AFGE calls for Labor Department to continue negotiations over return to office

Federal Newscast

Union officials are urging Labor Department leaders to continue negotiating over return-to-office changes.

Michele Sandiford

October 18, 2024 2:46 pm

< a min read

Union officials are urging Labor Department leaders to continue negotiating over return-to-office changes. About 7,500 Labor Department employees will have to report to work in person at least half of their work hours beginning in December. That’s according to an announcement agency leadership made last week. But the National Council of Field Labor Locals, which represents the affected workers, said the announcement was made without completing bargaining obligations. The union is now calling on Congress members to get involved in the dispute and looking at options with the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
(AFGE response to DOL return-to-office changes - American Federation of Government Employees)

A lot more hospitals now have access to health care data at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA said all hospitals using two of the leading electronic health records Epic and Cerner can now access VA systems. The department expects this will help non-VA hospitals identity patients who are veterans more quickly and connect them with VA benefits. The department said hospitals have already identified tens of thousands of patients as veterans so far.
(Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal - LinkedIn)

The Treasury Department kept and recovered billions of dollars from fraudsters this year. Treasury avoided $4 billion in fraud and improper payments in fiscal 2024. It’s looking to triple that amount by 2029. The department is using artificial intelligence tools to identify check fraud in the tens of millions of payments in makes every year. Justin Marsico is the chief data officer for Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. He said the department is also making it easier for agencies to share data to avoid fraud.
(Treasury kept $4B away from fraudsters this year. It plans to triple that by 2029 - Federal News Network)

Federal employees are feeling more engaged than ever at work. Employee engagement is once again on the rise, according to the results of the 2024 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The 73% score on the engagement index is an all-time high, since the measurement was added to the survey in 2010. The 2024 FEVS results also showed improving scores for how feds feel about leadership, their jobs and inclusion in the workplace. Some questions on the survey, though, received lower scores from employees. Less than half of respondents, for instance, agreed that management involves them in decisions affecting their work.
(Federal employee engagement, satisfaction on the rise once again in 2024 FEVS - Federal News Network)

The Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) plans to issue the first loan awards by late spring or early summer. OSC Director Jason Rathje said the timeline will depend on whether the applications meet eligibility standards. “It will really depend on the quality of the applications we get through. And the other piece of this is making sure that we are underwriting in a way that aligns to the new processes we’ve been building with OMB.” The OSC issued its first notice of funds availability two weeks ago, almost $1 billion of credit is now available to companies to procure and refurbish manufacturing equipment for the production of technologies deemed vital to national security.
(OSC to issue first loan awards by summer 2025 - Federal News Network)

Over one hundred lawmakers are urging the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to retain the House-passed provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill that protects governor oversight over National Guard units. The House-passed language was introduced in response to a legislative proposal that would allow the transfer of National Guard members performing space missions to the U.S. Space Force without the approval of state governors. In a bipartisan letter spearheaded by Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper and Colorado Representative Jason Crow, lawmakers said while they are supporting the Air Force’s efforts to restructure, it should not come at the cost of undermining long-standing principles that have governed the National Guard.
(Lawmakers want armed committees to retain House-passed National Guard protections in 2025 defense bill - Senate.gov)

Senate Republicans and the Small Business Administration (SBA) are butting heads over the disaster loan fund. Four Senate Republicans are pressing the Small Business Administration on how it has managed its disaster relief fund. And the SBA is pushing right back. At the heart of the matter is SBA's request to Congress for additional money for the disaster assistance loan fund. SBA has run out of money after responding to multiple hurricanes and other disasters. But now Senator Joni Ernst, the ranking member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, is leading an effort seeking more details about the agency's management practices that may have contributed to this shortfall. In an email to Federal News Network, SBA said it has alerted lawmakers several times about its need for more money.
(GOP senators, SBA butt heads over disaster loan funding - Federal News Network)

Jay Bonci the former Air Force chief technology officer, has a new job. He is joining Clarity Innovations as a senior vice president and general manager for the systems and data vertical. Bonci left the Air Force earlier this month after more than three years as the Air Force's CTO. In his new role with Clarity, Bonci will focus on engineering and business resources and on driving integration across new systems and data solutions. Before joining the Air Force, Bonci spent his entire career in industry.
(Former Air Force CTO joins private sector firm - LinkedIn)