Acquisition

Tech groups slam Trump's diversity training executive order

The pushback comes as the Labor Department tries to explain what the memo does and does not allow with regard to diversity training.

Digital Government

OPM built COVID dashboard on a shoestring

Office of Personnel Management used a purchase card to kick off cloud-based emergency response data dashboard.

People

Details on federal hiring changes expected this week

Draft guidelines will detail how agencies will remove college-degree requirements and emphasize skill assessments.

Modernization

OPM nominee deflects questions about conspiracy tweets

John Gibbs, the HUD official selected to lead the Office of Personnel Management, wasn't pressed by lawmakers on a history of controversial tweets of conspiracy theories and calling the Democrats the party of Islam.

People

OPM plans to field employee survey next week

The long-delayed Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey will kick off on Sept. 14.

Digital Government

Connolly balks at FEVS delays

The head of the subcommittee with oversight of the federal workforce is accusing the Office of Personnel Management of "mishandling" the government's annual employee survey.

People

Senate bill seeks oversight of telework, PPE for the federal workforce

A group of Senate Democrats is proposing legislation to create labor-management task forces inside government to review pandemic-related workforce policies.

People

Senior execs group pushes OPM re-org

As part of a plan to revitalize federal employment, the Senior Executives Association is looking to take the government's top human resources official out of the political fray with a 5- to 8-year appointment.

People

Mixed success for House Democrats looking to parry Trump's workforce initiatives

The proposed elimination of the Office of Personnel Management as an independent agency appears to be on hold indefinitely, but executive orders and agency relocations have altered the federal workforce landscape.

People

OPM stonewalls probe of hiring practices, watchdog says

The Inspector General of the Office of Personnel Management says the agency is not cooperating with a look at potential civil service law violations.

People

Bill to modernize Plum Book clears Senate committee

The measure looks to require more frequent updates of the directory of political appointees.

People

Trump to nominate new OPM head

The candidate to serve as the nation's top human resources official has a background in computer science and software development, and a controversial record as a conservative commentator.

People

House appropriators put protections for federal workers into FY21 funding bill

Provisions would block the OPM-GSA merger and empower unions, but the bill does not touch on pay raises.

People

Some feds will see use-or-lose leave restored due to the pandemic

New regulations will allow workers designated essential during the coronavirus outbreak to have their unused leave restored.

People

OPM looks to its own reopening

As Capitol Region local governments are starting to phase in their own reopening plans, the Office of Personnel Management put out a detailed guide for returning its own employees to the office.

Modernization

Federal HR offices have been slow to recover since 1990s downsizing, says MSPB

Plans for automation and other technologies to allow for individual HR employees to handle a larger workload haven't panned out.

People

House Dems want paid parental leave benefit to apply retroactively

Letting new parents take time off would alleviate coronavirus-related concerns, members stated in a May 8 letter to leadership.

People

White House lays out plans to open agencies, move off telework

In a new document, the federal government explains plans to align a reopening of all federal agency functions and a return to in-person work with national guidelines promulgated by the White House and health officials on bringing back a state of normalcy when a decline in the COVID-19 pandemic occurs.

Cybersecurity

Federal vacancies hamper government response to COVID-19, groups allege

Government oversight experts and advocacy groups say Senate leaders should withhold cooperation until vacancies are filled.

People

OPM lifts caps on hazard pay for COVID-19

Government employees who are considered essential frontline workers could receive extra pay during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management.