Workforce
Ernst targets D.C.-area federal workers with trio of bills
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, proposed legislation this week that would force agencies to move 30% of their D.C.-based workforce out of the region, mandate telework tracking, and push agencies to move their headquarters out of the nation’s capital.
Pay & Benefits
EEOC: The federal gender pay gap gets worse with age
The discrepancy between what men and women make in the federal government is substantially larger for those over 40 years old than that of their younger counterparts.
Pay & Benefits
OPM outlines pay, benefits rules for appointees resigning on Inauguration Day
The federal government’s HR agency also highlighted the ramifications of Jan. 20 coinciding with Martin Luther King Day for D.C.-area federal workers.
Pay & Benefits
Biden signs windfall elimination provision repeal into law
The Social Security Fairness Act ends both the WEP and the government pension offset, increasing the Social Security checks for more than 2 million retired public servants.
Pay & Benefits
Thrift Savings Plan funds end the year on the downswing
Only one of the portfolios within the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program finished December in the black.
Pay & Benefits
Biden finalizes 2% pay raise for feds next month
The president was apparently unmoved by federal employee groups and some House Democrats’ pleas to restore pay parity between the civilian and military workforces.
Pay & Benefits
Your guide to pay and benefits during a shutdown
Congress has just hours to reach an agreement to fund the government past midnight Friday, after President-elect Trump and his confidante Elon Musk scuttled a bipartisan deal earlier this week.
Workforce
Federal employee unions dismayed—but not surprised—by sudden shutdown threat
President-elect Trump and Elon Musk on Wednesday blew up a bipartisan deal to fund the government past this week, increasing the odds of a government shutdown Saturday.
Pay & Benefits
Bill to repeal windfall elimination provision clears a key Senate hurdle
The Senate voted 73-27 to invoke cloture on the Social Security Fairness Act, clearing the way for a final vote to pass the bill later this week.
Management
Bill enshrining skills-based hiring heads to Biden’s desk
The Senate last week passed the Chance to Compete Act by unanimous consent, and the House followed suit with a voice vote Monday.
Workforce
Last-ditch effort to block Schedule F’s return thwarted by Senate Republicans
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., sought unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act, but his motion was opposed by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
Workforce
OPM finally issues regulations implementing 2016 administrative leave reforms
An environmental advocacy group sued the federal government’s HR agency earlier this year in an effort to prod the federal government’s HR agency to implement a law aimed at ending lengthy periods of paid administrative leave.
Workforce
Immigration judges seek renewed union recognition
In a controversial November 2020 decision, the Federal Labor Relations Authority overruled its regional director and decertified the National Association of Immigration Judges.
Workforce
Here are the agencies that saw the biggest shifts in employee morale in 2024
In a year where federal agencies tied record highs for employee engagement, some agencies saw wide swings in their workforce’s job satisfaction.
Pay & Benefits
Schumer tells feds he’ll call a vote on windfall elimination provision repeal
The Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal to controversial tax provisions affecting some federal workers and retirees, has 63 sponsors in the Senate, more than the 60 votes needed to force a vote on the measure.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers call on Biden to grant feds a 4.5% raise in 2025, restoring pay parity
President Biden previously came under fire from federal employee groups and some lawmakers for proposing only a 2.0% average pay raise for civilian workers, abandoning a longstanding Democratic priority.
Workforce
Ernst’s report documenting telework ‘abuse’ obscures more than it reveals
The Iowa senator and head of a new caucus related to President-elect Trump’s planned government efficiency commission misrepresented key statistics regarding telework’s usage at federal agencies.
Workforce
SSA, AFGE reach deal to lock in current telework levels until 2029
Union leaders said that for many, the workplace flexibility is the only thing preventing a mass exodus of overworked employees from the embattled agency.
Management
Trump names financial tech CEO to lead Social Security
The appointment would mark Frank Bisignano's first foray into government following a career at banks and financial technology companies.
Management