Oversight
Panels set hearings, key Homeland Security posts still vacant
Bombing plot hearings to begin Jan. 20; Senate still needs to consider nominees for three top DHS jobs.
Pay & Benefits
OPM issues regulations expanding life insurance access
New rules would provide more insurance options to federal employees deployed overseas.
Pay & Benefits
TSP funds end 2009 on positive note
Nine of the plan’s offerings rose in value in December.
Pay & Benefits
Benefits Breakthroughs
Congress passed major pay and benefits provisions in 2009, and the Obama administration has an aggressive agenda for next year.
Defense
Obama issues order implementing 2010 pay raise
Civilian employees receive 2.0 percent pay raise; service members get 3.4 percent boost.
Pay & Benefits
Agencies under pressure to mix and match public, private workers
OMB has ordered a thorough review of plans for managing the multisector workforce.
Oversight
EEOC proposes changes to federal discrimination complaint process
Rules include new requirements for agencies, authorize pilot programs.
Oversight
Senate language eases employee fears about OPM and health reform
Groups had recommended that federal employee plan be administered separately.
Pay & Benefits
Obama signs 3.4 percent raise for military
Unions say they’ll push for pay parity in 2011, as review of military compensation system begins.
Pay & Benefits
Worries about price tag of domestic partner benefits bill fade
Measure’s backers say they are confident funding issues can be resolved expeditiously.
Pay & Benefits
Defense releases guidelines for NSPS transition
Unions say Pentagon should not be allowed to hire any workers into moribund pay-for-performance system.
Pay & Benefits
Premium Fairness
A bill that would keep premium rates at 2009 levels for CSRS retirees enrolled in Medicare is languishing in the Senate.
Pay & Benefits
Partner benefits bill advances, but hurdles remain
Panel leaders won't back passage in the full Senate without assurances the measure will be cost-neutral.
Oversight
Senator asks IRS to report on contractors’ unpaid taxes
Top Republican on Finance Committee wants figures on delinquent Medicare and Medicaid health care providers.
Defense
Senators: Army needs better info about soldiers
After Pentagon briefing on Fort Hood shootings, chairman and ranking member of Homeland Security panel conclude Army needs to upgrade its personnel policies.
Oversight
Watchdog urges Postal Service managers to support cost-cutting initiative
Without better leadership, USPS won’t reap the full benefits of a program to avoid giving injured employees busy work, GAO says.
Oversight
Groups claim data on federal employees’ salaries is misleading
News analysis indicates that the number of government workers earning more than six figures has spiked during the last two years.
Pay & Benefits
Bill with 2 percent pay raise awaits Obama’s signature
For the first time in recent years, civilian federal employees are headed for a lower increase than members of the military.
Pay & Benefits