People

Reorganizing for the Biden agenda at OPM

OPM is beefing up its diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility office as part of an agency reorganization in support of a wide-ranging executive order covering the federal workforce.

People

OPM's new rules for student hiring

New rules published Tuesday by the Office of Personnel Management give agencies direct hire authority for appointing post-secondary students.

People

Kiran Ahuja's to-do list at OPM

Kiran Ahuja, the recently installed director of the Office of Personnel Management, has a host of long-standing agency issues to deal with, along with helping implement governmentwide workforce policy to combat the spread of COVID-19.

People

New OPM guidance addresses locality pay and travel costs for remote workers

A new document addresses a range of considerations for post-pandemic workforce planning in the context of current regulations.

People

OPM takes back control of CHCO Council

The move reestablishes Office of Personnel Management's central role in leading governmentwide human resources policy.

People

OPM grapples with questions about travel reimbursements for remote workers

Officials at the Office of Personnel Management are mulling the potential impacts of an increasingly dispersed federal workforce. One is the question of who foots the bill for remote workers occasionally required to come back to the office.

Cybersecurity

Federal job satisfaction continues to lag behind private sector

The annual 'Best Places to Work' report indicates that almost 60% of the federal workforce teleworked full-time during the peak lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital Government

House panel trims Biden's TMF ambitions

A funding bill passed out of committee on Thursday pegs $50 million for the Technology Modernization Fund – far less than the $500 million sought by the Biden administration.

People

Biden HR strategy features new agency 'talent teams'

New talent teams aimed at bettering hiring strategies are part of the Biden administration's multi-year strategy for the federal workforce, said OMB official on Tuesday.

People

VP Harris breaks tie to confirm Ahuja to lead OPM

No Republicans supported the nomination of Kiran Ahuja to lead the Office of Personnel Management.

People

Feds to get Juneteenth off as a federal holiday, starting Friday

The signing of a new law to commemorate Juneteenth as a federal holiday will give many federal employees the day off on Friday June 18.

People

Biden's OPM nominee appears headed for confirmation

A vote on the nomination of Kiran Ahuja to head the Office of Personnel Management is expected before the Senate goes into recess at the end of next week.

People

OPM finalizes 2019 proposal for re-hiring former feds

The new regulations will change current rules forcing agencies to re-hire former feds into the pay grade they were last under in government.

Cybersecurity

Tech can help, but clearance reciprocity is a policy issue

The backlog of security clearance investigations has continued to drop from a 2018 high of 725,000 to 200,000, but agencies continue to struggle with reciprocity issues.

People

CDC mask guidelines and the federal workforce

The White House-led Safer Federal Workforce Task Force is incorporating recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates on COVID protocols into their guidance for agencies looking to accommodate vaccinated workers.

People

OPM tells agencies they may set up labor-management relation forums

A Trump executive order rolling back requirements for labor-management relations forums is under review, according to new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management.

People

GOP rep wants feds back in the office

Rep. Jody Hice, the top Republican on the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, says that recent CDC guidance on masks, vaccination and social distancing means that it's time for the federal government to move away from the emergency pandemic footing.

People

Watchdog report finds OPM didn't always alert employees of COVID cases

The Inspector General at the Office of Personnel Management found that the agency wasn't requiring mask-wearing and failed to notify employees of COVID cases during the height of the pandemic.

People

OPM extends deadline on implementing Trump-era hiring policy

The Biden administration extended the deadline for federal agencies to implement portions of a Trump-era executive order aimed putting less reliance on educational attainment in federal hiring.

People

OMB job satisfaction scores plummeted in 2020

Almost 40% of OMB survey participants choose strongly disagree when presented with the statement, "my organization's senior leaders maintain high standards for honesty and integrity."