Employee Policy
FERS vs. FECA: Best retirement option sometimes hard to call
Some injured or disabled feds may be better off not drawing from the Federal Employees Retirement System but instead electing to continue to draw disability pay under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act program, a new Government Accountability Office report says.
Employee Policy
DOD issuing new Uniformed Services ID cards
The Next Generation Uniformed Services Identification cards for military family members, dependents, retirees and other eligible card holders will replace the paper cards in service since 1993.
Pay & Benefits
Survey: Vast Majority of TSP Participants Are Satisfied With the Retirement Savings Program
Although satisfaction levels are slightly down compared with 2017, officials with the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program said that is likely due to market volatility at the time of the survey.
Benefits
AFGE pushes for collective bargaining protections in NDAA
The goal is to invalidate a presidential memorandum from early this year that looked to roll back collective bargaining at the Department of Defense.
Management
AFGE Pushes for Workforce Protections in Defense Policy Bill Negotiations
The nation’s largest federal employee union urged lawmakers to include collective bargaining protections and fix a soon to be implemented paid parental leave law.
Benefits
OPM expands 2021 dental, vision plans
The Office of Personnel Management has expanded the number of dental and vision insurance carriers selected to provide coverage through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Program.
Benefits
Connelly wants answers on FEVS delays
In a letter to the Office of Personnel Management’s acting director, Rep. Gerry Connelly (D-Va.) said that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Government Operations is “concerned about the apparent mishandling” of the survey.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Outlines Process for Restoring Leave After COVID
Regulations allowing some to carry over more than 30 days of annual leave into next year will also apply to future emergencies, Office of Personnel Management said.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Issues Regulations for Feds’ Paid Parental Leave
Beginning Oct. 1, federal workers will be entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid leave in connection with the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child.
Benefits
AI commission floats idea of digital service academy
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence has suggested establishing a national digital service academy to train technical talent.
Benefits
Report: Rising fed COVID toll now tops 4,000 disabled, 60 dead
To date, more than 4,000 federal employees or their families have claimed disability compensation for COVID-19 contracted at work -- with around 60 more claiming death benefits, according to a new report.
Benefits
House-passed NDAA expands paid leave benefit to excluded feds, bans TikTok
Title 38 employees working at the Transportation Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs and Federal Aviation Administration were not included in the original bill that established the benefit.
Pay & Benefits
Federal Pay is Way Off Track
The General Schedule system is unresponsive to labor market dynamics and agency staffing needs.
Benefits
OPM rule protects feds’ health benefits during shutdowns
The Office of Personnel Management wants to be sure feds keep their health benefits in the event of a government shutdown and has proposed designating features of employee insurance programs as “emergency services.”
Pay & Benefits
OPM Moves to Implement Protections for Feds During Shutdowns
The 2020 Defense policy act included provisions ensuring federal workers would be able to change their insurance coverage due to a significant life event during a lapse in appropriations and protecting them from gaps in supplemental health care plans.
Management
GovExec Daily: The Cancelled Presidential Rank Awards
Erich Wagner and Tom Shoop join the show to discuss how the scuttled awards fit into the greater Trump administration plans for the civil service and human capital.
Benefits
Surge of workers' comp claims could impact processing
Effects of the pandemic are expected to slow claims processing at the Division of Federal Employees' Compensation, according to a July 6 audit of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs by the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Cancels Presidential Rank Awards, Citing Efforts to 'Reopen' Economy
The Trump administration in March had suspended nominations for this year’s iteration of the awards, which recognize federal executives’ contributions to public service.
Benefits
Fed employee survey delayed again
The annual survey of federal employees on work and workplaces -- already postponed two months -- will now be delayed until Sept. 14.
Employee Policy