Oversight
Princeton, foundation settle suit over training future government leaders
Agreement creates organization specifically aimed at preparing students for government careers.
Oversight
Obama urged to focus on performance-based government
Coalition of good-government groups meets with transition team leaders.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers press Bush to rescind order curbing collective bargaining
Five senators and the House majority leader seek a detailed justification for the directive, which adds new groups of employees to list of those prohibited from organizing.
Pay & Benefits
OPM renegotiates out-of-network health benefits
Federal employees have until the end of January to change their insurance plans.
Defense
Hiring authority for military spouses begins to take shape
Personnel agency proposes rules to implement an executive order that will make it easier for some to get civil service jobs.
Pay & Benefits
Medicare, Part B
Do you need it? When should you sign up for it? It pays to consider such questions carefully.
Pay & Benefits
Improving language skills of military personnel is easier said than done
Congress finds the challenge is exacerbated by a public education system that fails to value foreign languages.
Pay & Benefits
Defense proposes hiring, promotion flexibilities for NSPS
New rules would give recruiters the option of considering only local job applicants if pool is large enough.
Pay & Benefits
Interior Department hosts reenactment of singer’s historic performance
Legendary African-American opera singer Marian Anderson appeared at the department in 1939 after being denied an opportunity to sing at a Washington concert hall because of her race.
Pay & Benefits
Continuing Care
Federal employees with dependent children over age 22 might want to check out a new health insurance option.
Oversight
From Nextgov.com: Requirements identical for Defense, VA health record system
Report’s findings on similarities doesn’t solve debate over how to develop joint electronic health records network.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers weigh in on executive order
House majority leader criticizes Bush’s decision to curb collective bargaining rights of federal workers with national security jobs.
Pay & Benefits
Blue Cross seeks alternative to health fee hikes
The insurance carrier is slated to increase deductibles in 2009 for surgeries by a nonparticipating provider.
Oversight
Federal HR chiefs say they need more resources
Human capital leaders argue that success of the Obama administration will depend in part on workforce management.
Pay & Benefits
Executive order curtailing bargaining rights draws fire
Labor unions condemn President Bush's order barring thousands of federal employees from organizing on national security grounds.
Oversight
Oversight, workforce remain top concerns in acquisition survey
Professional Services Council Procurement Policy Survey cites need to tackle contracting in a holistic manner.
Pay & Benefits
Study reveals the success of Pentagon personnel system is unclear
The Congressional Budget Office says it’s too early to tell whether NSPS is improving employee performance and making hiring and pay decisions easier.
Pay & Benefits
November a gloomy month for all but two TSP funds
Stock-based options continue to sustain losses, but not to the same extent as in October.
Pay & Benefits
Extra day off after Christmas likely for feds
Presidents often grant a bonus day or half-day of vacation when the holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday.
Pay & Benefits