Workforce Rights/Governance
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Several good government and oversight organizations, along with eight individual whistleblowers, wrote to House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) in support of the whistleblower protections included in the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act. But they had some tough criticism for the changes the bill would make to due process rights for VA executives.
September 16, 2016 -
In the wake of two troubling reports on the work practices of patent examiners, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Michelle Lee defended her agency’s policies and practices before the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet.
September 15, 2016 -
The Veterans Affairs Department paid roughly $5 million to some employees to settle disciplinary actions, according to House VA Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.). VA made 208 settlement agreements with employees between July 2014 and the present. The department used monetary payouts to settle 72 percent of those cases.
September 15, 2016 -
The House is moving forward on a bill that would shorten the time in which Veterans Affairs employees and senior executives could appeal disciplinary actions and removals. The VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 also includes provisions that would change the veterans' appeals process, but the bill is drawing ire from the Obama administration, House Democrats and federal employee groups.
September 13, 2016 -
Trade groups representing banks and credit unions say they haven’t had enough time to study the DoD’s rules to protect servicemembers from predatory loans.
September 06, 2016 -
A Commerce Department Inspector General report revealed that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office paid $18.3 million over a 15-month period to employees who may have falsely reported their time and attendance.
September 01, 2016 -
TSA released a determination on collective bargaining on Aug. 25, which changed some of the rules between the agency and the union. AFGE and TSA are currently involved in extended contract negotiations after TSA employees voted down the agreement reached in late 2015.
August 30, 2016 -
Air Force senior leaders routinely point out that their service is the busiest it’s been in decades. They've now decided to partially compensate by scaling back duties that aren't exactly core warfighting functions.
August 22, 2016 -
Agencies admitted that when it comes to telework, they're still flying by the seat of their pants. The Office of Personnel Management is asking agencies to look more closely at their reports on employees' telework usage and success.
August 19, 2016 -
When labor-management relationships are strong, employee engagement improves, federal union leaders said during a discussion at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service conference in Chicago. Union leaders say their partnerships with agencies have improved over the past eight years, but the success of those partnerships too often depends on the administration.
August 18, 2016 -
The Air Force said Wednesday that it would begin offering retention bonuses of up to $35,000 to entice its unmanned aircraft pilots to stay in the military as part of an ongoing “get-well” plan for a workforce that’s been stretched extremely thin.
August 11, 2016 -
TRICARE contract protests are now so inevitable that a company might want to file one even if they're one of the winners.
August 08, 2016 -
The Office of Special Counsel offered a new approach for analyzing whistleblower retaliation cases, as the agency released its third amicus brief opposing higher burdens on whistleblowers. This particular case involved an employee at the Veterans Affairs Department.
August 05, 2016 -
In the first event of its kind, the oversight community touted the importance of whistleblowers and their contributions in combating waste, fraud and abuse at a National Whistleblower Appreciation Day event on Capitol Hill.
August 01, 2016 -
The Defense Department inspector general’s office substantiated a whistleblower reprisal claim, making it the first time the IG had ever done so in a sexual assault case.
July 29, 2016