Digital Government

House Panel Advances Bill Providing Feds Paid Family Leave

Republicans question the methodology of a last-minute preliminary study by the Congressional Budget Office, despite the fact that CBO does not do full reports until bills are sent to the House floor.

Digital Government

GPO To Offer Full-Time Telework After COVID

Around one-third of the agency’s 1,500 employees will be able to work entirely remotely, and officials said some will be able to move out of the Washington, D.C., area.

Digital Government

Senate Confirms OPM Director in Close Vote

With Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a tie, lawmakers installed the first permanent director for the federal government’s HR agency in more than a year.

Digital Government

Most Federal Employees Will Receive Friday Off for Juneteenth

President Biden signed a bill Thursday afternoon making the anniversary of the end of slavery a federal holiday, and OPM confirmed that federal workers will have Friday off.

Digital Government

OPM Finalizes Rule Easing Rehiring of Ex-Feds

Under new rules, federal agencies will be able to rehire former federal workers at a higher pay grade than when they left government.

Digital Government

Feds’ Engagement and Job Satisfaction Rises Despite—or Because of—Pandemic

Officials who administered the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey warned against making sweeping conclusions about the 2020 results, due to changes in the survey's timing and some of its content.

Digital Government

OPM Nominee Sails Through Confirmation Hearing, Pledging to Support Feds and Uphold Merit System

Kiran Ahuja outlined her vision for the federal workforce and the need for the Office of Personnel Management to transform to become a 21st century personnel policymaking agency.

Digital Government

OPM Looks to Update Federal Job Competencies

Officials hope an updated list of skills required for jobs throughout the federal government will better inform federal personnel policy.

Digital Government

OPM Appointments Mark a Radical Shift in Agency's Role

The hiring of high-level executives from organized labor marks a return to federal employee unions having a seat at the table in the formulation of federal personnel policy.

Digital Government

VA Rolls Back Trump-era Workforce Policies

The Veterans Affairs Department is restoring its previous contract with AFGE, which allows access to official time and union office space in department facilities.

Digital Government

Study: OPM-GSA Merger Proposal Would Not Have Solved Problems It Aimed to Fix

A team of analysts has recommended elevating OPM's role in human capital management and making it less involved in “transaction-by-transaction compliance” activities.

Digital Government

Lawmakers Propose 3.2% Raise for Feds in 2022

Democrats in both chambers of Congress have reintroduced legislation to boost basic pay by 2.2% across the board next year, along with an average 1% increase in locality pay.

Digital Government

OPM Failed to Issue Guidance for D.C. Federal Workers During Insurrection

There was substantial warning ahead of the arrival of the group that violently stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election.

Policy

Trump Vetoes Defense Policy Bill Over Base Names, Unrelated Internet Law

The House has already scheduled a vote after Christmas to override the president’s long-threatened rejection of the annual Defense authorization act, which also includes an expansion of federal employee leave benefits.

Policy

Spending Agreement Would Allow 1% Pay Raise, Fails to Ban Schedule F

Provision in the fiscal 2021 omnibus appropriations bill would give feds until the end of next year to repay payroll taxes deferred by the Trump administration from September through December.

Digital Government

OPM Proposes Prioritizing Job Performance Over Tenure in Layoffs

Officials at the Office of Personnel Management are seeking to finalize a provision of President Trump’s controversial workforce executive orders before he leaves office.

Digital Government

Rolling Back Trump Workforce Policies Won’t Be As Simple As Rescinding Executive Orders

President-elect Biden has vowed to rescind on his first day a series of Trump-era directives aimed at weakening federal labor unions and politicizing the civil service, but repairing the damage could take much longer.

Digital Government

House Democrats Urge OPM to Halt Implementation of Order Politicizing Civil Service

House Oversight and Reform Committee leaders want to investigate the development and analysis of the effort to strip wide swaths of the federal workforce of civil service protections.

Digital Government

Union Sues and Democrats Introduce Bill to Block Trump Order Politicizing Civil Service

As opponents of the president’s effort to convert chunks of the federal workforce into at-will employees kick off their efforts to stop the initiative, the administration has signaled that agencies can push forward ahead of schedule.

Digital Government

Agencies to Have Wide Latitude In Deciding Which Jobs to Strip of Civil Service Protections

OPM issued initial instructions Friday for implementing a Trump executive order that allows federal policy-making positions to be converted from career jobs to at-will appointments.