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--The author of "The Tides of Reform: Making Government Work, 1945-1995" says that the government of the future will be composed largely of managers and contract officers who oversee a vast empire of temporaries, contractors and nonprofits who do work once done in-house (The Washington Post).

HORIZONTE--Acting OPM Director Janice Lachance praised Horizonte Instruction and Training Center as having a hard-working, diverse population and devoted administration. Horizonte is an alternative and adult education facility serving about 2,400 students at its 26 Salt Lake Valley sites (Salt Lake City Desert News, 9/l9/97).

EXCUSED ABSENCE--"Up to 40 hours of excused absence will be extended to federal employees on duty in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK on April 19, 1995, so that they may attend the trial of Terry Nichols" (Office of Communications News Release, 9/22/97).

CAREER TRANSITION--The four principles that guided OPM's own downsizing program deserve consideration by managers anticipating a RIF environment (The Public Manager, Summer 1997).

IRS--Nearly 42 percent of the $13.1 billion worth of penalties the IRS assessed against taxpayers last year was wiped off the books after corporations and individuals challenged the levies as excessive or unnecessary. Congress is looking at claims of possible abuses by the agency (The Washington Times).

HIRING ELDERLY--Higher job-related death rates and health insurance costs are creating barriers to hiring older workers, despite wide-spread labor shortages (USA TODAY).

COMPUTER INTERVIEWS--A firm in Dallas is installing a computer system to interview and test programmers and other job seekers via the Internet (The Wall Street Journal, Work Week).

OF INTEREST--Coping with drastic changes in the modern-day workplace (Washington Times)...Some federal workers at the new Ronald Reagan federal building don't like their new digs (Washington Times)...How co-workers who marry can both stay on the fast track (The Wall Street Journal, Managing Your Career)...How to boss the boss: A six-step plan (The New York 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.