Agriculture Close To Avoiding Furloughs
Sequester Hits Disaster Relief
Feds Respond to Oklahoma Tornadoes
Making Government 'Simpler'
OK Senator Wants Aid Offset by Budget Cuts
Boldly Go Where No Fed's Gone Before
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Brittany Ballenstedt
Blogger
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
TSP officials note major growth in plan
October 15, 2007 Assets in the Thrift Savings Plan grew $6.4 billion in September, the largest increase this year, officials with the retirement savings program said Monday. At a monthly Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board meeting, officials overseeing the 401(k)-style plan said last month's growth brought total assets to $231 billion. September's growth ...
Pay Portions
October 11, 2007 Last week, the Federal Salary Council recommended an across-the-board pay raise of at least 2.5 percent for 2008. But even assuming that suggestion is followed, there's a lot more to the pay equation. Your overall pay boost will depend on where you live. That's because in addition to the 2.5 ...
Switch to new TSP account numbers prompts concern
October 11, 2007 The Thrift Savings Plan on Monday began requiring enrollees to identify themselves using new account numbers rather than Social Security numbers, prompting concern from some participants who say they have not received or have lost the new numbers. TSP Legislative Director Tom Trabucco said Thursday that plan officials have sent ...
Merit board proposes new rules for DHS cases
October 10, 2007 The Merit Systems Protection Board issued a proposed rule last week outlining how it will handle the adjudication of cases arising from the Homeland Security Department's new personnel system. The rule, published in the Federal Register Friday, seeks to streamline the process by which department employees can appeal disciplinary actions ...
GAO: Patent office lacks sufficient hiring plan
October 5, 2007 The Patent and Trademark Office lacks a sufficient plan for hiring more examiners to handle an increase in the volume and complexity of patent applications, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. Over the past five years, PTO primarily has based hiring on available funding and its ...
TSP funds make strong gains in September
October 3, 2007 The three riskiest funds in the Thrift Savings Plan performed well last month, with international investments posting the largest monthly gain yet this year. The I Fund, which invests in international stocks, grew 5.36 percent. September's growth brought the fund's 12-month gains to 24.96 percent -- also the highest increase ...
Salary council finds widening pay gap
October 3, 2007 Federal employees make an average of 23 percent less than their private sector counterparts, the Federal Salary Council announced Wednesday. The body, an independent group of salary experts, employee representatives and federal officials that makes determinations each year on the allocations of locality pay, said at its annual meeting that ...
Senate moves to restrict Defense personnel overhaul
October 2, 2007 The Senate on Monday approved language that would limit the implementation of a controversial personnel system at the Defense Department, and authorized a 3.5 percent 2008 pay raise for members of the military. The Senate voted 92-3 in favor of the fiscal 2008 Defense authorization bill, which would repeal the ...
Union urges Congress to address staff shortages at prisons
October 1, 2007 Congress must work to ensure that the Bureau of Prisons is adequately staffed to handle a serious increase in the inmate population, labor union officials said Monday. The security of federal prisons has been put at risk from budget setbacks and a staffing plan implemented three years ago by former ...
Offsetting Debt
September 27, 2007 Major student loan legislation affecting civil servants is slated to take effect next week, but it may not be the benefit some employees hoped for. The College Cost Reduction Act, which President Bush is expected to sign Thursday, will forgive outstanding debt for employees who have made 10 years of ...
