A new nonprofit study examines how the federal government could update the civil service to both capture new talent and capitalize on its available talent.
The federal government’s HR agency urged agency managers to remove poor performers before most removal protections kick in, as well work more closely with new employees early in their tenure to help them succeed.
The administration has faced some criticism for censoring employee speech related to the Israel-Gaza conflict, but staff say internal channels are open for disagreement.
The federal government’s HR agency added new functionality to USAJOBS to allow agencies to find candidates who had already been certified for federal employment elsewhere in government.
COMMENTARY | Federal agencies can help employees ease their way back into the office this fall by creating a healthy and flexible workplace culture, writes one observer.
“They know their job security depends on not just protecting their own rights, but a strong private sector,” says John P. Beck, of Michigan State University.
An effort to insulate the federal workforce from future efforts to strip them of their removal protections could accelerate an “existential” debate over the nonpartisan civil service system, experts said.
In instances where a federal job applicant had a criminal record, the background check process only ruled them out over past criminal conduct 2% of the time, but many may still see their past as a barrier to joining the federal workforce.