Management

Lawmakers Face a Tight Deadline to Pass Funding Bills

Although appropriators still had not released the text of a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package Tuesday afternoon, they insisted they would not resort to passing another stopgap measure to keep the government open.

Pay & Benefits

Ahuja Appoints Former OPM Director to Oversee the Federal Blue Collar Job Panel

Janice Lachance will chair an advisory committee governing the Federal Wage System, a pay scale that has long been criticized by employee groups for its outdated map of locality pay areas.

Management

Chief Human Capital Officers Need to Be Empowered to Really Transform Federal HR, Experts Say

More collaboration between chief human capital officers and agency executives and the Office of Personnel Management is needed to improve the hiring and retention of the federal workforce.

Pay & Benefits

Nearly All TSP Funds Have Fallen for a Second Straight Month

Only two of the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program ended February in the black.

Workforce

Lawmakers Eye Rolling Back Controversial VA Workforce Law, As the Department and Union Begin Negotiations

A bipartisan bill would effectively take two portions of the 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act that were nullified by federal courts off the books.

Workforce

Soon Feds Will Be Able to Sign Up Online to Join a COVID Hazard Pay Lawsuit

Unlike traditional class-action suits, federal workers will need to sign up to become plaintiffs in advance, union says.

Workforce

Unions are Urging the VA to Better Educate Employees About Their Rights Under COVID Law

Although Congress has approved a number of measures to help federal workers stay safe during the pandemic, labor groups say the Veterans Affairs Department has not adequately trained employees on those benefits.

Workforce

New Bills Try Once More to Force Feds Back to Traditional Offices

Federal employee unions have blasted the latest round of Republican legislation, arguing the bills improperly infringe on their right to negotiate over working conditions.

Workforce

The Justice Dept.’s Workplace Safety Plan Details COVID-19 Testing Protocols

The plan’s language encouraging a “broader” application of telework disappointed career prosecutors, who had hoped for a firm baseline of two days per week of working remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pay & Benefits

Lawmakers Urge the Labor Dept. to Expedite Workers Compensation Claims from Federal Firefighters

A bipartisan group of senators said federal wildland firefighters struggle to get medical treatments for work-related injuries paid for by the government.

Oversight

Older Feds Are Facing Persistent Racial and Gender Pay Disparities, the EEOC Has Found

Although the federal workforce has higher representation of people 40 and older than the private sector, men and white and Asian employees within that age group make more than women and other ethnicities.

Pay & Benefits

Biden Is Reportedly Planning to Propose the Highest Pay Raise for Feds in 20 Years, at 4.6%

The proposal for a 2023 pay boost would be part of the president's budget request, which could be released next month.

Workforce

Nine Federal Agencies Had Almost All of Their Employees Teleworking During COVID-19

A new watchdog report looks at how 24 federal agencies balanced in-person and offsite work during the pandemic.

Workforce

White House Task Force: Agencies Need to Do More to Support Unionization in the Federal Workforce

A task force chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said that as a “model employer,” the federal government should be at the forefront of removing barriers for employees to organize or join a union.

Workforce

The Justice Dept.’s Diversity Officer Job Listing Requires a Salary History, Despite a Mandate Discouraging the Practice

Asking job candidates about their salary histories has been shown to lead to pay disparities across genders and ethnicities, and President Biden has tasked the Office of Personnel Management with finding a way to ban its use at federal agencies.