Workforce Rights/Governance
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A group of Republican senators criticized the Merit Systems Protection Board for overturning disciplinary actions taken against corrupt Veterans Affairs Department bureaucrats. The board and its array of administrative judges almost always uphold agency actions. Attorney Debra D'Agostino, partner at the Federal Practice Group, helps Federal Drive with Tom Temin sort things out.
March 14, 2016 -
The Project on Government Oversight is accusing the DoD Inspector General of “systemic weaknesses and apparent cultural aversion to whistleblowers.” DoD IG said that is just not the case.
March 10, 2016 -
Without a doubt, the 2016 presidential transition is the top priority for the Office of Government Ethics this year. OGE Director Walter Shaub said his agency has more training courses and guides, as well as an electronic financial disclosure filing system, to help ethics officers prepare.
March 10, 2016 -
The MSPB in 2015 upheld agency decisions or actions on initial appeal nearly every time. But not for the Veterans Affairs Department. So what are the senators asking?
March 10, 2016 -
The Merit Systems Protection Board processed nearly 30,000 cases in fiscal 2015, a 63 percent increase over 2014, according to an annual report.
March 03, 2016 -
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed a bill on March 1 that aims to keep agencies from putting employees accused of misconduct on administrative leave indefinitely.
March 02, 2016 -
At a markup meeting on March 1, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved a bill introduced by Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) that would require the Office of Personnel Management to submit yearly governmentwide reports on the practice of official time, which is paid time off for workers to represent their union.
March 01, 2016 Do you know the difference between retirement planning and estate planning? Washington estate planner Tom O'Rourke will explain it when he joins host Mike Causey on Your Turn. March 2, 2016
February 29, 2016-
Senior leaders at the Veterans Affairs Department say the bill that was supposed to help them hold agency senior executives more accountable isn't working. Agency leaders are considering changes to the VA Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (Choice Act).
February 25, 2016 -
The Office of Government Ethics proposed a rule to help Executive Branch employees follow guidelines when looking for new jobs. The rule includes new examples, clarifies language, as well as addresses the gray area of social media and employment opportunities.
February 25, 2016 -
Monica Molnar, a senior associate with the Federal Practice Group, argues that Congress is focusing on the wrong solution when it comes to fixing the administrative leave process.
February 24, 2016 -
Susan Tsui Grundmann, chairwoman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, talks to Federal Drive with Tom Temin about how new legislation requiring greater accountability from Veterans Affairs managers affects the MSPB.
February 24, 2016 -
The National Treasury Employees Union says the upcoming 2016 election could be the most important one for federal employees yet. NTEU National President Tony Reardon is calling on his members to organize, rally for change and vote for the representatives who will protect their federal pay, benefits and collective bargaining rights.
February 23, 2016 -
Depending on whose numbers you believe, federal workers are either overpaid by 34 percent or underpaid by 25 percent compared to the private sector.
February 22, 2016 -
When Congress voted to restrict appeal rights of Veterans Affairs Department managers, it never counted on what might happen. Namely, that the Merit Systems Protection Board would follow the law to the letter. That's why a series of reversals have hit VA's senior leadership when it tried to fire people for performance. Lynn Bernabei, a partner at the law firm Bernabei and Cabot, which specializes in employee grievance cases, says VA has become a battleground between MSPB and Congress. She joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more details.
February 18, 2016