., 20415-9500

]]>

Ethics office changes rule on travel reimbursements

Katy Saldarini — Fri, 30 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

final rule published Friday by the Office of Government Ethics. A provision in the Standards of Ethical Conduct prohibits federal employees from accepting compensation-including travel reimbursement-for teaching, speaking or writing on matters relating to their official duties. But in 1995, two EPA employees successfully challenged that provision and a district court of appeals ruled the travel part of it unconstitutional. In the case, Sanjour v. Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA employees argued that they should be allowed to accept travel reimbursement for speeches given in a private capacity, but relating to their role as EPA officials. In their defense, the EPA employees pointed to a General Services Administration rule that allows federal agencies to permit employees to accept travel reimbursements for official speech. The court agreed that having the two conflicting rules was unwise and ruled in favor of the employees. Some non-career senior executives will still have to pay their own way to unofficial speaking gigs. The rule does not apply to political appointees and other senior non-career employees because "the balancing of interests relevant to senior executive officials might present a different constitutional question," the court ruled. The category "senior non-career" includes non-career employees who are members of the Senior Executive Service; political and Schedule C appointees; those above the GS-15 grade level; or those who make more than 120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-15s. The rule also doesn't mean that employees can begin accepting large sums for speeches-it only applies to travel reimbursement. The prohibition on other forms of compensation for giving unofficial speeches related to official duty is still in effect. In addition, the GSA travel regulation still applies, OGE said. Two federal employees who submitted joint comments on the interim version of the rule suggested expanding the rule to include travel reimbursement for any function at which at which "a federal presence is desired." "These commenters misunderstand the purpose of the amendment. The intent is not to facilitate official travel," the rule stated. The final rule takes effect Dec. 31, 2001. ]]>

Executive order makes it easier for CIA retirees to return to work

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 29 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Federal Register Thursday. Under normal circumstances, re-employed CIA employees are required by law to have their retirement annuities suspended or reduced if they return to government service. The executive order gives the director of the CIA authority to waive such reductions for employees who return on a temporary basis, "only if, and for so long as, the authority is necessary due to an emergency involving a direct threat to life or property or other unusual circumstances." However, retired CIA employees who return to work on a temporary basis may not earn additional retirement benefits while they are re-employed, the order states. The executive order was not issued at the CIA's request, a CIA spokesman said. The dual compensation waiver may be applied to any retired CIA employee who is re-hired under the order's specifications, not just to those who are specifically recalled to work. Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Office of Personnel Management also gave agency heads the authority to grant dual compensation waivers to retirees from other government agencies. The CIA announced on Wednesday that a CIA employee was the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan since U.S. bombing there began. ]]>

Postal Service asks Congress for billions to protect mail, bail out agency

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 08 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Title 39 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Postal Service can request a public service appropriation. The last time it received one was in 1982, according to McLean. Several lawmakers have voiced support for buoying the Postal Service through the anthrax crisis. Subcommittee Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-S.D., compared the Postal Service to the nation's airlines, who also received a devastating and unexpected financial blow from the Sept. 11 attacks. Just as the government helped the airlines, "there is a legitimate need for a federal government contribution to assist the Postal Service as it addresses this crisis. As one who firmly believes in the mission of the Postal Service, I will support that effort," said Dorgan. However, President Bush said Tuesday he would veto any bill exceeding a $686 billion cap on the 13 regular appropriations bills and the $40 billion emergency supplemental already passed, setting the stage for a partisan battle over the funding. According to CongressDaily, Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd of West Virginia is daring President Bush to make good on his veto threat, saying on Wednesday: "If he wants to veto more money for [fighting] anthrax, if he wants to veto more money for antibiotics ... let him do so. People in this country are under a cloud of fear and apprehension." ]]>

IRS raises mileage reimbursement rate; GSA could follow

Katy Saldarini — Wed, 07 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

standard mileage reimbursement rate two cents to 36.5 cents per mile in 2002, a rate that the General Services Administration could adopt for all federal employees.

GSA sets the mileage reimbursement rate for federal employees. By law (41 CFR Part 301-10), the governmentwide rate cannot exceed the IRS'. Last year, the rates GSA set for mileage reimbursement mirrored those set by the IRS.

GSA is required by law to independently review the IRS study that determined the new rates. GSA bases the rate it adopts for 2002 on the IRS study and other data.

The current standard mileage rate is 34.5 cents per mile. The rate has not changed once this year, but in other years, each rate change was based on a similar change made by the IRS.

Under federal travel regulations, an employee may use a personal vehicle for official travel if authorized by his or her agency. If an agency authorizes travel by other means, such as travel by air, and an employee drives his or her own car instead, the employee's reimbursement is limited to the cost of the authorized means of travel.

]]>

OPM relaxes annual leave rules for feds called to help in national emergency

Katy Saldarini — Mon, 05 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

On Sept. 14, President Bush declared a "national emergency by reason of certain terrorist attacks" on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Since then, many federal agencies have been involved in response and recovery efforts to the attacks as well as ongoing efforts to protect the nation from future attacks. Under an interim rule published in the Nov. 2 Federal Register, OPM is letting federal employees involved in work related to the national emergency since Sept. 11 to hold on to any unused vacation time until the end of the national emergency or until the employee is transferred to another position that is not essential to emergency work.

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, many government employees have been working long hours and must continue doing so to fulfill their agencies' critical missions. Without the rule, many federal employees would have had to give up some of their annual leave under the government's 'use-it-or-lose-it' policy.

"Since it is known in advance that it is not possible for employees involved in the national emergency to be absent on leave, the scheduling and canceling of such leave places an unnecessary administrative burden on the employees and agencies involved," the rule states. As a result, annual leave forfeited as a result of the national emergency will be deemed to have been scheduled in advance, OPM said.

Under the proposed rules, a full-time employee will be required to schedule and use excess annual leave of 416 hours or less by the end of the leave year in progress two years after the date the employee is no longer involved in job duties created by the national emergency. OPM last relaxed its 'use it or lose it' leave policy for federal employees who worked on the Y2K problem. The interim rule goes into effect Nov. 2, 2001. Comments on it must be received on or before Jan. 2, 2002.

Send comments to:

Donald J. Winstead
Assistant Director for Compensation Administration
Office of Personnel Management, Room 7H31
1900 E Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20415

Or, fax comments to 202-606-0824 or e-mail them to: payleave@opm.gov. ]]>

Administration to develop 24 e-government projects

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 25 Oct 2001 00:00:00 -0400

"With these reforms, citizens will be able to demand and expect the same level of IT quality from their government that the private sector provides its customers," OMB Director Mitch Daniels said in a statement.

In a July interview with Government Executive, Mark Forman, OMB's associate director for information technology and e-government and head of the E-government Task Force, said the administration had tried to identify "high payoff" e-government projects that will fill performance gaps at individual agencies.

"I look forward to working with agencies in a partnership approach to reduce redundancy and improve citizens' return on investment," Forman said. The e-government initiative is part of the President's five-point management agenda.

The e-government projects fall into four categories: individual citizens, businesses, internal government affairs and internal government efficiency and effectiveness programs. The government efficiency ideas will be aimed at reducing administrative costs through the use of best practices in such areas as financial management, supply chain management and knowledge management.

These are the projects selected and the agencies that will manage them:

Government to Citizen:

Project	Agency
USA Service	GSA
EZ Tax filing	Treasury
Online access for loans	Education
Recreation one stop	Interior
Eligibility assistance online	Labor

Government to Business:

Project	Agency
Federal asset sales	GSA
Online rulemaking management	Transportation
Simplified and unified tax and wage reporting	Treasury
Consolidated health informatics business case	HHS
Business compliance one stop	Small Business Administration
International Trade Process Streamlining	Commerce

Government to Government:

Project	Agency
E-Vital (business case)	SSA
E-Grants	HHS
Disaster assistance and crisis response	FEMA
Geospatial information one stop	Interior
Wireless networks	Justice

Internal Effectiveness and Efficiency:

Project	Agency
E-Training	OPM
Recruitment one stop	OPM
Enterprise HR integration including e-travel	OPM
Integrated acquisition	GSA
E-records management	NARA

]]>

TSP’s C, S and I funds take a hit in September

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 04 Oct 2001 00:00:00 -0400

TSP Ticker" on the front page of GovExec.com.

September's rates of return are listed below. The numbers in parentheses are negative.

	G Fund	F Fund	C Fund	S Fund	I Fund
Sept. 2001	0.43%	1.15%	(8.05%)	(12.50%)	(9.95%)
Last 12 Months (9/1/2000-8/30/2001)	5.67%	13.07%	(26.57%)	(34.25%)	(28.84%)

]]>

OMB releases first round of 2001 FAIR Act lists

Kellie Lunney and Katy Saldarini — Wed, 26 Sep 2001 00:00:00 -0400

first round of 2001 FAIR Act lists published by the Office of Management and Budget in Wednesday's Federal Register. Of the 310,507 jobs included in the first round, 74 percent, or 228,631 positions, are eligible to be performed in the private sector under the rules of the FAIR Act. The FAIR Act requires agencies to compile annual inventories of jobs that are "commercial in nature" and could be performed by contractors. Every year OMB reviews the lists and then releases them to Congress and the public in three rounds. Agencies' FAIR Act inventories for 2001 were due to OMB on June 30. In March 2000, OMB told agencies to post their FAIR Act inventories on their Web sites. But many of the newly released lists, including OMB's, were nowhere to be found online, according to a brief survey by GovExec.com. Even though OMB provided a URL for each agency, in many cases the URL pointed to the agency's home page, with no reference to where the FAIR Act list is located on the Web site. Brendan Danaher, a policy analyst for the American Federation of Government Employees, questioned the Bush administration's timing in releasing the first round of the 2001 FAIR Act lists. "In light of the awful events this month, we were hoping that the administration would understand the importance of performing work in-house. At this time above all, we should be reconsidering this headlong rush to privatize government activities," he said. But OMB spokesman Chris Ullman dismissed the argument, saying, "AFGE was against the FAIR Act before the [Sept. 11 terrorist attacks], and they are merely looking for additional excuses as to why we shouldn't do this." In an interview with GovExec.com last week, OMB Deputy Director Sean O'Keefe said that competitive sourcing and the other major goals of the President's management plan are now even more important in light of the terrorist attacks. "Shoot, we are trying to acquire means to deliver all manner of crisis response capabilities. That's all the more reason why we have to think about how we competitively source," he said. The 2001 FAIR Act lists are the first the Bush administration has reviewed. "In the past this law hasn't had teeth," said Danaher. But in March O'Keefe revitalized the FAIR Act by ordering agencies to directly outsource or perform public-private competitions on 5 percent of their 2000 FAIR Act inventories, or 42,500 federal jobs, by October 2002. In budget guidance for fiscal 2003, OMB directed agencies to outsource or perform public-private competitions on 10 percent of all commercial jobs by October 2003, for a total of 15 percent. Because holding public-private competitions under OMB Circular A-76 is a time-consuming process, many agencies might use an option to directly convert jobs to the private sector without public-private competition to meet the 10 percent goal by 2003, Danaher said. "What [the 10 percent goal] really means is that agencies will be forced to privatize work without any kind of competition," he said. Under the FAIR Act, contractors, unions and employees can challenge the lists if they think jobs should have been, or should not have been, included. In 1999, when the first FAIR Act lists were published, contractors and unions filed several challenges with agencies, but only about 6 percent of challenges to the largest federal agencies' FAIR Act lists were successful. Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council (PSC), said he is "paying less attention" to the FAIR Act and likely will not take any action on the 2001 lists. "It's good information, but we're not spending time on challenges. They have been virtually impossible," he said. Unlike PSC, the American Federation of Government Employees plans to challenge any job on the FAIR Act list that is inherently governmental, Danaher said. ]]>

TSP investors urged not to panic in wake of stock market dip

Katy Saldarini — Mon, 17 Sep 2001 00:00:00 -0400

OPM issues special hiring authority to fill emergency personnel needs

Katy Saldarini — Fri, 14 Sep 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Title 5, Chapter 1, Part 213 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

Temporary emergency need: Individuals may be appointed for up to one year.
30-day critical need: Individuals may be appointed for 30 days and the appointment can be extended for an additional 30 days. Under the law, an agency may not employ the same individual under this authority for more than 60 days in any 12-month period.

OPM also granted managers special authority to hire personnel in senior-level positions. Usually OPM must individually approve appointments for personnel with special, senior-level expertise. But under authority granted Friday, "they don't have to come to OPM and ask for it. If the Defense Department wants to bring on a counterterrorist expert, they don't have to ask, they can just do it and tell us after the fact. Normally we would have to review it," explained Joyce Edwards, director of OPM's Office of Executive Resources Management. OPM has also pledged to immediately process requests for Senior Executive Service emergency appointments, which are explained in Title 5, Chapter 1, Part 317 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

OPM also suggested that federal managers contract with private sector temporary firms to meet emergency needs and reminded agencies of their authority to make appointments of 120 days or less without clearing their career transition assistance program or interagency career transition plan. Those programs give special selection status to employees displaced by government downsizing. Another immediate source of personnel are employees on re-employment priority lists, OPM said.

]]>

Defense Logistics Agency taps blind and disabled workers

Katy Saldarini — Fri, 10 Aug 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Career transition programs place thousands of feds in new jobs

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 09 Aug 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Last August, OPM made the new programs permanent. The programs, known as the Career Transition Assistance Plan and the Interagency Career Transition Plan, together helped place 2,768 executive branch employees in other federal jobs in fiscal 2001, according to OPM.

At the Defense Department, 2,272 employees were placed in new Defense jobs agency in fiscal 2001. Since their inception, the programs have placed more than 30,000 employees in new jobs-- almost half of those eligible for assistance. During the same time period, 24,601 federal employees were let go through reductions in force. The report is available at the OPM Web site.

]]>

New city-pair contracts feature advance-purchase discounts

Katy Saldarini — Mon, 16 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0400

http://www.fss.gsa.gov/citypairs/ ]]>

New Defense budget alters military-civilian pay parity picture

Tanya Ballard Brown and Katy Saldarini — Fri, 29 Jun 2001 00:00:00 -0400

a press briefing on the amended budget request Wednesday, Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim first said that the base pay raise for service members would remain at 4.6 percent, with the additional 0.4 percent coming in the form of bonuses and other incentives. But after consulting with staff members, however, Zakheim said that under the amended budget, 5 percent is the assumed base pay raise. The higher military pay raise request could alter the debate over pay parity that lawmakers and unions who represent federal employees have been waging with the Bush administration. While President Bush's initial fiscal 2002 budget included the 4.6 percent military pay raise, the administration included only a 3.6 percent pay raise for civilian federal employees, marking the first time since 1987 that military and civilian personnel have received different annual raises. But both the House and the Senate passed budget resolutions calling for pay parity for military and civilian federal employees, and assumed an average 4.6 percent raise for both groups. On Thursday Barnaby Harkins, legislative assistant to Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said the new Defense pay raise figure could change the pay parity debate, but added that it's too early to predict how. "I think that 5 percent is a very new number. It was not in the original budget framework and will have to be looked at very carefully," he said. Still, Harkins said Davis will seek a pay raise that matches whatever the Defense request is. Davis has "always been in support of pay parity. We've had it for 17 of the last 20 years. It is something we've tried to maintain up here [on Capitol Hill]," he said. Harkins also speculated that the new Defense pay figure the Pentagon has floated could make it easier for Congress and the Bush administration to reach a compromise figure on pay parity. "It may be a way for us to get to 4.6 percent for both sides," he said. Other lawmakers said they would continue to support pay parity, but said they need to study the Defense request before deciding on a next step. "I continue to strongly support the administration's move to provide a pay raise for the military, but I also continue to be disappointed by their lack of support for the principle of pay parity. As a matter of fairness, civilian federal employees should not be left behind, and that is exactly what this administration is doing by failing to provide equal pay adjustments," said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., agreed, saying, "We should raise the pay of both groups significantly, not shortchange one group. I will continue to fight for pay parity. It's the right thing to do." ]]>

Comments sought on accounting software standards

Katy Saldarini — Tue, 19 Jun 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Core Financial Systems Requirements document, which outlines the basic functionality that core financial systems must have in order to support agency missions and comply with laws and regulations. Core financial systems support management of the general ledger, funds, payments, receipts, costs and reporting. All must be designed under JFMIP standards to support the preparation of agency budgets and annual financial statements as well as support management decision-making and reporting with timely, complete, reliable and consistent information. Agencies are expected to use the guidelines when reviewing new accounting systems or updating old ones. The new document updates one released in February 1999. JFMIP is specifically seeking input on 10 proposed changes to the document, including changes that make certain system requirements mandatory. JFMIP certifies software packages for federal use. Commercial software is tested against requirements laid out in the core requirements document. Results of the tests are published in JFMIP's Knowledgebase Web site.

Comments should be sent by Aug. 20 to:

Joint Financial Management Improvement Program
Suite 430
1990 K Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Attn: Core Financial System Requirements, Steve Balsam

]]>

Graying of the federal workforce continues, report says

Katy Saldarini — Mon, 11 Jun 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Nearly three-quarters of the federal workforce is now over the age of 40, according to CBO's report, "Changes in Federal Civilian Employment: An Update." The May report is the latest in periodic updates of CBO's analysis of governmentwide trends in federal civilian employment identified in its 1996 memorandum, "Changes in Federal Civilian Employment." The last update was issued in June 1999.

"If the federal government continues its recent efforts to limit employment, the aging of the workforce will likely continue," the report said. The CBO data bolsters General Accounting Office reports that urge federal agencies to use succession planning and to train and develop existing staff to make up for anticipated gaps in skills that retiring workers will leave behind.

The report's analysis of workforce data from 1985 to 2000 also suggests that the federal workforce is becoming more skilled, more educated and more white-collar. In 2000, 87 percent of federal civilian employees held jobs in white-collar occupations and 40 percent held advanced degrees, compared with 79 percent and 30 percent respectively in 1985.

The shift away from blue-collar jobs to professional and administrative positions can be attributed to Defense Department downsizing, automation and the outsourcing of support positions to the private sector, the report said.

As a result, the federal government may see a demand for more highly trained personnel to manage contracts and to oversee highly technical information technology systems, the report said.

From 1985 through 2000, the federal workforce declined by 19 percent, or a little less than a half million employees. The total number of federal employees fell from 2.3 million in 1985 to 1.8 million in 2000.

CBO's figures don't include the hundreds of thousands of temporary workers hired for the 2000 decennial census, the government's contract workforce or workforce data on intelligence agencies.

The largest drops in employment were at the Defense Department, which saw a 37 percent decline in civilian employment from 1985 to 2000. Employment among all other federal agencies decreased by 2.5 percent.

Trends in employment among federal agencies varied. A few agencies saw percentage reductions that were higher than Defense's. For example, the Office of Personnel Management reduced its ranks by 45 percent while the General Services Administration saw a 49 percent employment decline over the 1985-2000 period.

The report attributed workforce reductions at the Defense Department to decreased workloads in a post-Cold War era. But at other agencies, the more streamlined workforces were the result of tighter budgets and efforts to improve program management, CBO said.

The Justice Department was the only agency that experienced an increase in employment over the specified period. The agency workforce nearly doubled from 62,900 to 125,300 over the 15-year time frame, due in large part to efforts to fight drug-related crimes, the report said.

The report chronicled employment trends by region and state during the 15-year period, noting that the largest job cuts came in the eastern U.S., where more than half of all federal civilian employees work.

]]>

Lieberman pledges to look out for federal employees

Katy Saldarini — Thu, 07 Jun 2001 00:00:00 -0400

said last week that Lieberman is unlikely to play as active a role in government management reform issues as his predecessor. However, Lieberman has been a leader in promoting e-government, advocating more funding for interagency e-government initiatives and the creation of a federal chief information officer. Lieberman is pushing these and other proposals in his 2001 E-Government Act. He also pledged to work closely with Thompson. "I look forward to consulting closely with my friend and colleague Sen. Fred Thompson as the committee undergoes a change in leadership. We worked well together during Sen. Thompson's time as chairman, and I'm sure we will do so now," he said. ]]>