Management
Labor Authority Abandons Decades of Precedent, Eviscerates Union Bargaining Rights
Across multiple decisions on Wednesday, the agency that governs federal sector labor law removed unions’ right to midterm bargaining and made it harder for unions to demand agencies bargain over changes to working conditions.
Pay & Benefits
TSP Funds Hit the Skids in September
After months of gains, most of the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program ended September in the red.
Pay & Benefits
Voting Flexibilities for Feds, and a TSA Leave Bill
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
OPM Updates Job Qualifications Following Hiring Executive Order
The Office of Personnel Management is asking agencies for feedback on a draft list of the qualifications required for federal jobs as part of the implementation of a recent executive order emphasizing applicants’ skills and experience, rather simply education.
Pay & Benefits
More Feds Subject to Mandatory Payroll Tax Deferral Than Initially Thought
The National Treasury Employees Union on Friday said that the Trump administration failed to clarify that the controversial initiative applies to those making $4,000 or less after several pre-tax deductions, not their gross pay.
Pay & Benefits
Biden Vows to Raise Federal Employees' Pay and Protect Benefits
In a questionnaire published by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, the former vice president said he would abandon efforts by the Trump administration to force federal workers to contribute more to their defined benefit retirement accounts.
Management
Unions Dispute Government’s Latest Effort to Dismiss Impasse Panel Challenges
The Trump administration on Tuesday cited a federal appellate court decision affirming that claims against the president’s workforce executive orders must go through an administrative process to support dismissing lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Federal Service Impasses Panel appointments, but unions say the cases are unrelated.
Management
Arbitrator Finds Trump Workforce Orders Violate Law
An independent arbitrator ruled that the president cannot reduce the scope of bargaining between an agency and a labor group “by fiat.”
Pay & Benefits
No Payroll Tax Deferral for Postal Workers, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
State Department Officials Vow Cultural Shift Toward Inclusion
Officials tasked with improving diversity told a House panel that they hope recent efforts to deploy unconscious bias training and conduct surveys of those leaving the department will help improve efforts to retain employees of color, women and members of the LGBTQ community.
Management
The Incumbent: Bending the Bureaucracy
President Trump is likely to double down on his ambitious management agenda in a second term, stepping up attacks on unions, taking aim at merit system principles and slashing regulations.
Management
OPM Moves to Formally Shift Administrative Law Judges Out of Competitive Service
Proposed regulations implementing a 2018 executive order confirm that existing judges at federal agencies will not be subject to the change unless they transfer to another agency or leave and return to federal service, but they will no longer be eligible for a number of financial incentive programs.
Oversight
OPM Isn’t Doing Enough to Prevent Political Meddling in Reassignments of Senior Executives, Watchdog Finds
GAO reports that several agencies have made efforts to ensure that they comply with rules designed to prevent capricious reassignment of senior executives by political appointees, but gaps remain and OPM is unwilling to conduct oversight.
Pay & Benefits
TSP to Increase Default Contributions, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
TSP Board Nominees Advance From Committee, But Vote on OPM Nominee Postponed
Senators in both parties last week expressed concerns about OPM director nominee John Gibbs’ fitness for the position in light of Twitter posts that were Islamophobic, anti-LGBT and endorsing debunked satanic conspiracy theories.
Pay & Benefits
Appeals Court Overturns Dismissal of EEOC Attorney’s Retaliation Claims
D.C. Circuit Court finds that a lower court improperly dismissed a lawsuit by an EEOC attorney who said the agency interfered with her pay and benefits and denied reasonable accommodation requests over her filing discrimination claims against federal agencies.
Pay & Benefits
OMB Fails to Offer New Info in Payroll Tax Deferral Memo
Federal payroll processors are pushing ahead with the mandatory deferral of Social Security taxes between now and the end of the year, while warning employees that they will have to pay them back next year.
Pay & Benefits
Union Asks OPM to Loosen Restrictions on Paid Parental Leave
Some requirements of the new benefit program are overly burdensome, particularly if a baby is born prematurely.
Management
After Multiple Delays, OPM to Begin Fielding Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey
The agency will ask all federal employees to respond to the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey across two six-week waves, meaning most results will not be available to agencies or for public viewing until 2021.
Pay & Benefits