FCW Insider: Oct. 19

Congratulations to the 2020 Rising Stars

These early-career leaders already are having an outsized impact on government IT.

Business groups nationwide complain about diversity training crackdown

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce led a nationwide coalition of trade associations and business groups in a letter opposing the Trump administration's executive order on diversity and inclusion training.

Group warns of gaps in election infrastructure

The security of voting infrastructure has come a long way since 2016, but it still depends on the state and local governments maintaining it, said a digital rights and election technology expert.

How a telework bill can boost security, modernization

The bipartisan Pandemic Federal Telework Act would make technology and security an integral part of telework planning and data reporting.

Quick Hits

*** The Office of Personnel Management published a final rule making it easier for agencies to discipline and fire employees for cause. The rule stems from a 2019 proposal that is based on a series of executive orders on the federal workforce.

"These rule changes erode key protections for civil servants that will make it easier for federal agencies to discriminate against federal employees and fire them for political reasons," Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees said in a statement reacting to the published rule. "Unfortunately, they are just the latest in a series of attacks by this administration on the apolitical government employees who serve our country with honor and distinction."

*** Meet the winners of the 2020 Public Sector Innovation Awards. The 21 projects at the federal, state and local levels show just how transformative government IT can be.