Digital Government

DOL watchdog to probe OSHA inspections as workplaces reopen

House lawmakers quizzed officials at the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General about plans to conduct oversight of the department's pandemic response.

Digital Government

HHS watchdog defends oversight of agency amid health crisis

The Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services says it is pressing on with investigations into agency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acquisition

FLRA puts SSA judges' contract on hold

The reversal pauses of the implementation of a new contract while a lawsuit against a subcomponent of the Federal Labor Relations Authority plays out.

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 passes $3 trillion HEROES Act relief legislation

The Senate has no plans to take up the bill and White House said it would veto what it called an "partisan and ideological wishlist".

People

SSA didn't share key information with judges union, arbitrator finds

The decision comes as the Association of Administrative Law Judges is in the midst of a lawsuit against component of the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

People

White House pushes Thrift Board to back off China index investment

Citing national security and economic risks, senior officials instructed the Secretary of Labor to overturn plans by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to buy a fund that includes investments in China.

People

Data sharing and COVID-19

Agencies are working to simultaneously modernize and share data to ensure continuity of business.

Digital Government

$3T COVID relief bill includes tech money and restructures health acquisition

The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, proposed by House Democrats, calls for far more than additional stimulus checks and emergency funding for state and local governments. FCW breaks down the provisions.

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

House bill would protect unused leave during COVID-19

A bill from Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) would make sure that feds won't forfeit unused annual leave.

People

Attracting today's students to careers in public service remains a problem

A new report sets an ambitious goal of revising the public sector workforce by 2031, but engagement remains a sticking point.

People

SSA delays contract articles amid union lawsuit

The move comes as administrative law judges for the Social Security Administration sue the Federal Services Impasse Panel over their contract rulings.

People

House Homeland Dems want to help TSA workers in next COVID-19 relief package

Survivor benefits and health insurance premiums are expected to be covered in future legislation.

Acquisition

Paycheck protection, other pandemic response to garner 'flash' oversight

Agency inspectors general told Congress that the $2.2 trillion in spending to speed recovery and heal economic damage caused by the pandemic would be subject to quick oversight.

People

State and local government jobs are front and center in Dems' plans for COVID-19 relief

Democratic lawmakers are seeking aid to help state and local governments retain workers and avoid layoffs in the next relief bill aimed at alleviating the economic toll that the coronavirus pandemic has had upon the U.S. economy.

People

GOP lawmakers seek limits on foreign TSP investments

A House bill lands as a veterans group steps up efforts to lobby the military and the White House against investment in Chinese defense firms.

People

AFGE assails Trump's plan to go back to work

Union asks OPM and OMB to abide by six conditions before telling federal workers to go back to the office

People

SSA judges sue Impasses Panel

The Association of Administrative Law Judges has become the second federal sector union to sue the Federal Service Impasses Panel.

People

VA tech system freezes out workers, union complains

A Philadelphia AFGE local alleges that stress on the VA system has led workers to risk reprimand for working off-hours and that the Veterans Benefits Administration won't share contingency plans with employees.