• Political appointees who are resigning on Inauguration Day later this month have some special rules to pay attention to. A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management details how pay, benefits and leave typically work for non-career federal employees resigning at the end of an administration. Impacted appointees will mostly be ending their workdays at noon on Jan. 20. Because of that, OPM is telling agencies they should only receive a half day of pay. OPM added that resigning appointees should also not accrue annual and sick leave for the pay period that starts next week. That’s because they will leave their positions before completing the full pay period.
  (Pay and benefits for noncareer appointees who resign on Inauguration Day - Office of Personnel Mangement)
• Older federal employees are facing a larger gender pay gap than younger employees. Female feds ages 40 and older face a pay gap that by some measures is three times as large as the pay gap for federal employees under 40. That’s according to a new report from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC said even a small pay gap at younger ages can lead to larger differences in pay over time. The report shows that when accounting for occupation, female feds under 40 are paid about $1,200 less annually than male employees. In comparison, women over 40 are paid more than $5,000 below their male colleagues.
  (Older employees face larger gender-based federal pay gap, EEOC says - Federal News Network)
• A new law requires the Office of Management and Budget to name a senior leader responsible for the federal government’s customer service. President Joe Biden signed the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act into law. The bill also requires agencies to designate senior officials to lead their own customer service improvements. It also directs agency heads to make government service delivery a priority.
  (Rep. Ro Khanna celebrates the signing of the bipartisan Government Service Delivery Improvement Act - Rep. Ro. Khanna)
• The IRS is getting taxpayers ready for this year’s filing season. Eight software providers will help taxpayers file their returns online free of charge under the IRS’ Free File Program. The IRS plans to start this year’s filing season later this month. Taxpayers with $84,000 dollars in Adjusted Gross Income are eligible to participate in the Free File program. Taxpayers in 24 states can also use the IRS’ own tax filing platform called Direct File to file their tax returns for free.
  (IRS Free File now open: Free tax filing service available to millions on IRS.gov - Federal News Network)

        Join us Jan. 27 for our Industry Exchange Cyber 2025 event where industry leaders will share the latest cybersecurity strategies and technologies.

• The White House is going live with a cybersecurity labeling program for internet-connected devices. The goal of the Cyber Trust Mark program is to help consumers evaluate the cybersecurity of connected products like baby monitors and security systems. The program will allow companies to test their products against cyber standards to earn the trust mark label. The White House developed the program in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission.
  (White House launches “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark” - White House)
• The Defense Department has added dozens more companies to the list of firms that are banned from military contracts because of their alleged ties to the Chinese government. The Pentagon updates the list each year in response to a provision in the 2024 defense authorization bill, and the prohibitions are set to take effect next year. Among this year’s additions is Tencent, the world’s largest video game maker. That company and several others say DoD included them by “mistake,” and claim they don’t have any formal affiliation with China’s military.
  (DoD adds dozes of companies to military contract ban list - Associated Press)
• The Office of the National Cyber Director is finalizing key policy proposals for the new administration. White House National Cyber Director Harry Coker said his office is preparing software liability recommendations that the incoming Trump administration could consider. The goal is to hold companies accountable for insecure software. It’s been one of the major cyber policy initiatives for the Biden administration. Coker said his office has also laid the groundwork for the new administration and Congress to streamline duplicative cybersecurity regulations.
  (WH national cyber director finalizing software liability proposals - Federal News Network)
• A Virginia contractor has agreed to pay more than $2.6 million dollars to settle allegations the company violated the False Claims Act. The Justice Department said Newport News-based R&K enterprises misled the General Services Administration about its size in order to win a spot in a small business pool on GSA’s OASIS contract. Prosecutors claim the company didn’t qualify as a small business, and that it concealed part of its revenue in another firm its owners controlled in order to win set-aside contracts.
  (Contractor agrees to pay $2.6 million False Claims Act settlement - Department of Justice)
• Federal offices in the Washington, D.C. region are open on time today, but employees can take unscheduled leave or telework as the region continues to dig out of Monday's snow storm. The Office of Personnel Management made the call to open federal offices on time earlier on Tuesday than the day before. OPM said telework employees who are not scheduled to telework must report to the office on time or notify their supervisor of their intent to use unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework. Meanwhile, remote workers and telework employees are expected to begin their workday on time unless requesting unscheduled leave. Federal offices will be closed again on Thursday to honor the passing of former President Jimmy Carter.
  (Federal offices in DC area open on time on Wednesday - Federal News Network)

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