News
Feds Send Obama an Early Christmas Wish: An Extra Day Off
We the People Petition asks the president to make Friday, Dec. 26 a holiday, creating a four-day weekend.
Route Fifty
‘Cascadia Playbook’ Is Helping Oregon Prep for Major Subduction Megathrust Quake
Watch how the state is using a “living document” for its future response to a 9.0-plus magnitude disaster.
Management
Does CDC Need More Authority to Enforce Its Own Ebola Protocols?
The agency must rely on hospitals to follow its guidance, and OSHA to enforce the rules.
Management
Homeland Security Announces Travel Restrictions to Stall Ebola Outbreak
Flights between the U.S. and Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea will now require additional screenings.
Management
$7 Billion Bid to Wean Afghanistan From Opium Trade Is a Bust
Special inspector general reports poppy farming levels are at an all-time high.
Oversight
The Ex-Nazis Collecting Social Security
They reportedly received millions of dollars in government benefits even after being expelled from the United States.
Defense
An Ebola Visa Ban Isn't Perfect. But It's Better Than a Full Travel Ban.
State Department is still wary of a proposal to ban visas from Ebola-stricken nations.
Management
Is the Recovery Act a Model for the Ebola Response?
Sometimes it takes a dramatic crisis to make the government work better.
Pay & Benefits
Feds Battling Ebola in Africa Must Work 42 Days Before Bonus Pay Kicks In
For those on temporary assignment, hardship adjustment is not retroactive to their first day in the region.
Employee Policy
Federal Coach: Bleeding the federal workforce
After 17 terms serving in Congress, Rep. Frank R. Wolf announced plans to retire at the end of this year. Wolf, a Republican from Northern Virginia, has been a longtime advocate for federal workers. And in this interview, Wolf speaks about problems confronting the federal civil service Fox.
Benefits
Former BOP employee sentenced in OWCP fraud case
A former Bureau of Prisons employee was recently sentenced to more than a year in prison after being found guilty of fraudulently obtaining workers' compensation benefits by submitting more than 1,300 fraudulent reimbursement claims to the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers' Compensation Program, the Justice Department said.
Employee Policy
GSA's open office layout vulnerable to theft
An after-hours inspection of open office space at the General Services Administration's central office revealed that sensitive information and personal items were readily accessible to thieves, according to a new report.
Benefits
Several hundred feds got a year or more of paid administrative leave
The federal government paid an estimated $31 million over a three-year period to 263 employees who charged between one and three years of paid administrative leave, according a new Government Accountability Office report.
Route Fifty
County Says ‘Third Way’ Transformation Helped It Thrive Despite Great Recession
Burlington County, New Jersey, streamlined its operations and upgraded IT infrastructure all at a lower cost for its residents.
Management
Bid Protest Ruling Deals Blow to Background Check Contractor
GAO partially upholds challenge of USIS deal with the Homeland Security Department.
Route Fifty
Can Homeless People Move Into Baltimore's Abandoned Houses?
There are more than 16,000 vacant homes in the city. Are they the solution to the long-standing housing crisis?
Nextgov
Feds Use New 3-D Printer to Create Bomb-Sniffing Artificial Dog Noses
Dog noses have about 50 times as many olfactory receptors as humans.
Pay & Benefits
Agencies Paid Hundreds of Employees to Not Work for at Least One Year
Agencies use administrative leave largely to pay employees facing disciplinary action, report finds.
Nextgov