Tuesday federal headlines – September 16, 2014

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com reade...

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows each day. Our headlines are updated twice per day — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — with the latest news affecting federal employees and contractors.

  • Federal contractors can’t fire their employees who openly discuss pay. That’s according to a new proposed rule from the Labor Department. It applies to contractors who do more than $10,000 in business with the government. Companies would have to include new language in employee handbook and publicly post a copy of the requirement. (GovExec)
  • The General Services Administration wants new ideas on how to meet its Green Proving Ground program goals. GSA submits a request for information. It’s looking for new technologies that are more energy efficient and could lower operating costs. Responses are due by Nov. 7. (FedBizOpps.gov)
  • The White House named 27 new Presidential Innovation Fellows. The program is run by Garren Givens of the General Services Administration. In a blog post, he said the third class of fellows was chosen from more than 1,000 applicants. They’re assigned throughout the government to work on what Givens called high impact projects. Six of them will work at the Veterans Affairs Department. The Energy Department gets four, NASA three and the IRS two. (General Services Administration)
  • Federal agencies are dismissing discrimination charges for the wrong reasons. That’s according to a report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC has reversed one-third of all cases dismissed between fiscal years 2008 and 2012 by an agency without an investigation or hearing. The reversal rate increased 45 percent during that time period. The EEOC received more than 1,500 dismissal appeals in fiscal 2012 alone, and it remanded almost 700 back to the agency. Common mistakes by agencies included dismissing small negative actions as inconsequential, rather than investigating whether those actions collectively created a hostile work environment. Other claims were dismissed for failing to comply with time limits for filing a complaint. (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
  • The U.S. campaign against the terror group Islamic State — and the debate surrounding it — gets underway in earnest. Central Command says it struck targets southwest of Baghdad and also at Sinjar in northern Iraq to support Iraqi troops. Both represent a geographical spread of the air strikes U.S. forces have been conducting since August. The White House confirms, U.S. forces will retaliate if Syrian air defenses go after American planes launching strikes there. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey testify today before the Senate Armed Services Committee. It’s the first in a series of high-profile hearings. (Associated Press)
  • The Obama administration is putting 3,000 boots on the ground overseas. They won’t be in Iraq fighting the Islamic State group, but in Africa doing battle against the Ebola virus. The administration wants the military personnel to train 500 health-care workers per week. They’ll build 17 hospitals, each with 100 beds. Plus, the U.S. military will set up a command in Liberia to coordinate between American and international relief efforts. Troops will also carry out a home- and community-based campaign to train local populations on how to handle exposed patients. President Barack Obama is expected to detail the plans day. He’ll be visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The ebola outbreak has killed more than 2,000 people in Africa. (Associated Press)
  • The Army plans to allow female soldiers to attend Ranger School for the first time. The move is part of an assessment that could permanently open the infantry course to women. The Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, will conduct the course. Set for next spring, the Ranger assessment course will train men and women together to help prepare Army institutions, schools and leaders for future integration decisions. It’s open to all women in the ranks of specialist to major, if they can meet the physical qualifications and prerequisites. Women who complete the Ranger assessment course as students will be awarded the Ranger tab to wear but will not be awarded associated Ranger skill identifiers due to restrictions. Army officials are not expected to make a final decision to hold the assessment until January 2015. (Military.com)
  • NASA’s effort to identify potentially dangerous space rocks takes a hit. Inspector General Paul Martin said the project needs a bigger staff and better management. Science mission chief John Grunsfeld agreed and promised to fix the management problems. NASA’s Near Earth Objects program is supposed to hunt and catalog nearby objects. It identifies comets, asteroids or pieces of them that come within 28 million miles of earth. Most burn up in the atmosphere, but some occasionally cause damage. (NASA Inspector General)

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