Workforce
USCIS Pleads for Money to Avoid Furloughs, Democrats Float Making the Funds Contingent on Policy Changes
"Don't send us home," employee implores lawmakers at hearing.
Pay & Benefits
Feds' Chances For a Bigger 2021 Pay Raise Wane, and a Renewed Push for Coronavirus Hazard Pay
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Nextgov
GAO: More Than Half of COVID-19 Government Contracts Not Competitively Awarded
While some of that spending went through existing IDIQs, some $7.7 billion in new contracts were awarded “using the unusual and compelling urgency exception.”
Nextgov
Facial Recognition Algorithms Struggle to Detect Faces Under Masks, NIST Study Finds
A new study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology found facial recognition algorithms developed pre-pandemic struggle to identify masked faces.
Employee Policy
Time to reinvent federal telework, lawmaker says
With the dramatic changes affecting the federal workforce since the outbreak of COVID-19, it’s time to re-evaluate telework, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) says.
Workforce
Coronavirus Roundup: Senate Republican Says It Might be Time to Update Telework Policies; IG Flags Fraud Concerns with SBA Loans
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.
Management
After Months of Negotiations, Postal Service Reaches Agreement for $10B Loan From Treasury
Congress authorized the loan in March, and USPS has since said additional relief is necessary.
Defense
Raytheon CEO Projects Three-Year Coronavirus Downturn
It’s "a hell of a lot worse than what we originally projected," says the head of the new company formed by the United Technologies-Raytheon merger earlier this year.
Nextgov
How the Energy Department Is Powering NASA’s Soon-to-Launch Mars Rover
Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar offered a glimpse into the agency’s efforts beyond Earth.
Tech
GovExec Daily: Vaccine Progress, Oversight and Operation Warp Speed
Courtney Bublé joins the podcast to discuss the government involvement in the search for coronavirus treatment and vaccinations.
Employee Policy
Senior execs detail OPM modernization tactics
As part of a plan to revitalize federal employment, the Senior Executives Association is looking to take the government's top human resources official out of the political fray with a 5- to 8-year appointment.
Route Fifty
In California, State Lawmakers Propose $100 Billion Stimulus Plan
The proposal calls for offsetting reduced federal unemployment benefits and a program to incentivize early tax payments.
Route Fifty
Food Stamp Use Could Skyrocket With Loss of Enhanced Unemployment Benefits
Even with the expanded benefits for out-of-work people, millions of families had to sign up for food stamps during the early months of the pandemic. Now even more people are expected to need the assistance.
Management
Lawmakers Look to Ease Promotion Process for Foreign Service Employees
Measure would particularly help disabled diplomats.
Management
Senate GOP’s Coronavirus Relief Package Would Fund Controversial Plan to Rebuild FBI Headquarters in D.C.
The Trump administration in 2017 scrapped a decade-long plan to reconstruct the facility in the Washington suburbs.
Route Fifty
A Government-University Partnership to Train Students as Contact Tracers
Students at Dominican University in San Rafael, California, can learn to be contact tracers and get on-the-job training in pandemic response with the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services.
Nextgov
4 Million Americans Waited Over an Hour in Line at Social Security Field Offices in 2019
Two separate Social Security Administration inspector general audits provide a detailed picture of customer experience over the past decade at the agency.
Management
Three Capabilities Agencies Must Master to Succeed in Future Crises
As new technology, demographic shifts, natural disasters and pandemics lead to an increasingly uncertain future, government institutions must adapt.
Workforce
Coronavirus Roundup: Senator Asks FEMA to Allow Schools to Use Disaster Funds for Reopening; Agencies Prepare for Large Scale Vaccine Production
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.
Nextgov