People

White House looks to boost federal employee union participation

The Office of Personnel Management is directed agencies to more regularly give new and longtime feds more information about their union eligibility and guidance about how to join.

Digital Government

The workforce challenge facing the IRS

Can the tax agency solve the problem of a shrinking workforce and an increasing workload?

Cybersecurity

The CISO reporting structure is broken

The commitment to managing cyber risk is a primary concern, but is often consolidated with IT priorities. This creates a conflict – does IT or security come out on top?

Acquisition

How GSA is implementing the contractor vaccination mandate

The agency's Federal Acquisition Service and Public Building Service are using automated tools to send out contract modifications "by the thousands," to add the vaccination mandate said one agency official. FAS started issuing mass modifications on Oct. 8. They're issuing about 3,000 modifications per day.

Modernization

IT, supply chain figure in agency climate plans

Federal agencies release climate adaptation and resilience plans, many of which feature new initiatives to combat current and future risks to critical infrastructure and information technology.

Digital Government

Survey: Federal IT workers say agencies are lagging with digital transformations

In a survey, 88% of federal employees working full-time in technology or IT-focused roles say agencies have fallen behind on modernization plans, citing cultural resistance to change and the inability of contractors to quickly implement new initiatives.

People

DOD personnel now subject to 'continuous vetting'

Defense and military personnel are now a part of an automated "continuous vetting" program that will flag concerning behavior or circumstances as part of the security clearance process.

People

OPM director talks federal recruitment with students

Kiran Ahuja talked about streamlining hiring, implementing President Biden's executive order on diversity and more at a George Mason University event.

People

MSPB nominees hope to triage massive backlog of cases

The board will also likely have to address fallout from disciplinary measures taken as the federal employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate takes effect.

Modernization

Post-pandemic IT leadership

The rush to maximum telework did more than showcase the importance of IT -- it also forced them to rethink their own operations.

People

BLM to bring leadership back to D.C.

The Interior Department is reversing a Trump administration move to put the Bureau of Land Management in Grand Junction, Colo., but the new outpost will now serve as a Western headquarters.

Cybersecurity

White House nominates John Sherman for DOD CIO

John Sherman was named DOD's principal deputy CIO in 2020 and has been acting in the CIO role since January.

People

Biden's COVID vaccination mandate for feds has a deadline

Federal employees have until November 22 to comply with the administration's vaccination mandate

People

Biden's DDM tees up strategic planning agenda

The Biden administration wants to capitalize on agencies' current strategic planning process to move major administration priorities like climate, pandemic recovery, economic recovery and equity.

People

Biden mandates COVID vaccine for feds, contractors

The vaccine mandate will supplant administration workforce policy put in place in July that requires either vaccinations or regular testing for federal employees.

Cybersecurity

DHS makes awards in $3 billion financial systems software BPA

In the works since 2017, a plan to unify financial reporting across the highly federated Department of Homeland Security is getting closer to coming online.

Modernization

IRS dips into enforcement funds, user fees for IT

"Each year, the IRS must take extraordinary measures to fund IT," IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig explained in an August letter to three senators.

Acquisition

Feds get more guidance on COVID vaccination, testing

The Biden administration is eyeing booster shots for some Americans, but for its vaccination and testing program for federal employees, those who are two weeks out from a completed vaccination are considered covered without a booster shot, for now.

People

Federal managers seek hard info on COVID-19 testing plans

In a letter sent to administration officials Thursday, the Government Managers Coalition flagged concerns that agencies and managers are ill-prepared to roll out the administration's COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for feds.

People

Biden names pick for final MSPB slot

The Merit Systems Protection Board has been without a quorum for over four years and has a backlog of more than 3,000 appeals.