Tangherlini Tapped to Stay On at GSA
Video: Stephen Colbert on the Census Bureau
Lawmaker: Don't Furlough Weather Service Now
Making Government 'Simpler'
OK Senators Leery of Unfunded Tornado Relief
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.
Panel backs whistleblower rights for Defense contractors
May 29, 2007 A Senate panel last week approved a provision that would enhance whistleblower protections for Defense Department contract employees who report potential waste, fraud or abuse. The Senate Armed Services Committee passed the language as an amendment to the fiscal 2008 Defense authorization bill, during a closed markup session that ended ...
OPM pushes Homeland Security to move on pay for performance
May 25, 2007 The Homeland Security Department should build on its personnel reforms by beginning to implement the pay-for-performance and job classification portions, the Office of Personnel Management argues in a new report. The report, issued May 1, assessed DHS' progress since April 12 on the performance management part of its new personnel ...
Senate panel moves to scale back Pentagon personnel system
May 25, 2007 A Senate panel on Thursday approved language that would significantly limit the implementation of a controversial personnel system at the Defense Department and authorize a 3.5 percent 2008 pay raise for members of the military. In a markup of the fiscal 2008 Defense authorization bill that began Wednesday afternoon, the ...
Union criticizes report backing NASA workforce flexibilities
May 24, 2007 A federal labor union has taken issue with some recommendations in a congressionally chartered organization's report on reshaping NASA's workforce to meet a new mission. In a May 21 letter to National Academy of Public Administration Fellow John G. Stewart, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers highlighted a ...
New job search site aims to enhance federal recruitment
May 23, 2007 An online job search company has unveiled a Web site dedicated to matching job seekers with opportunities in the federal government. WorkforAmerica.com, launched May 7 by CareerBuilder.com, aims to help expedite the federal government's recruitment process by connecting job candidates interested in public service with key federal agencies. To develop ...
Lawmakers grill GAO chief over pay decisions
May 22, 2007 At a joint hearing Tuesday, members of House and Senate subcommittees overseeing the federal workforce questioned a compensation study Government Accountability Office chief David M. Walker used to make pay determinations. Walker has argued that the study by Watson Wyatt indicated some GAO analysts were overpaid, providing the grounds for ...
Universities propose alternative to public service academy
May 21, 2007 Increasing collaborative research and public service training at universities may be the most effective way to groom and recruit talented students for federal jobs, the head of an educational association said last week. In a letter sent May 16 in response to newly introduced legislation to establish a public service ...
Lawmakers hear concerns on potential health premium increases
May 21, 2007 Increased enrollment in consumer-directed health plans could result in higher premiums and reduced benefits for federal employees and retirees signed up for more comprehensive, traditional offerings, a witness told lawmakers at a hearing Friday. Alan Lopatin, legislative counsel for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, told members of ...
Appeals court allows Pentagon to limit collective bargaining
May 18, 2007 An appeals court on Friday reversed a district court ruling that had struck down the labor relations portions of the Pentagon's new personnel system, holding that the law creating the system grants the agency temporary authority to curtail the collective bargaining rights of employees. The decision, issued by a panel ...
Funding, technology cited as key to speeding security clearances
May 17, 2007 Adequate funding and broader use of technology are essential to improving the process of screening security clearance applicants, government officials told lawmakers Thursday. At a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on the federal workforce, panelists noted that the Defense Security Service, in particular, has much ...
