News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

Third Annual Performance Management Conference, May 13-14, McLean, VA

Plan now for the Third Annual Performance Management Conference, May 13-14, 1997, in McLean, VA, at the McLean Hilton Hotel. This conference is designed to provide practical, cutting-edge information on a wide variety of topics related to performance appraisal and awards. To receive a brochure, call (202) 606-2720, or fax a request to (202) 606-2395. For additional conference information, call Digna Carballosa at (202) 606-1778 or E-Mail dmcarbal@opm.gov.

The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

HAMMER AWARD--"Eight organizations responsible for designing and implementing the Metro Area Reeemployment Project and the five Metro Are Reemployment Centers (MARC) in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area will receive Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Award for this intergovernmental project on Wednesday, March 19. The five reemployment centers provide job-placement services to displaced federal employees and contractors in the local community. Services offered to MARC clients include job counseling, resume writing and interviewing skills" (March 14, OPM News Release).

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"Uncle Sam (that is, the taxpayers) spends millions of dollars each year to make a happy workplace. In some agencies, union officers (who also are federal workers) are paid their full government salaries to conduct union business full time. The idea, in many cases, is to settle little disputes before they mushroom into problems that can hurt morale and productivity that interfere with the mission of the agency....The Clinton administration believes that its partnership program-- bringing unions into the decision-making process in various agencies--has produced a smoother-working government and has saved money" (Sunday, March 16) "Today's leadoff letter is from a federal investor who cautions his colleagues--and me--to be realistic about the C-fund (stock index) investment option in their in-house 401(k) plan. Coincidentally, his letter, which warns that the high-flying C-fund can have its bad days, arrived the day before the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 160.48 points" (Monday, March 17, The Washington Post).

WELFARE CUTS BOON FOR STATES--"States across the USA are planning to use millions of dollars that had been earmarked for welfare on other programs ranging from social services to schools, roads and prisons. That's because plummeting caseloads, caused by the new welfare reform law and a strong economy, are giving states much more federal money than they need to continue existing welfare services" (USA Today).

TEMP AGENCIES MOVE RIGHT IN TO COMPANIES--"The use of temporary employees is growing so rapidly that companies are making temporary staffing firms permanent parts of their headquarters. Called on-site staffing, it is the hottest trend among temp firms and their clients" (USA Today).

VETERANS PREFERENCE BILL ADVANCES--"The next stop for a bill expanding veterans preference is a vote before the full House, and the legislation may finally have a champion in the Senate. The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee approved HR 240, sponsored by Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., March 12. Mica heads the civil service subcommittee" (March 24, The Federal Times).

WELFARE HIRING PLANS ORDERED--"Agencies must submit plans by early April on how they will hire welfare recipients, under a March 8 directive from President Clinton. Agency and department heads are to use existing hiring authorities, including the 29-year-old worker-trainee program that Clinton said is underused, to move people from welfare rolls into entry-level federal jobs"(March 24, The Federal Times).