OPM Plans New Pay System for Economists, Others to Follow
OPM has taken the first of a planned series of steps to create an occupation-specific classification and pay system, beginning …More
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Social Security Figures Rising
Along with the COLA increase of 2.8 percent in Social Security benefits for January that was announced last week — …More
New Medicare Rates Set
The Medicare program has announced rates for 2019, with a $135.50 standard monthly premium for Part B (physicians and related …More
Key Retirement Interest Rate to Rise
The interest paid in the voluntary contribution retirement savings program available to CSRS (but not FERS) employees will rise to …More
Replacement of Pon Could Boost Move to Break Up OPM
The departure of OPM director Jeff Pon has raised questions about the future of that agency, which for the foreseeable …More
Bills Introduced to Soften ‘Windfall’ Penalty
Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate (HR-6933 and S-3526) to soften the impact of the Social Security …More
Bill Forms Labor-Management Cooperation on TSA Personnel Issues
In a move that runs counter to the recent direction of federal labor relations, Congress has passed a bill creating …More
OPM Stresses Value of Work-Life Balance Programs
OPM has started issuing a series of documents designed to encourage agencies to offer work-life balance programs, saying such programs …More
Leave Transfer Authorized Due to California Wildfires
OPM has authorized agencies to establish emergency leave transfer programs related to the wildfires in California. In those programs, employees …More
Decision on Raise Kicked Down the Road
Updated: A decision on a pay raise will have to wait until after the midterm elections as Congress has gone …More
OPM Previews 2019 FEHB Plans; More Details to Come
Although full details of FEHB plans won’t be released until just before the start of the November 12-December 10 open …More
Several Plans Dropping Out of FEHB
For the 2019 plan year a lower than usual number of FEHB plans are dropping out. They are : Healthnet …More
WH Appeal Argues Executive Orders on Workplace, Unions Within Scope
The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to fast-track its challenge to an injunction against parts of three …More
Many Proposals for Federal Workforce May Fall by Wayside
With only several weeks of planned congressional working time scheduled before year’s end, many proposals affecting the federal workforce seem …More
TSP Returns Mixed in September
The TSP funds produced mixed results in September, with the international stock I fund gaining 0.91 percent and the large …More
Federal Employees May Moonlight for Census, OMB Says
OMB is encouraging agencies to allow their employees to take temporary second jobs associated with the 2020 Census, saying that …More
Trump Signs Spending Bill with CR Funding Through Dec 7
Updated: President Trump this week signed into law an appropriations bill covering the VA and related agencies, the legislative branch, …More
Average FEHB Premiums to Rise 1.5 Percent
FEHB premiums will rise 1.5 percent on average for enrollees in 2019 over 2018, OPM has announced, well below the …More
Security Clearance Changes Underway, More Ahead
The Trump administration says it has completed a draft policy on new standards for denying, suspending or revoking security clearances …More
Reminder on TSP Catch-up Elections, Withholding Adjustments
Active employees who are age 50 or above, or who will be before the end of the year, and who …More
Court Ruling on Executive Orders Appealed
The Trump administration has appealed a federal court’s ruling invalidating key portions of three executive orders on disciplinary and union …More
MSPB Nominations Still Awaiting Senate Action; Backlog Piling Up
The main agency that hears federal employee appeals of discipline and many other workplace decisions continues to lack the quorum …More
Policies on Shutdowns Remain Largely Unchanged
Individual agency and government-wide policies on shutdowns have remained largely unchanged for many years and the results will be familiar …More
TSP to Increase Stock Investments in L Funds
The TSP has announced that it will increase the percentages of its lifecycle L funds that are invested in its …More
Uncertainty in Avoiding Shutdown; Raise Issue Still Unsettled
With a September 30 deadline just ahead to funding for federal agencies when current spending authority expires with the end …More
Brinksmanship on Agency Funding Still Possible
Among the regular appropriations bills for the new fiscal year that are not part of one of the packages advancing …More
Congress Signals Opposition to Agency Reorganizations
Congress has included language in a spending bill designed to block several of the Trump administration’s agency reorganization initiatives, at …More
Many Moving Parts on Reorganization Ideas
Language in budget bills advancing in Congress to restrict agency reorganization authority could be just the first of many such …More
FLRA Closing Dallas Office, with Boston to Follow
Despite opposition from federal employee unions and from some members of Congress, the FLRA has said it is going ahead …More
For Preventing Shutdown, It’s Getting Late Early
Although not yet even mid-month, time is already short for Congress and the White House to agree on keeping federal …More
