Author Archive
Management
EPA Begins Rolling Back Trump-era Union Policies
The Environmental Protection Agency and the American Federation of Government Employees will revert in part to their previous 2007 contract, and the parties will begin negotiations on an entirely new contract later this year.
Pay & Benefits
Growing Momentum to Fix Some Feds’ Retirement, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Oversight
Nearly 90% of Pentagon Employees Said Telework Hasn't Hurt Productivity
A report from the Defense Department’s inspector general found that early IT issues following the shift to maximum telework stemmed from component agencies failing to perform required test runs.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers Push to Fix Controversial Tax Rule Affecting Federal Retirees
A new bill would set up a new formula to calculate how much retirees get in Social Security benefits if they also receive a defined benefit pension, in some cases replacing the controversial Windfall Elimination Provision.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Finalizes Rule Ensuring Feds Can Change Insurance During Shutdowns
During the 35-day government shutdown, some workers were unable to make changes to their health benefits because the employees responsible for processing those changes were furloughed.
Pay & Benefits
TSP Returns Mostly Positive in March
Only two of the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program ended last month in the red.
Management
OPM Appointments Mark a Radical Shift in Agency's Role
The hiring of high-level executives from organized labor marks a return to federal employee unions having a seat at the table in the formulation of federal personnel policy.
Featured eBooks
Pay & Benefits
The Pay Implications of Temporary Border Details, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
VA Rolls Back Trump-era Workforce Policies
The Veterans Affairs Department is restoring its previous contract with AFGE, which allows access to official time and union office space in department facilities.
Management
Social Security Clears Way for Stimulus Checks After Accusations of Malfeasance
SSA Commissioner Andrew Saul argued that the agency was required to wait to provide payment files for beneficiaries because it received no appropriations to fund its work on stimulus payments in the most recent $1.8 trillion COVID-19 relief law.
Management
Biden Names Acting FLRA General Counsel, Ending Critical Trump Era Vacancy
The agency responsible for administering federal labor law has been without a top lawyer for four years, significantly hamstringing its ability to hear labor-management disputes.
Pay & Benefits
Donations to Feds’ Annual Giving Drive Remain Flat in 2020, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
TSP Officials Tout Sizeable Improvement in Annual Employee Satisfaction Survey Scores
Employee engagement at the Thrift Savings Plan improved 7 points in 2020, while the agency scored stellar marks on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pay & Benefits
Bipartisan Bill Would Allow Federal Firefighters to Trade Shifts
Agencies often bar trades because in many cases the switch would result in one firefighter seeing his or her biweekly pay reduced, and the other becoming eligible for overtime.
Featured eBooks
Management
Democrats Push to Grant VA Medical Professionals Full Union Rights
Federal law currently prevents Veterans Affairs Department medical workers from bargaining over matters related to patient care and clinical competence, although much is at the discretion of the VA secretary.
Pay & Benefits
A Republican Bid to Fully Eliminate Union 'Official Time,' and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
Study: OPM-GSA Merger Proposal Would Not Have Solved Problems It Aimed to Fix
A team of analysts has recommended elevating OPM's role in human capital management and making it less involved in “transaction-by-transaction compliance” activities.
Management
NTEU to Push for Pay, Benefits, and Protections in 2021
National Treasury Employees Union National President Tony Reardon said that he has seen a “mixed bag” in terms of agency efforts to comply with President Biden’s workforce executive order.
Management
Unions Dog SSA Leadership over Perceived Inaction on Workforce Order
More than a week after OPM issued guidance on reopening union contracts negotiated during the Trump administration, Social Security Administration officials are dragging their feet, union officials say.
Pay & Benefits