Pay & Benefits
Most Feds Won't Reap the Benefits of Local Minimum Wage Laws
OPM last week announced that it will not raise the lower levels of the federal pay scales to comply with state and local laws increasing the minimum wage.
Pay & Benefits
Most TSP Funds Crept Up in November
All but one of the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program grew last month.
Pay & Benefits
Rubio Escalates Attacks in Dispute Over TSP International Fund Changes
The Republican senator urged President Trump to replace the board that administers the Thrift Savings Plan after it refused to reverse course on including Chinese companies in its investment offerings.
Management
OPM: Agencies Can Implement Workforce EOs at Some Agencies Without Bargaining
The Office of Personnel Management said agencies may unilaterally implement the provisions of three controversial executive orders, provided workers are operating under a contract that has been automatically renewed.
Management
Trump Administration Urges Supreme Court to Maintain Strict Burden in Age Discrimination Cases
The case, involving a VA pharmacist who claims the department discriminated against her based on age and gender, has implications for the entire federal workforce.
Management
Lawmakers Demand Explanation for Social Security Telework Cuts
Friday marked the final day of a six-year-old telework pilot program for roughly 12,000 employees of the Social Security Administration’s operations agencies, after Commissioner Andrew Saul summarily ended it.
Management
'You Spoke, We Listened': How HHS Rapidly Improved Employee Viewpoint Survey Participation
Top HR officials made a year-round effort to highlight how the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey shapes the department.
Management
Senate Democrats Push for Union Protections in Spending Package
Language in a House-passed appropriations bill blocking implementation of union contracts imposed by a federal impasses panel remains subject to negotiation.
Management
Oklahoma Social Security Employees Suffer Bedbugs, Air Quality Problems
Agency officials plan another effort to eradicate the pests this weekend, but a union demands workers be relocated.
Pay & Benefits
Military Pay Raise Included in Shutdown-Averting Measure, But No Word on Civilian Increase
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
Top Federal HR Officials Stress Hiring for Military Spouses, Ex-Prisoners
At their annual meeting, chief human capital officers talk best practices for implementing initiatives intended to boost diversity in hiring.
Pay & Benefits
Making Sense of FEHBP's New 'Indemnity' Plans
The plans are not much different than the health insurance program's fee-for-service offerings, despite the name.
Management
Impasses Panel Gives Rare Win to Union on Telework
Just days after the Social Security Administration announced the impending end of a long-running telework pilot program for operations staff, the panel protected employees in the Office of Hearing Operations from a similar fate.
Management
EEOC Plans to Stop Providing Official Time to Union Reps Governmentwide
In an internal draft of a rules change, the commission argues official time to work on EEOC complaints should be subject to agency collective bargaining negotiations, despite statutory protections.
Management
Trump Effort to Weaken Union Lawsuit Could Be Unlawful
Labor law experts say a memo granting the Federal Labor Relations Authority the ability to fire members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel undermines the law establishing the two boards.
Pay & Benefits
TSP Board Reaffirms Decision to Broaden International Fund Despite Congressional Pressure
A bipartisan group of senators had demanded the board reverse a 2017 decision changing the index upon which the I Fund is based because the new benchmark will include Chinese companies.
Pay & Benefits
With Winter Approaching, OPM Reminds Agencies of Closure and Leave Policies
The 2018 decision that employees who can work remotely usually cannot take leave due to a weather event has created a complicated web of rules and exceptions.
Pay & Benefits
Federal Retirement Applications, Processing Both Down in October
The backlog of pending requests crept to nearly 18,000 last month, although the number of applications is significantly down from the same period in 2018.
Management
Union Decries VA Response to Lynched Doll Found in Staff Area of Louisiana Facility
Employees at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center have questioned the finding that the person responsible was not an employee, given where the doll was located.
Management