Budget Reforms Could Affect Pay, Benefits
The Bush administration is seeking several reforms in the budget process that could have implications for federal pay and benefits, …More
Fedweek
Sign up Now! Free eNewslettersEffect of Negotiations Uncertain
While negotiating over such benefits on one level would provide unions an opportunity to improve them, the underlying assumption is …More
Big Changes for Postal Employees Considered
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has started hearings that among other topics will examine whether the postal service should be …More
House Panel Considers Benefit Reforms
The House civil service subcommittee plans hearings this week on legislation (S-129) passed by the Senate last year that includes …More
Presidential Memo on Injury Compensation
President Bush has issued a memo to agencies reminding them of the costs of injury compensation benefits for their employees …More
Benefit Programs Largely Untouched
The White House budget proposes no significant changes to federal insurance or retirement benefits, although it did repeat a recent …More
Budget Signals Continued Fights on Contracting
The White House budget proposal reopens last year’s battle over the administration’s “competitive sourcing”-or contracting out-initiative. At one point last …More
Pay Caps Also Going Up a Bit
The increase in the 2004 GS across the board raise also will cause a slight increase in pay for those …More
2004 Pay Measure Signed Into Law
Meanwhile, President Bush has signed into law (P.L. 108-199) a wrapup spending bill for the fiscal year that is now …More
Pay Parity Effort to Resume
As in past years, some members of Congress active in civil service issues again are pushing to bring federal pay …More
White House Recommends 1.5 Percent Raise
The Bush administration has recommended that federal employees get a 1.5 percent raise in January 2005-compared with 3.5 percent for …More
No Fear Rules Published
Rules published in the January 22 Federal Register carry out the 2002 “No Fear Act” which requires individual agencies to …More
Yet More Guidance on SES Pay
In the latest of a series of guidelines on the new pay system for senior executive service members, the Office …More
New Twist on Drug Testing
A health regulatory agency is considering issuing new rules that would expand the types of testing available to federal agencies …More
Concerns Raised about HSAs
Meanwhile, employee and retiree organizations are raising concerns about creating health savings accounts in the FEHB. They contend that HSAs …More
Notice on Health Savings Accounts
The Treasury Department has published a notice on health savings accounts, which are new accounts created by the recently enacted …More
COLA Count Drops
A quarter of the way through the measuring period used for setting the January 2005 federal retiree cost-of-living adjustment, the …More
New Funds Still Under Consideration
Meanwhile, the TSP continues to explore adding one or two new funds that would combine existing investment options on an …More
Loan Usage Up
According to the TSP, participants took out more than 300,000 loans in 2003, a 50 percent increase over 2002, and …More
TSP to Curtail Loan Program
The Thrift Savings Plan has decided to alter several of its loan policies in order to counter what officials there …More
Pay Measure Passes, but Delays Continue
Congress has cleared a long-delayed bill (HR-2673) to fund many agencies for the remainder of the current fiscal year that …More
Payments Could Double, Report Says
CBO reported that in 2002, the existing authorities were used to pay bonuses totaling $129 million to just under 20,000 …More
Measure Could Bring Bigger Bonuses
Agencies could significantly increase the amount of recruitment, relocation and retention payments they pay to their employees under legislation (S-129) …More
Study of Law Officer Benefits Ordered
President Bush has signed into law (P.L. 108-196) a measure passed late in the 2003 congressional session ordering the Office …More
Still Waiting on DHS Announcement
Meanwhile, the other major agency that has been given broad new authorities over its personnel policies, the Department of Homeland …More
DoD’s Overview of New Personnel System
Separately, the Defense Department has published a summary of provisions in the recent budget act (Public Law 108-136) allowing it …More
Harder Implementation Work Lies Ahead
The buyout/early out and retiree rehiring provisions of the DoD law are being addressed first because those issues are relatively …More
Guidance on Retiree Rehiring Could Be Next
The recent guidance DoD sent out on use of buyouts and early retirements under the law authorizing its new personnel …More
Navy Will Be Early Adopter
The Navy has said it will be in the “first wave” of conversion to the new DoD personnel system and …More
Locality Raises to Continue
The DoD document also repeats the agency’s previously stated intent to continue granting general schedule employees locality pay raises, although …More
