Employee Policy

House members ask for 'official time' report

Two members of Congress are pressing Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta to release a report on the amount of "official time" federal employees used in fiscal 2012.

Employee Policy

OPM leader responds to PMF program concern

The head of the Office of Personnel Management has officially responded to a plea by a group of Presidential Management Fellows seeking an expansion of the deadline to be offered a job by the federal government.

Employee Policy

Union: NASA performance rating system results in racial discrimination

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers has asked the Office of Personnel Management to investigate a performance rating system at NASA that the labor group says has resulted in systematic racial discrimination.

Retirement

January retirement claims below estimates

As typically occurs, federal retirement claims increased in January, but the number was several thousand below projections, according to new numbers from the Office of Personnel Management.

Employee Policy

OPM to cut staff in spring

The Office of Personnel Management will be eliminating more than 300 full-time, intermittent and unfilled positions by late March.

Employee Policy

OPM reports increase in hiring disabled

The Office of Personnel Management this week said that hiring of workers with disabilities increased in fiscal 2012 to more than 16 percent of new federal hires.

Employee Policy

Winter dismissal procedures updated for capital area

The Office of Personnel Management last week released an updated Washington, D.C., Area Dismissal and Closure Guide only days before the first snow storm in the capital region.

Benefits

Open Season: FSAs, HSAs and Health Reimbursement Arrangements

An important decision that employees have to make during the 2013 federal benefits “open season” is whether they want to enroll, or reenroll, in a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) and a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) for the 2014 plan year.

Pay

Award limits to stay in place in fiscal 2014

Agencies will continue to limit total spending on individual performance awards in fiscal 2014.

Employee Policy

Federal hiring of vets reaches new high

The Office of Personnel Management announced that in fiscal 2012 the executive branch hired the highest percentage of military veterans in more than 20 years.

Pay

OPM issues post-shutdown guidance on pay and benefits

The Office of Personnel Management in released new guidance to agencies to help them resolve pay and benefits questions in the wake of the government shutdown.

Employee Policy

OPM releases USERRA guidance

The Office of Personnel Management released guidance to agencies to aid in ensuring employees receive job protections guaranteed under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

Retirement

Union advises changes to proposed phased retirement rules

One of the largest federal employee unions urged the Office of Personnel Management to make revisions to proposed rules for phased retirement to allow more federal employees to be eligible for the program.

Benefits

OPM expands slate of FEDVIP carriers

OPM has announced the list of insurance companies that will offer dental and vision benefits under the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) in 2014.

Benefits

Leave transfer program for Okla. storm victims

Feds affected by the storms and tornadoes in Oklahoma will be able to tap donated leave thanks to an emergency leave transfer program.

Pay & Benefits

No separate paid holiday for feds on Inauguration Day

Calendar quirk means the inauguration will be combined with a normal public holiday for MLK Day.