Workforce

• Despite massive bipartisanship, a pay raise for federal wildland firefighters is still at risk

  Between one-third and one-half of federal wildland firefighters would resign if Congress doesn’t make a temporary pay raise permanent, the National Federation of Federal Employees warned.

  Pay

  September 12, 2023
• The nation’s funder of legal aid services gets a new inspector general

  A seasoned overseer of federal grant-making has returned to government. After a stint at a large services contractor, he recently became the inspector general at the Legal Services Corporation, one of the more unusual federal structures.

  Workforce

  September 12, 2023
• Updated with DOJ: A running list of agencies’ return-to-office plans

  Updated with the Justice Department's plans: Federal News Network is compiling a list of agencies that have so far made return-to-office announcements for their employees. The list will be regularly refreshed as we learn more.

  Workforce

  September 12, 2023
• Retirement is easy to think about, but more difficult to pull off

  In many ways, retirement after a federal career is all about the numbers. Do you have enough saved that, together with your annuity, you won't run out of money. In some ways, retirement is not about numbers at all. There's also the danger of being bored to death. To delve into the issue of non-monetary advice, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with federal retiree and AG Financial Services owner Abe Grungold.

  Retirement

  September 12, 2023
• ‘Monumental task’ for USPS employees to recover from payroll glitch, rural carrier union says

  Tens of thousands of the Postal Service’s rural carriers saw a rocky start to this month, after a USPS payroll error resulted in missing and incomplete paychecks. The National Rural Letter Carriers Association estimates USPS payroll issues impacted approximately 53,000 rural carrier employees.

  Federal Report

  September 11, 2023
• State CIOs have a small, but important to-do list for their federal counterparts

  Alex Whitaker, the director of government affairs for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, said pushing for broader adoption of the .gov domain and harmonization of federal cyber regulations.

  Ask the CIO

  September 11, 2023
• Federal contract workers’ calls for higher wages reveal deeper questions of contractor pay

  Without better pay and benefits, call center workers at federal contractor Maximus threaten a strike ahead of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act and Medicare. But the issue of federal contractor pay is more complicated than meets the eye.

  Workforce Rights/Governance

  September 08, 2023
• Big telework changes at Small Business Administration

  In today's Federal Newscast: There are some big telework changes at the Small Business Administration. The Office of Personnel Management retirement claims backlog climbs for second straight month. And the Space Force has a new motto. We'll tell you what it is.

  Federal Newscast

  September 08, 2023
• Biden nominates a former Obama official to run the Federal Aviation Administration

  President Joe Biden has nominated a former Obama administration official to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been without a permanent leader for a year and a half. The White House said Thursday that Biden has nominated Michael Whitaker. He's currently the chief operating officer of a Hyundai affiliate that is working to develop an air taxi aircraft. The FAA faces a number of challenges including a shortage of air traffic controllers, aging technology, and alarm over close calls between planes. Whitaker worked at TWA and United Airlines, then was deputy FAA administrator from 2013 to 2016.

  People

  September 07, 2023
• Pentagon’s top three priorities for a better acquisition program

  The Pentagon’s deputy undersecretary for acquisition said that when used properly, the adaptive acquisition framework will speed up and improve the acquisition process.

  Acquisition

  September 07, 2023
• After a summer break, Congress has a lot on its plate this fall

  The House and Senate appropriations packages are far from the only priority for Congress this fall — and many of the other to-do items have direct impacts for federal employees.

  Congress

  September 07, 2023
• Hiring people is easy. Hiring the right people? Not so easy

  Business whisperers define management as getting things done through others. If you're the manager, that makes two basics incumbent on you. One, can you motivate people. Two, can you identify and hire the right people in the first place.

  Tom Temin Commentary

  September 07, 2023
• OPM retirement claims backlog climbs for second straight month

  For the second month in a row, the Office of Personnel Management’s backlog of retirement claims increased in August. The 17,963 claims are an increase of 924 from July’s 17,047, and 4,963 claims higher than the steady state goal of 13,000.  

  Retirement

  September 07, 2023
• Why certain nuclear power plant licenses are languishing at the NRC

  Like it or not, windmills and solar panels won't be sufficient to power the U.S. economy and Americans' way of life. Nuclear power will be part of the mix. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found, licensing of advanced reactors, of widely varying sizes, are stuck at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

  Technology

  September 07, 2023