The Labor Department is about to issue a new, final rule covering the hiring practices of federal contractors. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is requiring contractors to set new goals for the numbers of veterans and people with disabilities they employ. Pat Shiu is the director of the OFCCP. She highlights the new rules.

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In an update to a long-standing policy, the Labor Department has issued a new rule covering hiring practices by federal contractors. It requires them to set specific goals for how many veterans and people with disabilities they employ. And it gives the department the right to inspect recruitment and hiring records. With the contractor side of the issue is Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president of the Professional Services Council.

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The Defense Department begins issuing ID cards to spouses of same-sex service members today. Meanwhile, the Veterans Affairs Department is still evaluating benefits for same-sex veteran couples. Three cases are pending in federal court that could determine the department’s decision. Attorney John Goodman represents veteran couples in one of the cases.

Some say there are too many federal regulations. Others say there should be more. But everyone outside the government is frustrated at the process. There’s no way to get rid of outdated regs. There’s little transparency over the rule-making process. Julian Hattem has written about the problems and possible solutions in today’s The Hill newspaper.

Lawmakers are holding not just agency leaders responsible for waste, fraud and abuse, but also career federal managers. Talk about pressure for performance management. The Partnership for Public Service and PDRI, a private personnel company, have some help for those in the executive branch. Their road map is meant to help federal managers navigate between formal requirements and help with daily leadership tasks. John Palguta is the Vice President for Policy at the Partnership for Public Service.

Sometimes, the old rules need to be restated. For instance, in most cases you can’t use a brand name in an open market procurement. The Government Accountability Office recently upheld a protest of a brand-name procurement made under a GSA schedule contract. And just what are the rules? In this week’s Legal Loop, we get a lesson from Joseph Petrillo of the law firm Petrillo & Powell.

A Congressionally-chartered commission is holding hearings on the future structure of the Air Force. They’re debating how much of the Air Force’s structure should stay full-time and how much should stay in the National Guard. Russell Rumbaugh is the director of the Stimson Center’s Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program, and he recently testified before that panel. He tells Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu about some the of political fights between the Air Force’s active and reserve components.