Modernization
How COVID-19 accelerated IT modernization
As previous IT investments proved their worth in 2020, the pandemic is prompting agencies to accelerate their modernization efforts
Cybersecurity
Prepping the cyber workforce of the future
Big picture skills like digital literacy and critical thinking are more important to building a public-sector cybersecurity workforce than small gains in federal hiring procedure, experts say.
People
House chairs seek 'full accounting' of Schedule F conversions
The lawmakers requested information about any political appointees given civil service positions and about any positions converted to the new personnel category created by President Trump.
People
Pentagon tightens workplace restrictions as COVID cases spike
The increase of coronavirus cases in the Washington, D.C. region preceded the Pentagon’s decision to revert to stricter workplace protocols.
People
OMB seeks to reclassify workforce under Schedule F
The agency is gearing up to make 88% of its positions subject to at-will employment.
People
VA union claims victory in termination case
In win for the National VA Council, the Federal Labor Relations Authority dismissed the VA's exceptions to an arbitrator's award that requires it to reinstate union employees fired without performance improvement plans.
People
Lawmakers probe telework's impact on federal jobs, hiring
Although the move to telework has presented challenges, agency officials told senators at a hearing emphasized the benefits in terms of hiring and productivity.
People
NTEU looks for a 'fresh start' for federal employees under Biden
The union's blueprint for immediate action joins with NAPA's working group on the federal workforce in calling for the next director of OPM to abandon a regulation-heavy approach.
People
NAPA working group floats proposal to roll back Trump's workforce orders
A team at the National Academy of Public Administration wants the incoming president to order a reduction in the number of General Schedule job classifications while expanding the use of recruitment, relocation and retention payments.
Acquisition
Thrift Board taps Accenture for consolidated records contract
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board plans to roll out new features to plan participants, including electronic signatures.
People
Federal panel sides with VA on union contract
The Federal Service Impasses Panel largely sided with the Department of Veterans Affairs in a contract ruling in a case between the VA and the National Veterans Affairs Council (NVAC).
People
OPM veterans on the Biden-Harris transition team
In advance of the General Services Administration designating Biden as president-elect and releasing transition funds, the Biden-Harris team is working outside of government, consulting with former officials and experts.
People
A Biden-Harris 'reset’ for feds
Federal employee unions and associations are hoping for concrete day-one rollbacks of Trump administration workforce policies on diversity training, official time, collective bargaining and the new 'Schedule F' classification.
People
Esper out at DOD
President Trump announced on Twitter that he had fired his secretary of defense, with Christopher C. Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, taking over on an acting basis.
Acquisition
18 state AGs call to end Trump's crackdown on diversity training
In a letter, 18 state attorneys general and the AG from the District of Columbia say that a recent executive order on diversity training is having "opposite effect" of its stated goal of preventing discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex.
Acquisition
Immigration judges union decertified in FLRA ruling
The decision reversed decades of precedent and garnered a strong dissent from one FLRA member, who called the ruling "the antithesis of reasoned decision making."
People
Civil rights groups sue to block diversity training order
"Regardless of whatever dates or deadlines are in the executive order, the chilling effect is happening now," an attorney involved the case said.
People
Interior IG: USGS director retaliated against whistleblower
A watchdog report alleges that an "impermissible, retaliatory motive" was behind the reassignment of a whistleblower at the U.S. Geological Survey.
People
House Dems press OPM to block Trump's civil service overhaul
More than 30 House Democrats are calling for an immediate halt to the implementation of President Trump recent executive order to reclassify elements of the civil service as at-will employees.
Digital Government
White House mulls CXO role at agencies
The White House is considering whether to formalize the customer experience officer role, but also thinking about the position's impact on IT.
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