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Top News
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- Feds outside the Beltway react to furloughs
- Contracting executives guilty of 8(a) program fraud
- EPA CIO Jackson returning to private sector
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
- NOAA meteorologist helps save lives one storm at a time
- 29-year-old NASA engineer going where no one has gone before
- NASA picks 8 new astronauts, 4 of them women
- House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill
- NIH tops list of best companies for baby boomers
- Latest postal reform proposal OKs 5-day delivery
- IRS official contradicts claims about reviews
- House presses VA for more details after cyber attacks
- DoD maintains BRAC fight, despite opposition
- GSA to review all internal contracting practices after latest IG report
- GAO: Agencies should expand TechStat reviews
- Tuesday federal headlines - June 18, 2013
OPM grants excused absences for DC-area feds on Monday
Federal government offices in the Washington, D.C. area will be closed to the public Monday. Non- emergency employees will be granted excused absence (administrative leave). However there are some exceptions.
Help Federal News Radio during Hurricane Sandy
Federal News Radio needs your help during Hurricane Sandy to keep updated on all federal government closings.
Hurricane Sandy forces cancellation of ELC conference
The Executive Leadership Conference scheduled to take place this week in Williamsburg, Va. has been canceled because of Hurricane Sandy.
Why some feds could lose a vacation day in 2012
Tens of thousands of federal workers stand to lose a day of annual leave this year because of the cursed 11-year itch. To find out how, when and where to scratch it, check out Senior Correspondent Mike Causey's Federal Report.
'Path to PMF' offers step-by-step help for agency fellowships
The online guide gives applicants inside tips on how to land a Presidential Management Fellowship. This year, the prestigious fellowships opened up to more applicants, making the need for a step-by- step guide ever more important, according to the creators of Path to PMF.
Pay gap between government, private sector widens to 34 percent
The gap in pay between federal employees and private-sector workers jumped eight percent since last year, according to new data presented at a Federal Salary Council meeting Friday. On average, federal employees earn 34 percent less than their private-sector counterparts, according to the council's analysis.
OPM details 2013 health plan premium increases
Federal employees will see a slight increase — averaging 3.4 percent — in what they pay towards their 2013 health plan premiums.
VA gears up to standardize ratings for exceptional employees
The Veterans Affairs Department's National Cemetery Administration is testing the new employee appraisal system, called GEAR, to better define and measure employee performance. The Coast Guard also is preparing a pilot of the approached designed by the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations.
All feds wind up buried in limestone mine
No matter what your rank or job is or where you work, in the end you will wind up buried in a limestone mine in a remote corner of Pennsylvania, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. And once you retire it could be a long time before you see your first full annuity payment. But things seem to be getting better.
Federal retirements continue to exceed expectations
For three months in a row, the number of federal retirements has exceeded what the Office of Personnel Management projected. OPM estimated it would receive 7,000 retirement claims in September. The actual number of claims the personnel agency received was 11,952.
Presidential appointees face long, winding road to confirmation
No matter who wins the Presidential election, non-career officials who might one day serve in either an Obama or Romney administration will face a cumbersome appointment process that is just starting to be reformed. Linda Springer, who served as the head of the Office of Personnel Management during the George W. Bush administration told In Depth with Francis Rose the onerous Senate confirmation process for political appointees has been a longstanding issue.
Health plans: The law of averages
When shopping for your family's 2013 federal health plan, even as you enter year three of a pay freeze, there are a couple of things to keep in mind, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
Premiums for federal health plan set to increase 3.4 percent
The Office of Personnel Management announced 2013 premiums for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program are set to increase 3.4 percent. That's slightly below last year's increase of 3.8 percent, which had been the lowest since 2008. In 2010, premiums rose 7.3 percent.
Berry aims to nix HR from high risk list in the next year
Cyber criminals might unknowingly provide the impetus to help agencies address a cybersecurity skills gap. OPM also is working with agencies to address other shortfalls in key workforce competencies.
Feds see success in streamlining complicated hiring process
The federal government's hiring process has long been plagued with a poor reputation. However, since President Barack Obama issued an executive memo in 2010, the Office of Personnel Management has taken great strides to streamline the hiring process as well as to incorporate other reforms to make it easier to hire recent college graduates, people with disabilities and veterans. Federal News Radio spoke about this with Linda Bilmes, a senior lecturer at the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, as part of the special report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years.
OPM digging out of retirement-claims backlog, but much work remains
OPM made changes to successfully chip away at an ongoing inadequacy, but the progress came after years of complaints from retired federal employees and urgings from lawmakers. Federal News Radio speaks with David Snell, director of retirement services for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association as part of the special report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years.
Leadership, oversight help slash security clearance backlog
The longstanding delays and backlogs with personnel security clearances were effectively addressed by the Obama administration. Initial investigations now take an average of 44 days to complete compared to 189 days in 2005. Federal News Radio speaks with Evan Lesser, founder and managing director of ClearanceJobs.com as part of the special report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years.
Administration recognizes quality of work depends on quality of workforce
The goal was to achieve an efficient, effective and accountable government. A key strategy was to change the way the federal employee approached the job. In part three of Federal News Radio's week-long, multimedia special report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years, we examine the tactics employed to create a more efficient workforce; hiring and SES reform, reducing backlogs in security clearances and retirement claims, building a cyber workforce, telework and the overall support of the civil servant. Four were rated as effective, two as more progress needed, and one as ineffective.
OPM's innovation lab spurs new way of problem-solving
The sub-basement of the Office of Personnel Management's headquarters resembles more of a tech start-up than a federal office building. The innovation lab, as OPM calls it, provides a brightly-lit, open room for employees to meet and tackle the "stickiest" of the agency's problems.
Agencies, colleges share top recruiting tips in tight budget times
Tighter budgets are impacting agencies' ability to recruit new employees, according to the results of an exclusive Federal News Radio survey. But while budget dollars may be dwindling, agencies still need new hires to fill vacancies caused by retirements and others leaving civil service. Federal recruiters and college advisers say there are certain cost-effective and innovative techniques that work better than others when it comes to finding the next generation of federal employees.
