Oversight
GAO: Federal background checks can be risky business
Investigators could allow personal information to slip through the cracks, audit finds.
Pay & Benefits
Telework is about to take off, officials say
Now more than ever government recognizes the value of working outside the office, agency leaders note.
Pay & Benefits
Dental, vision insurance premiums to rise in 2011
Plans will include minimal changes, OPM says.
Pay & Benefits
Postal Windfall
Legislative changes could free up $142.4 billion for USPS to spend partly on employee benefits.
Oversight
Unions to managers: Give employees a bigger voice in decisions
Agencies are underutilizing a process for getting employees involved early in choices that affect their daily work, labor representatives tell council.
Oversight
FEHBP database raises privacy concerns
Observers say OPM’s new tool leaves sensitive patient information vulnerable to attack.
Oversight
Watchdog: OSHA whistleblower protection program still falls short
Agency responsible for examining complaints from private sector workers fails to provide comprehensive investigator training.
Pay & Benefits
Agencies launch Bikeshare program
Washington-area federal workers can share bicycles for commuting and wellness initiatives.
Oversight
USPS ends year with $6 billion loss
Officials continue to push workforce flexibility and reduced delivery to restore agency to financial health.
Defense
Lawmakers tackle interagency reform
Proposed personnel system would integrate national security expertise across government.
Pay & Benefits
TSP shows strength in September
After a rocky summer, all the funds return to the positive column.
Pay & Benefits
Feds’ health insurance premiums to increase 7.2 percent
Growth attributed to market changes and new plan features, such as tobacco cessation incentives and expanded dependent care coverage.
Pay & Benefits
Life Insurance Lessons
Answers to some key questions about Federal Employees Group Life Insurance.
Pay & Benefits
Alaskans and Hawaiians get their own locality pay areas
Interim rule gives workers in these two states their own rates.
Pay & Benefits
Senate passes bill boosting telework
Compromise legislation must pass the House before being sent to President Obama.
Pay & Benefits
Paring the Payroll
Congress considers multiple proposals to limit federal hiring and employee benefits.
Oversight
Congress declines to bail out Postal Service
Agency is on the hook for multibillion-dollar health fund payment as fiscal year ends.
Defense
Defense falls behind on workforce planning efforts
Department hasn’t met legislative requirements to develop a comprehensive human capital strategic plan, audit finds.
Pay & Benefits