Chris Van Hollen

Social Security Administration leadership met with employees Monday to announce a series of changes to existing telework policies, but the new arrangements vary widely across the agency and depend on an employee’s component — and whether or not an employee is part of a specific bargaining unit. 

A 2016 law was supposed to, at last, give FBI whistleblowers the protections most other federal employees have. But three years after the bill’s passage, at least one FBI whistleblower says he’s still waiting for an opportunity to have his day in court.

Congress and the White House have struck a deal to include 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees in the upcoming defense authorization bill. But the program would only grant parental leave, not paid time off to care for a sick family member, as originally envisioned by House Democrats.

The seven-week continuing resolution gives lawmakers through Nov. 21 to complete spending bills for the rest of 2020. Notably, the CR includes additional funding for the Office of Personnel Management, which faces a budget shortfall at the start of the new fiscal year.

In today’s Federal Newscast, the Office of Personnel Management asked the Federal Labor Relations Authority how agencies can deduct union dues in light of the 2018 decision, which found local and state government workers can’t be forced to pay union dues.

Though the agreement doesn’t make any guarantees, the deal the Agriculture Department and the American Federation of Government Employees reached late last week gives employees impacted by the Kansas City relocation a path to request more time to make the move and other flexibilities.

Roughly 57% of employees given relocation notices at the Economic Research Service and 67% of such employees at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture have rejected USDA’s reassignment to Kansas City.

Federal employee unions, democrats refocus their attention on getting the Senate to agree on provisions in FY 2020 bills to block rollbacks on collective bargaining, official time for feds.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the USDA relocation will save government $300 million over 15 years. About 100 employees are expected to move out of the national capital region by Aug. 1.

As employees at the Agriculture Department await word of a final site decision, more members of Congress are taking steps to try to block the proposed USDA relocation.