OPM

Union coalition throws support behind OPM’s anti-Schedule F rules

A group of 14 labor organizations led by the National Treasury Employees Union urged the federal government’s HR agency to adopt its proposal to hamstring future efforts to strip feds’ job protections “promptly.”

OPM: Federal workers’ morale, engagement rebounded in 2023

Preliminary data from the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey indicates that federal agencies have improved on employees’ engagement, job satisfaction, as well as issues of diversity and inclusion.

OPM begins prep for annual retirement surge

The federal government’s centralized HR office is urging federal agencies to be proactive in ensuring federal workers’ retirement applications are submitted without errors to streamline processing during the annual spike in claims.

Agencies have hired nearly 5,500 feds to implement Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law

The Biden administration has surpassed its infrastructure law hiring goals, and plan to bring on another 1,000 personnel next year.

The federal retirement backlog just hit another recent record low

The Office of Personnel Management’s inventory of pending retirement claims from former federal workers reached its lowest level since 2017 for the second time this year.

OPM reminds agencies of new telework reporting requirements

As agencies prep to increase in-person work this fall, the federal government’s HR agency is calling on officials to collect better data on telework and remote work usage in their workplaces.

OPM announces expansion of ‘continuous vetting’ security clearance process for current feds

After a successful pilot, the federal government’s HR agency and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency set a goal of enrolling all employees in non-sensitive public trust positions in the new process for reviewing existing security clearances by the end of fiscal 2024.

OPM extends flexible hiring of military spouses

Interim regulations will allow federal agencies to hire the spouses of military service members outside of the traditional competitive hiring process through 2028.

Report reveals differing federal employee insurance withholding information between USDA, OPM 

An OIG audit found differences of federal employee withholding reporting between the two agencies, leading to several employees being charged incorrect life insurance amounts and another wrongly waived from coverage.

Federal workers will pay 7.7% more towards health insurance premiums in 2024

Next year, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program will feature new coverage of anti-obesity medication, as well as expanded access to mental health, assistive reproductive technology and gender-affirming care.

Science group threatens lawsuit over OPM’s failure to implement limiting involuntary leave for feds accused of misconduct

Although Congress passed a law aimed at preventing federal workers accused of misconduct from being stuck in limbo in 2016, the federal government’s HR agency never issued regulations to implement the measure.

OPM advances skills-based hiring initiative with common competencies update for federal jobs

The federal government’s HR agency said it surveyed more than 90,000 federal workers to update its list of common skillsets needed in federal employment.

What does post-pandemic telework look like during a shutdown?

As agencies begin planning for funding to stop on Sept. 30, federal telework guidance will be tested in a post-COVID environment. 

Regulations aimed at derailing a Schedule F revival proposed by OPM

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.

OPM has a plan to take its tech 'from the Flintstones to the Jetsons'

The personnel agency recently released its first IT strategic plan in nearly a decade.

OPM deputy defends administration's telework approach, touts ‘consensus-building’ in workforce policymaking

Rob Shriver argues the White House's calls to increase in-person work are consistent with the HR agency’s prior policies.

Lawmakers urge OPM to expand FEHBP infertility coverage for LGBTQ+ feds

A group of 30 congressional Democrats called out “outdated” gaps in how the federal government’s employer-sponsored health insurance program covers infertility treatments, particularly for employees in the LGBTQ+ community.