Pay & Benefits
Reversing Course, Trump Admin Allows Feds Working Through Shutdown to Take Leave Without Penalty
New guidance comes just days after OPM warned of “consequences” for “AWOL” employees.
Pay & Benefits
Agencies Are Shutting Down More Activities, Furloughing More Workers as Funds Run Dry
Depleted funds from prior years and collected fees could sink agencies that had kept themselves afloat.
Management
Last One Out, Turn Off the Lights
Retirements were up 24 percent last year. The shutdown is likely to drive many more civil servants out the door in 2019.
Management
Small Businesses Join Ranks of Contractors Miffed by Shutdown
Women- and minority-owned companies said to suffer the most.
Nextgov
The House Oversight IT Subcommittee is Dead
The panel’s responsibilities—which include oversight of FITARA and other federal tech initiatives—will be swept up by the Government Operations subcommittee.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers Look to Protect Vision, Dental Plans for Furloughed Feds, and More
A weekly round-up of pay and benefits news.
Nextgov
National Intelligence Strategy Warns of Technological Threats to U.S.
Disruptive technologies will democratize capabilities previously available only to nation-states with plenty of resources.
Oversight
With New Powers, House Oversight Chair Bolsters Subpoena Authority
Staff-supervised depositions again allowed as panel revs up high-profile probes.
Route Fifty
Mayors Seek ‘Federal Partners’ Amid Shutdown
Mayors called on leaders in Washington to reopen the government, while highlighting their efforts to help federal employees and others hurt by the shutdown.
Nextgov
How Social Security Administration Plans to Protect Your Identity
The agency is looking for ways to identify citizens with random characters instead of Social Security numbers on agency mail.
Management
Did FEMA Shortchange Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria?
The federal response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma was faster and more generous than the help sent to Puerto Rico in preparation for and in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a new study shows.
Pay & Benefits
Shutdown Roundup: Your Tax Refund May Be Delayed Due to Absences, the Coast Guard Chief's Video and More
The shutdown is in its second month and more effects are being felt.
Oversight
Play of the Day: Is The White House Altering Social Media Photos of the President?
According to one report, yes.
Route Fifty
Bill in New Mexico Aims to Stymie Trump’s Border Wall Construction
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | L.A. teacher strike resolution … D.C. Council overturns mayor’s veto … Dallas STD spike … and a statewide rent control proposal in Oregon.
Route Fifty
People Aren’t Walking More. But More Pedestrians Are Getting Killed.
The trend appears to be especially troublesome in the South, and for minorities and lower-income communities.
Route Fifty
What Democratic and Republican Mayors Agree On
Mayors of all stripes are frustrated with the effects of rising housing costs, but disagree on a range of other issues, according to the 2018 Menino Survey.
Management
You Use Less Info To Make Decisions Than You Might Think
People consume far less information than expected before making judgments and decisions, a new study finds.
Route Fifty
Restrictive Handgun Law to Be Considered by Supreme Court
The New York City law restricts gun owners from transporting an unloaded handgun, locked in a container away from ammunition, outside their homes unless heading to a gun range in the city.
Nextgov
Senators to WMATA: How Will You Keep Next-Gen Metro Cars Safe from Foreign Tampering?
Four D.C.-area lawmakers are asking WMATA leaders to take supply chain and cybersecurity issues into account when buying the next series of Metro cars.
Pay & Benefits