News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

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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.

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"A powerful coalition of 34 groups representing millions of federal and other public workers and retirees--from nurses to air traffic controllers--is fighting to modify a long-standing law that can wipe out the Social Security spousal benefits of many retired public employees" (The Washington Post).

OPM--A new system developed by OPM would let federal employees and those who want to work for the government evaluate their skills and identify job opportunities in government agencies (Federal Computer Week).

HEALTH RECORDS--New rules proposed yesterday to protect the confidentiality of medical records would establish new federal criminal penalties for misusing such information. A broad exception to those rules for law enforcement authorities drew criticism (The Washington Post).

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS--Performance appraisals often demotivate and dishearten employees, but in the federal government, they are not going to go away (Federal Human Resources Week).

ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS--"The Treasury Department yesterday announced it would allow some recipients of government benefits who don't have bank accounts to continue receiving paper checks even after a deadline for electronic payments takes effect" (The Washington Post).

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Access America Conferences

The National Performance Review (NPR), will launch a series of informational conferences aimed at providing government employees and private industry IT officials with techniques and strategies for implementing the goals of Access America, an NPR report outlining steps to increase access--via the Internet--to government services. The first conference will be held September 25 in Baltimore, Md. and then will travel to other cities across the country. Expert panels will discuss IT topics, including Internet/Intranet successes, the future of Distance Learning and collaboration, IT acquisition and procurement reform, and privacy and security.

Industry Advisory Council's Executive Leadership Conference

October 5-7, 1997 Richmond, Virginia. Forty-six hours of exciting and important keynotes, workshops and frank discussions on the topics foremost in the minds of both government and industry leaders such as "How the Internet is changing the way we do business;" "Public vs private competition: Does it make sense?" and "Past Performance of Past Performance." $265 for government attendees and $425 for industry members. Register separately at the Richmond Marriott (804) 643-3400. Contact Mary Ellen Geoffroy, Executive Director of IAC at 703-218-1965.

DTIC Annual Conference

The Defense Technical Information Center is presenting its Annual Users Meeting and Training Conference on Nov. 3-6, 1997 at the DoubleTree Hotel, National Airport, Arlington, Va. The conference theme is Information in the New Millenium. Contact Ms. Julia Foscue at 703-767-8236 or by e-mail at jfoscue@dtic.mil.