Management
Special Counsel’s office cites whistleblower protections in immigration judge gag order
The Office of the Special Counsel highlighted its recent enforcement actions of Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act provisions to curb agency efforts to chill employee speech.
Tech
Federal weather system experiences outage amid severe weather nationwide
The agency is seeking money to shore up weather forecasting IT systems in fiscal year 2025.
Pay & Benefits
The federal government will now offer its employees generous fertility benefits
The nation's largest employer will offer plans that cover a broad menu of fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for IVF procedures.
Pay & Benefits
What USPS annuitants need to know about the Medicare Part B special enrollment period
Some postal annuitants may be able to avoid paying a penalty.
Workforce
How transforming federal workforce culture can enhance safety and productivity
COMMENTARY | It takes more than annual check-the-box training and motivational posters to bring about change.
Defense
The Pentagon wants to help boost cybersecurity for small contractors
A new strategy outlines how the Defense Department plans to increase security and strengthen relationships across the industrial base.
Management
Nuclear regulators should weigh climate change risk to power plants, report says
A GAO report found the Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to factor more risk from the impact of more extreme natural events in how it licenses the safety of power plants.
Oversight
Lawmakers propose extending pandemic analytics center beyond 2025 sunset
Oversight officials say that the Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence needs to survive past the looming sunset date, unlike a similar analytics center used to oversee stimulus spending that shuttered in 2015.
Tech
AI is creating ‘more sophisticated’ but not unprecedented election threats, DHS official says
AI is likely to create more convincing phishing campaigns but is “not necessarily introducing a new threat or risk in and of itself,” the official said.
Workforce
National Security compensation set a record high in 2023
COMMENTARY | The uptick in cleared compensation is good news for the national security workforce and also a good thing for national security.
Oversight
Why plugging leaks sometimes means protecting leakers
COMMENTARY | Congress needs to establish a form of amnesty that, where appropriate, provides an exit ramp for individuals who have unwittingly violated the terms of a security clearance and wish to come clean.
Management
Indigenous Pacific wildfire survivors on Maui can finally get FEMA help
The new fiscal 2024 spending bill has re-established Compact of Free Association citizens' access to federal safety net programs after it was inadvertently removed by the 1996 Welfare Reform Act.
Oversight
Bill would axe classified access for feds charged with a crime
Legislation sponsored by Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., appears tailored to allegations of Donald Trump's retention of classified documents, but would remove almost any federal employee’s access if they were charged with specific offenses.
Pay & Benefits
TSP funds touts well-rounded gains in March
Every portfolio in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program posted increases last month.
Workforce
The MacGuffin of Schedule F
COMMENTARY | Plans to convert federal workers in policy-related positions into at-will employees leave the workforce dangling.
Management
DOD stands up a new civilian-facing cyber policy office
The nominated head of the new Pentagon office is awaiting confirmation in Congress.
Oversight
MSPB political firing case raises new questions on Schedule F
The Housing and Urban Development Department’s 2017 firing of a probationary employee over alleged leaks was politically motivated, the agency tasked with enforcing civil service laws said last week.
Management
GAO: USPS international mail volumes fell due to higher costs, pandemic restrictions
A new report found that international mail volumes fell by roughly 64% between fiscal 2017 and 2022, driven by a mix of price increases and COVID-19 impacts, but the increases helped the postal service cover costs.
Management
Top women officials say there’s more work to do on gender balance in government tech
Women seem to be far more common in government’s top tech leadership positions than they used to be, but “we are far from done,” one such leader warns.
Tech