OPM

Agencies have a new question to answer about employee misconduct

COMMENTARY | New rules could give agencies another way to act on misconduct uncovered through continuous vetting. The challenge will be making sure they’re ready to use it.

Want to retire at the end of 2026? Start planning now

OPM is still working through a sizable retirement backlog, and year-end retirees have plenty to sort out before they leave federal service.

Pushed out by the Trump administration, these ex-feds want to make agency firings simpler and fairer

Across 12 cases that were analyzed for a new report on federal firing reform, it took an average 19 months for the underperforming employee to be removed or otherwise leave the position.

Unions: OPM’s suitability and performance management overhauls assert ‘plenary’ authority over federal firing

A coalition of labor groups sued the Trump administration Monday, arguing recent moves to centralize authority within the Office of Personnel Management and insert subjective criteria into employee evaluations amount to an end-run around the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act.

Updated

OPM wants to woo young workers. Can internet memes overcome Trump’s cuts to the civil service?

An agency spokeswoman said that a four-person communications team — most younger than 30 — is spearheading the effort to make OPM’s social media more appealing to younger potential hires.

Getting a simple FOIA request from OPM shouldn’t be this hard

COMMENTARY | A frequent FOIA requester found himself navigating dead inboxes, broken portals and months-long waits after cuts gutted the Office of Personnel Management’s public records operation.

OPM finalizes expanded hazard pay for federal firefighters

Under regulations set to take effect next month, federal wildland firefighters will be eligible for 25% hazard pay in connection with work on prescribed burns.

Lawsuit seeks to enforce 2025 SCOTUS decision improving pay for feds called to active duty

In the 15 months since the Supreme Court ruled that federal workers who also serve as military reservists do not need to prove that an active duty deployment is “substantially connected” to a national emergency, OPM has yet to issue new guidance reflecting the new precedent.

Former feds have a new way to find their personnel files

OPM’s new online service helps separated employees access records they may need years after leaving government.

LGBTQ+ feds sue to restore FEHB coverage of gender affirming care

A class action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s campaign to block gender affirming care coverage under federal agencies’ employer-sponsored health insurance program said the move is “akin to denying continuing insulin treatment for someone with diabetes.”

OPM tells agencies to put tech recruiting at the center of staffing plans

The guidance from the government’s HR agency also set a governmentwide goal that at least 33% of external hires be early-career workers.

Exclusive

OPM breach victims could get identity protection for life

The federal government’s coverage for 22.1 million people hoovered up in the China-linked breaches is scheduled to end Sept. 30.

OPM finalizes rules expanding its power over RIFs, employee appeals

Taken together, four regulations set for publication Monday would shift adjudication of several types of adverse action appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board to the Office of Personnel Management.

U.S. Digital Corps graduates largest class of fellows yet

“This government has starved for talent,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said during graduation remarks.

NARFE still has concerns with OPM’s plan to collect employee health care records

Last month, the Office of Personnel Management sought to assuage concerns about its request for claims-level data on federal workers’ health insurance usage. Employee groups say it’s still not enough.

OPM moves to implement long-awaited retirement fix for federal first responders

The First Responders Fair RETIRE Act, which ensures federal workers can stay on accelerated mandatory retirement schedules even if they transfer to another due to injury, was signed into law in 2022.

OPM shrinks its workforce by a third, seeks further staffing cuts

The agency is giving employees in its healthcare and insurance division another shot at opting into the deferred resignation program.