Pay & Benefits
OPM: Some Feds' Leave Canceled Because of COVID-19 Will Be Restored
The federal government's HR agency said it will issue regulations allowing for agencies to restore federal workers' use-or-lose annual leave if it is canceled due to essential coronavirus response work.
Employee Policy
Same mission, different pay for National Guard
National Guard troops are usually are called up for domestic duty by governors, not by the Department of Defense, and — just as with other state workers — their pay and benefits vary widely even as they do similar jobs.
Pay & Benefits
A Guide to Pay and Benefits During Furloughs
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Benefits
Fund offers feds free masks, financial help
Federal employees who have contact with the public in their jobs or who are returning to their workplaces with fellow employees can get, on request, free washable cloth masks to help fight the spread of COVID-19.
Benefits
AFGE urges Congress to include labor priorities in defense appropriations bill
Priorities include preserving collective bargaining rights, granting paid family leave.
Pay & Benefits
Social Security Unions File Formal Complaints Over Lack of Emergency Sick Leave
More than two months after the deadline for all employers to offer workers pandemic-related emergency paid sick leave, three unions say the agency is violating the law.
Benefits
TSA, FDIC to offer early retirement options
The Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation plan to offer early retirement options to eligible employees.
Benefits
Union slams WH plans to cut workers’ comp
As the White House presses on with a plan to cut workers’ comp -- drastically, for many feds, the American Federation of Government Employees is firing back.
Benefits
Feds in high-risk jobs contracting COVID-19 cleared for workers’ comp
Feds working in high-risk, citizen-facing jobs who contract COVID-19 are facing a lower bar for workers’ comp approval, thanks to recent changes made by the Department of Labor to the claims process -- and a major union is expressing its approval.
Management
GovExec Daily: The Pandemic Divide Between Public and Private Sector Workers
Brian Michael, VP & GM Public Sector at Medallia and Sheri Petras, CEO at CFI Group, join the podcast to look at a survey on the ways employees are handling the COVID-19 .
Benefits
VA benefits backlog climbs as pandemic drags on
The backlog of initial claims for benefits has been rising in recent weeks, after holding steady amid the 100% telework posture of the Veterans Benefits Administration.
Employee Policy
Unions react to the HEROES Act proposal
Government-employee unions vowed to support the Democrats in the legislative fight to prevent massive jobs loss and protect essential workers.
Employee Policy
$3T HEROES Act pushes telework, extends protections to feds
The House's COVID-19 relief bill appropriates more than $3 trillion on economic rescue for individuals and small business, but it also provides for expanded telework for the federal workforce and contractors during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pay & Benefits
New House COVID-19 Bill Includes Hazard Pay for Feds, Strengthens Protections for Telework and Sick Leave
Pelosi on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would provide up to $10,000 in premium pay for federal workers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak and would prevent agencies from exempting employees from paid sick leave benefits.
Benefits
House Dems call for retroactive paid parental leave
Letting new parents take time off would alleviate coronavirus-related concerns, members stated in a May 8 letter to leadership.
Pay & Benefits
House Democrats Urge Leadership to Begin Paid Parental Leave for Feds Early
A group of 12 lawmakers said the new benefit for federal workers, currently slated for implementation in October, should apply retroactively to December.
Employee Policy
Rep. proposes feds keep leave that went unused due to pandemic
A bill from Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) would make sure that feds won't forfeit unused annual leave.
Pay & Benefits
House Legislation Would Protect Feds’ Unused Leave During Coronavirus Pandemic
Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., has introduced a bill that would ensure that federal workers who are unable to take a vacation due to the COVID-19 outbreak will not lose their paid leave.
Benefits
Potential ‘causal relationship‘ requirement for COVID-19 comp claims
Employees may need to show a “causal relationship” between their workplace and illness to make a claim under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Employee Policy