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.

SES--OPM has issued new qualifications for the Senior Executive Service. In general, the new standards place more emphasis on team building, partnerships with unions and employee groups, customer service and a willingness to take risks (The Washington Post).

THE FEDERAL DIARY--Federal employees could contribute as much as $9,500 of salary a year to their government Thrift Savings Plan and volunteer for layoffs under a proposed civil service overhaul bill being drafted by Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.) (The Washington Post).

FEDERAL TIMES--After rough years of dwindling donations, the Combined Federal Campaign has picked up...1998 pay raises for senior executives and other high-grade offices are in limbo (The Federal Times, 9/22/97).

HIRING BIAS--"Decoy job applicants increasingly are being used to expose discriminatory hiring practices by private employers" (USA TODAY).

BIAS CLAIMS RISING--"The Clinton administration's push for diversity in federal agencies has had an unintended consequence--a dramatic rise in discrimination complaints, including growing numbers of white employees charging reverse discrimination (Washington Times).

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 November 3 (changed from 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.