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

New White House guidance for feds returning to the office and the future 'hybrid' federal workforce

A new OMB memo provides instructions on how to bring feds back to government offices on a large scale and asks agencies to consider long-term planning for a drastically different workplace.

People

OMB wants budget boost to rebuild workforce

OMB Acting Director Shalanda Young said some offices within her agency remain 30% below 2012 staffing levels.

Cybersecurity

Space Force focuses on building a digital workforce

The U.S. Space Force is focusing on building its cadre of super coders amid a workforce boon with more interested applicants than available positions, according to the branch's chief of space operations.

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.

People

'Leading by example' and organizational performance

Steve Kelman spotlights new research that measures the impact of "walking the walk."

Acquisition

Security clearance demands are exploding and government must keep up

The federal government must evolve security clearance standards to reflect certain cultural realities while also looking to improve clearance reciprocity between agencies.

Acquisition

The small federal office at the heart of Biden's equity agenda

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the Department of Labor may not be a household name but it plays an outside part in conducting oversight of pay and hiring discrimination.

Cybersecurity

DHS expands collective bargaining for TSA airport screeners

Although the American Federation of Government Employees praised the move, the union says it is still going to press for legislation to move TSA employees into Title 5.

Cybersecurity

Army rolls back short-lived IoT telework policy

The Army is "restaffing" the policy, which would have required teleworkers to turn off or remove smart devices, such as Amazon Echo speakers, from their remote workspaces.

People

White House seeks reopening plans from agencies

Guidance sent to agencies on Tuesday makes clear that agencies can't start phasing feds back into the workplace until they've satisfied collective bargaining requirements.

Acquisition

Biden's first budget ups cyber and tech spending; gives feds a 2.7% pay raise

The Biden administration released its $6 trillion fiscal year 2022 budget proposal on Friday, including $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending across federal agencies.

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

Lawmakers push State Department to act on harassment, discrimination

The State Department's first ever Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer has said that harassment cases go unreported because of an understanding that they wouldn't be addressed.

Cybersecurity

Connecting and supporting the post-pandemic workforce

After a year of emergency response, IT leaders are planning for a permanently changed operating environment.

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

Few agencies sought Schedule F conversions

In the waning days of the Trump administration, only a relative handful out of hundreds of eligible agencies and department responded to an executive order that looked to reclassify vast swathes of the federal civil service as at-will employees.

Cybersecurity

Watchdog: 'Uncertainty' may undermine CBP's enforcement of social media policy

The Office of Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security found divisions among senior Customs and Border Protection officials about the agency's social media posting policies.