Workforce
The civil service system is a barrier to effective talent management
COMMENTARY | Government needs to adopt overhaul recommendations and “tailor employment policies toward specific occupations or labor markets.”
House Oversight Republicans open Congress with rants against telework, unions
The first hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was ostensibly about telework yet frequently devolved into anti-union rhetoric.
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VA employees ordered to pay back bonuses over misconduct now have an appeal process
The rulemaking is the result of a 2017 law intended to make it easier to remove poor-performing VA employees, but the Biden administration previously decided not to use it after legal decisions blunted the law’s authorities.
Trump’s proposed cuts to the federal workforce could increase dependency on contractors, experts say
Conversely, Trump’s advisory Department of Government Efficiency plans to push for decreasing spending on federal contracts.
IRS chief predicts agency 'performance will backslide' if funds and staffing are cut
The agency says it is fully prepared for filing season in the near term but backlogs could return if the Trump administration pulls back resources.
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.
Federal agencies respond to LA fires amid budget crunch
Federal firefighters are deploying to urban neighborhoods while some support positions are not being filled.
Want to reform the federal government? Start with career execs
COMMENTARY | Career senior executives are a national asset, not tools of agency heads. It’s time to manage them as the valuable resource they are, argues one expert.
See where and how Biden grew the federal workforce
Trump slashed rolls at most agencies and is pledging to do so again after Biden boosted the civil service.
ODNI adds new colleges and universities to its school recruitment program
Recent intelligence community recruitment efforts have focused on STEM.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
Federal employees could be more easily removed under new House bill
Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s, R-Ga., MERIT Act proposes radical civil service reforms, including repealing statutes governing unacceptable performance actions, ending union grievances based on adverse personnel actions and prohibiting furlough appeals.
Federal workforce is generally more diverse than the U.S. population, but gaps persist
EEO complaints filed by federal employees continued to decline from their fiscal 2018 height, sliding to 12,200 in fiscal 2021.
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.
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Politics vs. Policy: Building partnerships with new appointees
COMMENTARY | A survival guide for career civil servants from two longtime civil servants.
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.
Bureau of Prisons to close 7 facilities, threatening about 400 federal jobs
AFGE says employees who remain with BOP will face “disruptive relocations.”
