Defense Bill Signed; Freezes Buyouts at 25K, 2.6% Uniformed Raise
President Trump has signed into law the annual defense authorization bill which keeps the buyout amount at $25,000 for non-defense …More
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More Mixed Messages Sent on Flexible Work Arrangements
The Trump administration has continued to send mixed messages on telework and flexible working schedules for federal employees, with OPM …More
Labor-Management Tensions Rise as Decision from Court Awaited
Tensions between federal agencies and unions have continued to rise as the former carries out policies set by the recent …More
USDA Relocations Could Be Start of Trend
In what could be a sign of more to come across the government, the Agriculture Department has announced plans to …More
Fiscal 2019 Per Diem Rates Announced
GSA has set new per diem rates for federal employees on official travel effective October 1, slightly increasing both the …More
COLA Count Holds Steady
The count toward the January 2019 federal retirement COLA held steady at 2.7 percent in the latest monthly accounting of …More
Many Disclosures Don’t Qualify as Whistleblowing, VA Says
In its first year of operation, slightly above half of disclosures made to a VA office established to receive whistleblower …More
Congress Finalizes Defense Bill Leaving Buyout Amount Unchanged
Ahead of what could be a busy, if brief, autumn working session, on issues of importance to federal employees and …More
Prospects for Raise Improve but Don’t Make Plans to Spend It Yet
One key annual bill that has neared the finish line in Congress is the general government appropriations bill, which both …More
Very Little Movement on Changes to Retirement Benefits
While Congress has directly addressed some pay and benefit issues for federal employees and retirees, most of the proposals made …More
Time Growing Short to Reform the Reform Act This Year
Time is growing short for action this year in Congress on one of the major initiatives announced by the Trump …More
Court Yet to Rule on Request to Delay Executive Orders
A federal district court is yet to rule on a request by a coalition of federal unions to temporarily block …More
DoD Restricts Use of Trackable Devices, both Official and Personal
DoD has restricted use of “geolocation features and functionality on government and nongovernment-issued devices, applications and services” in locations designated …More
OPM Reminds Agencies of Obligations to Breastfeeding Employees
OPM has posted a reminder to agencies of their obligations to accommodate employees who are breastfeeding, saying that “supportive work-life …More
Fallout from Executive Orders Continues; Courts to Weigh in
A federal court could rule at any time on a request by a number of unions representing federal workers to …More
Senate Approves 1.9 Percent Raise
Update: The Senate has approved a $153.2 billion spending bill tying together several of the regular annual appropriations measures including the …More
Per Diem Rate Announcement Likely Coming Soon
GSA likely will soon announce the per diem rates for federal travelers to be effective for the fiscal year starting …More
Work Underway to Shift OPM Policy Offices to White House; Phased Reorganization
Working groups already are in place to shift OPM’s policy offices to the White House and break off its operating …More
Limited Exception on FEHB, FEDVIP Eligibility to End
OPM has issued a final rule affirming that a special exception allowing the children of a same-sex domestic partner to …More
Career SES Ranks Steady, Makeup Little Changed
The number of career positions in the SES, the highest level to which career federal employees typically can aspire, held …More
TSP Stock Funds Heat Up in July
The TSP’s common stock C fund gained 3.72 percent in July, the international stock I fund 2.45 percent and the …More
Chances Dim for Boosting Buyout Payments
The final version of the annual DoD authorization, which has emerged from a House-Senate conference, does not contain a much-anticipated …More
OPM Reviewing Pay, Leave, Performance Policies
OPM says it is continuing to review federal employment policies on pay, leave and performance for possible additional administrative actions …More
Parts of Reorganization Plan to Launch in Autumn, Says OMB
The Trump administration expects to begin carrying out in the fall the portions of its recently released agency reorganization plan …More
Impact of Proposed Changes to OPM to Be Examined
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has scheduled hearings for this week on the Trump administration’s proposal to …More
House Cool with Pay Freeze, but Senate Set to Back 1.9 Percent Raise
The House has approved a fiscal 2019 spending bill (HR-6147) that effectively endorses President Trump’s recommendation to keep federal salary …More
Growing Backlog Awaits MSPB Nominees
The MSPB governing board could have a full complement of members soon, following a hearing at which the three nominees …More
Bills on Parental Leave, Relocation Taxes Offered
Among bills recently introduced in Congress are: S-3236, to put in law and extend a recent GSA policy addressing an …More
Panel Backs Faster Discipline, Weaker Appeal Rights for Federal Employees
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has passed bills to tighten the deadlines in the federal workplace disciplinary notice …More
Split Remains on Special VA Disciplinary Policies
A year after enactment of a law revamping disciplinary policies at the VA there was consensus at a House hearing …More
