People

DOD needs better plan to move off of performance-pay system

The Defense Department needs to do a better job of laying out specific goals and a timeline for designing a new performance management system, according to the Government Accountability Office.

People

Telework guidance incorporates Telework Act

The Office of Personnel Management on April 18 issued a telework guide to help agencies implement the Telework Enhancement Act and to serve as a resource on the law for rank-and-file feds.

Digital Government

2012 budget with 3-year pay freeze passes House

The House has passed a Republican-sponsored fiscal 2012 budget resolution that includes measures to freeze federal pay and reduce the federal workforce an estimated 10 percent by 2014. The next budget battle has begun.

People

Bill would overhaul federal acquisition training

Lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced legislation that would reorganize the federal acquisition training system and promote career development for those working within the civilian acquisition workforce.

People

Back-pay question has no clear answers

As the possibility of a government shutdown continues to loom, federal employees remain haunted by the prospect of not being paid for the time they miss because of a furlough.

People

Lawmakers seek answers on federal pay issue

Republican leaders intent on reforming the federal pay system reportedly have asked the Government Accountability Office to examine why various studies come to different conclusions on how federal pay stacks up against private-sector pay.

People

Bill takes aim at retirement benefits

A new bill would end the defined-benefit portion of the Federal Employees Retirement System for new federal hires.

Digital Government

Feds--start making your list

"Average" feds soon may get the chance to provide a key member of Congress with their input, according to one news story.

People

Pay for performance back on the table

Pay for performance, an idea that has had a problematic history in the federal government, is back in play, according to one report.

People

OPM report chronicles performance progress

The Office of Personnel Management has posted its annual report card on how well the agency met its key human resources goals in the past fiscal year.

People

House rejects freeze of merit-based pay increases

By a wide margin, the House on Feb. 19 rejected a measure that would have extended the federal pay freeze to merit-based pay increases. It would have jeopardized step increases for hundreds of thousands of federal employees paid under the General Schedule pay system.

People

Unions blast furlough proposal

Federal employee unions decry a proposal to require unpaid leave as a cost-cutting measure.

Cybersecurity

NSA offers smart phone-based recruiting tools

New apps are part of agency's use of 'cool high-tech tools'

People

Tax breaks for all -- except some feds

Federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System would not see a 2 percent "tax holiday" under the bill that the Senate passed today.

People

Teleworkers experience lower amounts of stress, study finds

In the wake of the passage of the federal telework bill, newly published research shows that employees who telecommute the majority of the work week are more satisfied with their jobs compared to those who do not. Working remotely alleviates more stress than it creates.

People

Agencies hiring more veterans, but progress is slow

Agencies are making progress in meeting the goals of an executive order issued by President Obama last November to encourage the hiring of vets into federal jobs.

People

Union hopes to help new lawmakers see benefits of fed workforce

With Republican lawmakers set to take over the House, the head of the National Treasury Employees Union said the union will seek to educate new lawmakers on the importance of the federal workforce -- and the dangers a proposed hiring freeze would pose to taxpayers.

People

NSPS transition office exceeding goals

The Department of Defense is ahead of schedule in transitioning most National Security Personnel System employees back to older pay systems.

Digital Government

White House pushes more telework paid leave

The White House issued a statement reiterating the president's strong support for more telework as a means to make the federal government more productive and also to attract some of today's most desirable workers to federal agencies.

Digital Government

New website to monitor fed travel excesses

A new independent issue website has been launched this month, focusing on publishing information on what its staff argue is wasteful travel by federal government employees.