Workforce Rights/Governance

  • The Office of Special Counsel recently blocked the removal of a TSA inspector in South Carolina. The inspector was also a whistleblower. Kimberly Barnett alleges her supervisor violated agency safety rules and falsified the amount of time he worked and spent in training. The supervisor retaliated — unsuccessfully. Debra Roth is a partner at the law firm Shaw, Bransford and Roth. She joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin for this week's Legal Loop segment to discuss the significance of this case.

    January 15, 2015
  • Companion bills introduced in the House and Senate would give federal employees a 3.8 percent pay raise next year. Federal employees received 1 percent pay raises in both 2014 and 2015, after three years of pay freezes.

    January 13, 2015
  • The federal hiring process is too complicated to give people a fair shot at working for your agency, according to the Merit Systems Protection Board. Tim McManus is Vice President for Education and Outreach at the Partnership for Public Service. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said it's possible to fix the hiring process without compromising your agency's core principles.

    January 12, 2015
  • Certain recruiting and hiring authorities within agencies "threaten the principle of fair and open competition," according to the latest report from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Former DHS CHCO Jeff Neal offers his take.

    January 12, 2015
  • Today's FEDtalk will feature a roundtable discussion of one of this year's hottest topics - acquisition reform. January 9, 2015

    January 09, 2015
  • In a new report, the Merit Systems Protection Board says federal hiring managers are having trouble balancing rules meant to help veterans and other select groups benefit veterans and other select or other groups for hiring managers who are supposed to hold fair and open competitions for jobs.

    January 07, 2015
  • Today is officially day number one of the 114th Congress. David Hawkings of Roll Call calls it the first day of school. And the education process gets under way today for people who represent federal employees before members of Congress. Jessica Klement is legislative director at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees association. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she explained why it's so important to start today telling members about federal employee issues.

    January 06, 2015
  • That September cyber breach affected more current and former Postal employees than the 800,000 first reported.

    January 05, 2015
  • A budget resolution early in 2015 is a top priority for the incoming 114th Congress. Republican leaders have already said they're interested in passing some federal workforce reforms. Jessica Klement is legislative director for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees association. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she said she's worried about the possibility of a budget reconciliation, and what that could mean for federal employee benefits in the future. In her Top 3 for 15, she says she's keeping a closer eye on federal workforce policy reforms coming from the new Congress.

    December 30, 2014
  • The Merit System Protection Board agrees that GSA's conference scandal was, indeed, scandalous. But at least two of the senior officials GSA fired in response didn't have much to do with the whole affair.

    December 29, 2014
  • Sharon Helman loses her job because she accepted and failed to report illegal gifts, not because she led the health care facility at the heart of the nationwide scandal over patient care.

    December 24, 2014
  • A ruling could have a major impact on the pay, pensions. bonuses and job security of Uncle Sam's 6,000 top career executives, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    December 22, 2014
  • Debra Roth hosts a roundtable discussion of the "hot" federal workforce topics in 2014, and what will be the big issues in 2015. December 19, 2014

    December 19, 2014
  • The Office of Personnel Management's retirement claims backlog is down by about 10,000 claims in the past 10 months. The average processing time is at 37 days. OPM says an updated case management system will help it do better, but it's not sure yet what exactly that system will look like. Jessica Klement, legislative director for National Active and Retired Federal Employees, and her association's president, Richard Thissen, testified Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, US Postal Service and the Census. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the concerns she's hearing from NARFE members.

    December 11, 2014