Pay & Benefits

State Department Allows Employees to Take Off 10 Paid Hours Per Week

Administrative leave will help employees look after loved ones or their own health during coronavirus crisis, department says.

Management

Supreme Court Makes It Easier for Feds to Prove Age Discrimination

In an 8-1 decision, justices found that the “plain language” of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act has a lower burden of proof for proving differential treatment based on age in the federal government than the private sector.

Route Fifty

State and Local Officials Call for Residents to Wear Masks

A city in Texas apparently became the first in the country to institute a fine for residents who don’t wear masks to places like grocery stores.

Nextgov

Pentagon Launches Coronavirus Mythbuster Site

The Defense Department created a web portal to fact-check bad information circulating about the coronavirus and the military’s response.

Workforce

Coronavirus Roundup: 39-Year-Old TSA Employee Dies, VA Steps Up Assistance to States

There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.

Oversight

Who Has Emergency Authority Over Elections? Nobody’s Quite Sure.

The tug of war over whether and how to hold Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary exposes a national problem: State and local officials with the most experience running elections lack the power to revamp or postpone voting during a crisis.

Defense

Lockheed Adds 1,000 Employees Amid Coronavirus Crisis, Wants to Hire 5,000 More

The defense giant also said it would give bonuses to employees who can’t work from home.

Management

GovExec Daily: How Communities Enforce Stay-at-Home Orders

Route Fifty's Andrea Noble joined the podcast to talk about quarantine scofflaws and the rules states have put in place during the pandemic.

Oversight

Trump Fires Intel IG, Taps White House Confidant for Pandemic Oversight Role

The president’s moves late Friday night underscore the vital role inspectors general play as agencies grapple with pandemic response and unprecedented federal spending.

Workforce

COVID-19 Could Lead to An Epidemic of Clinical Depression

Stress, loss, loneliness and isolation are key factors in clinical depression, which affects millions. The U.S was unprepared for COVID-19 – will it remain unprepared for its medical aftermath?

Management

Social Distancing Is Hard When You Live With Roommates

No one answers a Craigslist ad for housemates expecting to end up quarantined with those people.

Route Fifty

In an Airport City, Coronavirus Travel Slump Stokes Budget Worries

SeaTac, Washington is in relatively good financial shape. But its tax revenues depend heavily on a sector that’s taking a beating during the disease outbreak.

Management

SBA Experiences Chaotic Rollout to 'Unprecedented' Stimulus Program

Lawmakers on both sides and business owners alike criticized the Trump administration for a rocky implementation of a new paycheck protection program.

Management

Defense Employees Report Poor Coronavirus Response at Two Facilities

Union officials said a naval base in Naples, Italy, has resisted calls to suspend nonessential services, while an OSHA complaint contends a Virginia facility failed to respond to an employee’s positive COVID-19 test.

Route Fifty

'It Can Happen to Anybody': When Coronavirus Spreads at a Local Health Department

Six employees at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department tested positive for coronavirus. All were key to the department's pandemic response plan, leaving officials scrambling to find replacements.

Nextgov

Agencies Have Spent At Least $2.6B on COVID-19 Supplies and Services

That number only reflects properly tagged procurements—real dollars spent in response to the coronavirus outbreak are significantly higher.

Oversight

Trump Administration Draws Fire for New Description of National Stockpile

The changed website language reflects controversial comments by Jared Kushner that downplayed the federal role.

Workforce

Coronavirus Roundup: Lawmakers Seek Protections for Military Families, National Service Participants 

There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.

Oversight

No, Mr. President, You Can’t Be the Oversight

Trump’s signing statement attempts to preclude the special inspector general for pandemic recovery from reporting directly to Congress, which is anathema to the role of an IG.