Management
Trump Nominates Conspiracy Theorist to Lead OPM
John Gibbs, who currently serves at the Housing and Urban Development Department, in 2016 falsely accused Clinton campaign officials of secretly taking part in satanic rituals.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Moves to Implement Protections for Feds During Shutdowns
The 2020 Defense policy act included provisions ensuring federal workers would be able to change their insurance coverage due to a significant life event during a lapse in appropriations and protecting them from gaps in supplemental health care plans.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Implements New Locality Pay Area, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Cancels Presidential Rank Awards, Citing Efforts to 'Reopen' Economy
The Trump administration in March had suspended nominations for this year’s iteration of the awards, which recognize federal executives’ contributions to public service.
Pay & Benefits
House Lawmakers Call for Pay Parity Between Military and Civilian Federal Workers
Although the House version of a defense policy bill includes a 3% pay increase for members of the military in 2021, an appropriations bill under consideration effectively endorses only a 1% raise for civilians.
Management
OPM Delays Annual Workforce Survey Again Four Days Before Kickoff
The federal government’s human resources agency declined to explain the reasoning for the last minute postponement aside from allowing agencies to “focus on critical missions.”
Management
Labor Agency Changes Organizational Chart to Bolster Court Defense
Attorneys for a union challenging how members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel are appointed called recent changes to the Federal Labor Relations Authority website a “cynical” effort to influence the case.
Pay & Benefits
Employee Groups Object to Congressional Inaction on Pay Raise
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Pay & Benefits
Labor Board Makes It Easier for Federal Employees to Cancel Union Dues
Until now, feds could only opt out of union membership at one-year intervals.
Pay & Benefits
House Appropriations Bill Keeps Trump’s 1% Raise for Feds, Blocks other White House Priorities
The legislation would prevent the Trump administration from moving forward with its proposed GSA-OPM merger as well as implementation of new union contracts.
Oversight
Victims Sue AFGE Over Former President’s Misconduct
A group of former employees, contractors and union members assert that for years, the upper management of the largest federal employee union turned a blind eye to former President J. David Cox’s sexual harassment and abuse.
Management
House Defense Policy Bill Fixes Parental Leave Loopholes, Preserves Pentagon Collective Bargaining
The House version of the 2021 Defense authorization measure ensures all federal workers have access to the new benefit providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and it also standardizes locality pay between the General Schedule and Federal Wage System pay scales.
Oversight
House Committee Investigates Whether Officials Misled Congress on OPM-GSA Merger
A recent watchdog group report cited notes from a phone call indicating the Trump administration was advised that the merger plan was illegal, an account that is at odds with what OPM officials testified before Congress last year.
Oversight
New Legislation Would Increase Oversight Of Agency Relocations
Measure would require federal officials to conduct detailed cost-benefit analyses and provide them to inspectors general and the public for review before undertaking any effort to move federal agencies.
Pay & Benefits
TSP Funds Continue Slow Climb from COVID-19 Trough, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Pay & Benefits
Senate Defense Policy Bill Would Allow Pay Increases for a Few Federal Tech and Acquisition Jobs
The bill would also improve a recently enacted fix to tax regulations related to government-provided relocation expenses.
Management
After COVID Delay, OPM Prepares for 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey
This year’s iteration of the annual survey of federal workers’ engagement and morale will begin on July 13 and include questions about agencies’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Management
White House Advisor Sought Legal Opinion to Allow Trump to Fire Anyone In Government
A recently published internal White House document from early in the Trump administration proved to be a road map for the White House’s efforts to weaken unions and cut federal employee pay and benefits.
Management
Union, Trump Administration Trade Barbs in Impasse Panel Lawsuit Hearing
Attorneys for the Trump administration argued that the D.C. District Court lacks jurisdiction to hear constitutional challenges against how members of the panel are appointed, but a judge in a separate case ruled against the government on that issue Monday.
Pay & Benefits