Workforce
Congress' minibus spending deal could potentially avert firefighter pay cliff
Lawmakers have until Friday evening to pass the first of two spending packages that will run until Sept. 30.
Workforce
FLRA: CBP owes backpay to officers denied nightwork premium pay
The chairwoman of the body that oversees federal sector labor issues also expressed an openness to revisiting the legal definition of repudiating a union contract.
Pay & Benefits
Most TSP funds gained ground in February
Only one of the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program ended last month in the red.
Oversight
GAO says TSA's employee engagement problems linger, despite some improvements
Though the Transportation Security Administration experienced an uptick in employee engagement following the implementation of major pay increases last year, leaders have not addressed other factors contributing to low workforce morale.
Workforce
Biden administration details strategic plan to hire military spouses
Improving the recruitment and retention of spouses of servicemembers has been a bipartisan priority in recent years, as military families report economic precarity as a reason to leave public service.
Workforce
One agency’s Trump-era plan included stripping protections from 68% of its workforce
The Office of Management and Budget appeared to have taken a maximalist approach to the controversial job category, proposing to strip the civil service protections from IT workers, recruiters and even executive assistants.
Oversight
Agencies need to beef up sexual harassment training for employees, GAO says
Selected federal agencies and components of the Defense Department have only partially implemented an array of training practices aimed at preventing sexual harassment and do not sufficiently evaluate the effectiveness of their existing training programs, the watchdog found.
Management
OPM unveils its ‘future of work playbook’ for agencies to revamp HR processes
The federal government’s dedicated HR agency’s latest piece of guidance offers a list of concrete ways that human capital leaders can implement the Biden administration’s workforce agenda.
Oversight
Federal prison employees falsified logs in case where inmate committed suicide, IG says
The Justice Department inspector general last week urged the Bureau of Prisons to adopt stricter rules governing special housing unit rounds logs after lax policies potentially impaired the ability to prosecute the employees.
Management
OPM announces survey to analyze AI in government jobs
The move marks the second step in a years-long process to prep federal agencies for working with artificial intelligence.
Management
Amid budget squeeze, FLRA panel regs encourage electronic documents filing
Less physical paper taken in by the board that settles bargaining-table disputes between unions and agencies will help streamline workloads as its parent agency reduces its office footprint due to budget woes.
Workforce
OPM’s 2024 equity goals aim to expand data-based approach
The federal government’s HR agency plans to expand the use of data to analyze recruitment barriers for underserved communities as well as outreach at minority-serving educational institutions in the coming year.
Pay & Benefits
OPM makes it easier for ex-military feds to access paid parental, medical leave
The tweak, which allows federal workers to count past military service toward the 12-month service requirement of parental and Family and Medical Leave Act leave, stems from a provision of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
Pay & Benefits
OPM faces its first test of recent retirement processing tweaks
The number of new retirement claims received by the federal government’s HR agency doubled in January, marking the start of the annual busy season.
Workforce
Trump’s civil service plans unsettle labor leaders at start of campaign season
Lawmakers and leaders of the American Federation of Government Employees warned that the former president represents a “threat to democracy” at the union’s annual legislative conference.
Management
OPM to tweak draft dodging rules, delegate investigations to agencies
The federal HR agency said its new plan for investigating when a federal job applicant failed to register for the draft will give applicants a better—and faster—chance to explain themselves.
Oversight
Senate finance chair calls for inspector general’s ouster
Sen. Ron Wyden on Thursday urged President Biden to remove Social Security Administration Inspector General Gail Ennis after a series of controversies and allegations of whistleblower retaliation.
Pay & Benefits
Identity theft protection for OPM hack victims could extend for life under new bill
Under current law, the benefit for those whose personal information was exposed by the 2015 data breach is set to expire in 2026.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers urge OPM to update parental leave policy docs
The federal government’s HR agency’s self-imposed deadline of the end of 2024 to ensure the federal employee handbook and public-facing web pages reflect the enactment of 12 weeks of paid parental leave should be “a floor and not a ceiling.”
Workforce
OPM offers guidance for agencies implementing salary history ban
Federal agencies will have until October to excise the solicitation and use of job candidates’ past compensation when setting pay for new hires.
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