Older Feds Aren't Playing to Their Strengths
Is It Too Hard to Fire Misbehaving Feds?
Americans Still Like the Postal Service
A Forced 4-Day Weekend for Many Feds
No More Tax-Cheating Feds, Senators Say
Video: The Daily Show on Apple's Taxes
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.
Senate drops effort to grant airport screeners bargaining rights
July 9, 2007 Senate Democrats agreed on a compromise Monday that would strip from major homeland security legislation a provision that would grant collective bargaining rights to federal airport screeners. The provision, included in a measure to implement the unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, would have provided collective bargaining rights to thousands ...
Trials and Tribulations
July 5, 2007 If you are a federal employee or a dependent of one and you develop cancer, your best hope for a cure could be a clinical trial. But don't expect your insurance carrier to cover your routine health costs if you choose to enroll in such a trial. According to the ...
Security, law enforcement workers in high demand
July 5, 2007 The federal government must hire nearly 193,000 people to fill mission-critical jobs in the next two years, with much of the need in the areas of security and law enforcement, according to a new report by the Partnership for Public Service. The report, released Tuesday, summarizes the government's most critical ...
Unions seek full court review of Defense personnel ruling
July 3, 2007 A coalition of labor unions on Monday filed a petition for a full appeals court review of a ruling that upheld the Defense Department's new personnel and labor relations rules. The unions are seeking a rehearing of a decision issued in May by a panel of judges of the U.S. ...
State Department reaches settlement over personnel violation
July 2, 2007 Officials at the State Department improperly reissued a recruitment announcement after their preferred candidate failed to qualify the first time, an independent investigative agency announced last week. In a confidential report, the Office of Special Counsel described an informal settlement with State in response to a January report on a ...
Lawmakers urge DHS to speed up financial consolidation
June 29, 2007 The Homeland Security Department has made little progress in developing an integrated financial management system to address financial weaknesses the agency has inherited, a Government Accountability Office representative said Thursday. At a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, McCoy Williams, director of ...
Health Savings Shortfalls
June 28, 2007 President Bush has championed high-deductible health care plans and the savings accounts that accompany them as a viable solution to escalating medical costs. But now, two years after the option was added to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, employees have not yet warmed to the idea. High-deductible health plans ...
House backs 3.5 percent civilian pay raise
June 28, 2007 The House on Thursday approved a bill granting civilian federal employees a 2008 pay raise of 3.5 percent, a figure equal to the adjustment already authorized in the House for members of the military. The House approved the raise as part of the fiscal 2008 financial services appropriations bill. The ...
Stronger training urged for front-line supervisors
June 26, 2007 Investing in training for front-line supervisors at federal agencies will significantly improve employee performance and help agencies meet growing challenges, a public administration specialist said Tuesday. James Thompson, an associate professor of public administration at the University of Illinois-Chicago, said front-line supervisors have a bigger influence on employees' day-to-day performance ...
High court ruling protects feds from racketeering lawsuits
June 26, 2007 The Supreme Court ruled Monday that six Bureau of Land Management employees are not subject to individual damage claims related to actions they took as part of their official duties. In a 7-2 decision written by Justice David Souter, the high court ruled that a Wyoming rancher cannot sue the ...
