Thursday federal headlines – February 25, 2016

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive.

• Prime contractors and subcontractors could soon be required to offer employees who work on and support federal contracts paid sick leave. The Labor Department is releasing a proposed rule today to implement President Barack Obama’s September executive order. The proposed rule calls for vendors to give employees at least seven days of paid sick leave. It also defines who is covered by the executive order and how benefits transfer from contractor to contractor. Comments on the 286-page proposed rule are due by March 22. (Federal Register)

• The Senate easily confirms Dr. Robert Califf as new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The vote was 89-4. Califf takes over for Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, who has held the role since March. (Sen. Barbara Mikulski)

• President Barack Obama names his nomination for the next Librarian of Congress. He said he intends to nominate Carla Hayden to be the nation’s 14th Librarian of Congress. Hayden would be the first female to fill the position as well as the first African American. She currently works as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. She has also served on the National Museum and Library Services Board since 2010. (White House)

• The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is proposing a new emergency mass notification system. It will use the system to notify employees at Fort Belvoir of emergencies, such as snow, fires, or hurricane. DTRA is accepting comments until March 25. The system will be located in Fort Belvoir and a secondary one at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Federal Register)

• Secretary Jeh Johnson says his priority for 2016 is continued reform of how DHS does business. He said DHS already has a new, simplified budget procedure. And it’s improved acquisition in part by enlisting the advice of contractors. Next, Johnson wants to restructure the National Protection and Programs Directorate from policy to operations. It’ll get a new name, Cyber and Infrastructure Protection agency. (FCW)

•  A one-of-a-kind cybersecurity job opportunity closes Friday so get your resumes in. Applications are due on Friday to be the first federal chief information security officer. The CISO job posting opened on Feb. 9 as part of President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget rollout. The federal CISO must be an expert on federal policies, procedures, guidance and technologies impacting government cybersecurity programs. The federal CISO also will serve as the liaison between the White House, and the departments of Homeland Security and Defense as well as with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and agency CISOs.

• The Veterans Affairs Department wants to change how it chooses, hires and pays its senior executives. A draft legislative proposal from VA suggests a new pay system for the agency’s executives. It wants to reclassify SES under Title 38, rather than Title 5. Executives would also lose their Merit Systems Protection Board appeal rights under the VA proposal. (Federal News Radio)

• The Office of Personnel Management unveils the first improvements in its USAJobs.gov redesign. Candidates can now track their application from start to finish, and upload or build a resume directly on USAJobs.gov. OPM said it heard feedback from job applicants that the site was too confusing and frustrating. OPM said it will roll out more improvements throughout the year. (Federal News Radio)

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