Route Fifty
Tourist Towns Ban Short-Term Rentals to Prevent Virus Spread
Short-term rental listings have drawn ire from local officials for advertising homes as quarantine retreats.
Management
Immigration Review Office Remains Open Despite Potential COVID-19 Exposure
Most support staff at the Executive Office of Immigration Review in Falls Church, Va., remain unable to telework even after two floors had to be deep cleaned after an employee exhibited coronavirus symptoms at work last week.
Management
Agencies Can Launch Retaliatory Investigations Into Whistleblowers, Court Rules
Ruling sets a new governmentwide precedent.
Nextgov
How Homeland Security’s Biosurveillance Arm Uses Tech To Track a Pandemic
The National Biosurveillance Integration Center began tracking what would become the novel coronavirus on Jan. 2.
Route Fifty
States Announce Regional Efforts to Restart the Economy
The moves came as President Trump declared he and the federal government have primacy over deciding when “to open up the states” amid the coronavirus crisis.
Management
White House Advises Agencies on COVID-19 Spending and Reporting
“Time is of the essence,” but “spending transparency and regular reporting will provide important accountability mechanisms to help safeguard taxpayer dollars,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a memo.
Management
Coronavirus Response 'Likely' to Lead to IRS Backlogs, IG Says
Outstanding cases have already spiked due to shutdown, and now thousands of employees are home and not working.
Benefits
Feds struggle to get temporary excused paid leave
Feds with dependent care responsibilities that stretch them to the breaking point have a stopgap once leave options are exhausted, but many agencies are reluctant to put it in play.
Management
Border Agency Cancels Weather and Safety Leave for Some Employees, Angering Union and Lawmakers
The agency had been using weather and safety leave to mitigate employees’ potential exposure to the coronavirus, but cancelled that practice along the northern and southern borders because of “COVID-19 related requirements.”
Workforce
Coronavirus Roundup: Lawmakers Unveil ‘Essential Workers Bill of Rights’ Including Protective Gear, Pay
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.
Management
The White House Pushed FEMA To Give its Biggest Coronavirus Contract to a Company That Never Had to Bid
The Trump administration has rushed through more than $760 million in contracts outside the usual bidding process during its haphazard coronavirus response. It’s highly unusual for the White House to step into FEMA’s supply bidding process.
Defense
The Air Force and Navy Are Testing This App to Stay Fit Amid Social Distancing
A biometric data app is helping the services monitor the health of sailors and airmen stuck at home.
Employee Policy
White House rejects emergency funding for USPS
President Donald Trump has threatened to veto any stimulus funding bill that includes money to prop up the finances of the U.S. Postal Service.
Employee Policy
CDC: Coronavirus-exposed critical workers can keep working -- with restrictions
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued workplace guidelines for critical infrastructure workers who may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, allowing non- or pre-symptomatic personnel to keep working, with restrictions.
Management
When Will Social Distancing End? It May Be a While
A new report suggests how to adapt our public health strategy and milestones for deciding when and how officials should relax physical distancing measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tech
GovExec Daily: How Supercomputing is Aiding in Fighting the Pandemic
Nextgov's Brandi Vincent joins the podcast to talk about the federal agencies using computing to combat coronavirus.
Management
Democratic Senators Demand Answers on Trump’s Secretive Border Expulsions
After ProPublica’s report, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee ask the Department of Homeland Security to explain why it thinks emergency powers granted to the CDC allow it to bypass existing asylum laws.
Oversight
Government Watchdog: Millions Wasted on Tornillo Migrant Detention Facility
The Government Accountability Office found that the government spent $66 million in taxpayer money over five months to hold an average of 28 people per day at the tent encampment near El Paso.
Workforce
7 Things Ease the Switch to Remote-Only Workplaces
An abrupt transition to a remote-only workplace poses challenges to both management and employees. Two experts explain what it takes to get it right.
Defense