Emily Kopp covers civilian agencies in the federal government with a focus on workforce issues. Emily's reports can be heard Monday - Friday on the Federal Drive and In Depth.

VA: Happy feds saved $200 million in turnover costs

The Department of Veterans Affairs avoided $200 million in turnover costs by investing in online training resources for employees, Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration John Sepulveda told Federal News Radio. He also explained how the VA plans to make veterans 40 percent of its workforce, weather the retirement tsunami and continue to be a federal leader on human capital issues in a wide-ranging interview.

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AFGE's strategy for 'good government' hinges on 2012 elections

With no end to lawmakers' fedbashing in sight, the American Federation of Government Employees is looking forward to 2012's presidential and Congressional elections. "Federal workers are a sane, responsible group of citizens. They vote in big numbers," AFGE President John Gage told Federal News Radio.

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Feds glad to bid adieu to 2011, but will 2012 be better?

Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp counts down the top federal workforce stories of 2011 and makes some predictions fo 2012.

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OPM's new CTO, Bowen, to handle USAJobs, retirement system

The Office of Personnel Management has hired David Bowen as its new chief technology officer. Bowen was the Federal Aviation Administration's chief information officer.

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AFGE pushes for TSA workers to have due process rights

The Transportation Security Administration is unwilling to give airport security officers the same due process rights that other federal employees have, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers nationwide. AFGE said it planned to picket on key issues, which also included policies that allegedly discriminate against female security officers.

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Survey: CHCOs worry about retaining committed workforce

Retaining good employees in spite of pay freezes and cuts to employee benefits will be the biggest challenge facing agency human resources officials next year. Federal News Radio asked chief human capital officers to reflect on 2011 and make predictions for 2012.

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VanRoekel's 2012 IT goals: Crawl, walk, run

"Crawl before you can walk. Walk before you can run." That's how Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel framed his 2012 priorities in his first speech to government IT contractors in Washington. He said agencies would have to do "more with less," but he wanted to emphasize the "more."

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NRC commissioners: Chairman Jaczko's 'bullying' has hindered agency

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said it was the first time he had heard many of the accusations that fellow commissioners threw at him during a hearing of the House Oversight Committee on Jaczko's leadership. The four commissioners, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, said they had no political motive in bringing his "erratic" and "extreme" behavior to light.

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NIST, DHS trying to tame cyber workforce definitions

Agencies, vendors can comment until Friday on the draft standard describing cybersecurity workers. A common definition will help agencies classify who is a cyber worker.

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Veteran hires at highest level in 20 years

Nearly three in every 10 new hires in the government is a veteran, marking the highest percentage of new hires in more than 20 years. Just two out of the 24 agencies in the President's Council on Veterans Employment failed to meet their goals. The council released Tuesday preliminary fiscal 2011 employment data.

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OPM gives agencies help when rehiring retired feds

Retirees can earn a paycheck from an agency on top of their pension benefits if they are fulfilling mission-critical functions and working for less than 20 hours a week. Those are two of the answers provided in an Office of Personnel Management factsheet to agencies interested in putting federal retirees on their payrolls.

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GAO pushes for more oversight of interagency programs

The Government Accountability Office thinks Congress can play a greater role in improving federal agencies' coordination and performance. In a recent report, GAO recommended Congress use new powers under the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 in its oversight, authorization and appropriations roles. The law emphasizes program achievements over processes.

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Tips for agencies when hiring veterans with disabilities

Agencies are increasing the number of disabled veterans in their ranks as they try to fulfill White House hiring mandates. But there's still a lot of unease about how disabled vets will fit into civilian environments. "The civilian workplace is a really bizarre place" for veterans, said workforce and diversity consultant Lisa Stern at a recent training she gave federal hiring officials in Bethesda.

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Congress passes bill to honor fallen feds

Agencies can give an American flag to the survivors of a federal employee who is killed in the line of duty under a bill passed Thursday by the Senate. The House unanimously approved the measure last month.

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DC-area officials cheer federal 'shelter-in-place' snow strategy

Capital region officials cheered the Office of Personnel Management's "shelter-in-place" option for snow emergencies. Having people stay at the office during sudden or extreme snowstorms would lessen gridlock, officials told lawmakers Wednesday. They also urged area workers to know their children's school emergency policies and have backup childcare arrangements in place.

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IGs push for greater whistleblower protections for contractors

Whistleblowers at government contractors need better protections against reprisal and need to know how to contact agency inspectors general. Two IGs and a whistleblower awaiting trial were among the witnesses at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Reform Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. It is considering legislation to extend federal whistleblower protections to all contractors, subcontractors and local governments receiving federal funds.

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OPM highlights hiring reform best practices

Agencies are measuring their progress towards hiring reforms and implementing technology to track applications and identify bottlenecks. Those are some of the best practices shared in a memo from the Office of Personnel Management. Overall, it said, agencies are progressing toward the governmentwide goal of filling vacancies in 80 days or less.

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SESers see bonuses drop in face of budget woes

Many agencies began freezing senior executives' pay and limiting performance awards a year before the White House ordered them to do so. That finding comes from a new report by the Office of Personnel Management that some say underscores the pressure to prove a pay-for-performance system can work when there isn't a lot of money.

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Pilot program will prepare Asians for the SES

With Asian Americans making up just 3 percent of the Senior Executive Service, a pilot program seeks to groom more Asians for the government's top ranks. The program, run by the Asian American Government Executives Network, will give 20 Asian SES hopefuls mentoring, networking and placement assistance.

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'Moneyball' strategy works for feds?

Agencies have tons of data but don't always use it wisely. A new report examines how a few agencies are analyzing statistics to reach their goals. The Partnership for Public Service and IBM suggest in their report agencies try the 2002 Oakland A's approach to using statistics to build a winning team.

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