Covid-19

Smithsonian and AFGE continue disagreement over COVID-19 safety protocols

In today’s Federal Newscast, the seeming disconnect between the Smithsonian and its largest employee union continued over the weekend.

Federal Newscast

A Candid Conversation with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Politics of the Office, Masking Guidelines, COVID Testing and Pandemic Frustration

Conversations on Health Care

(Tom Williams/Pool via AP)

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, left, talks with Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., before a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on the Postal Service on Capitol Hill, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Washington. (Tom Williams/Pool via AP)

New USPS board chairman supports DeJoy, ‘self-sustaining’ operating model

Management

Nurse Ray Akindele processes COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at a testing site in Long Beach , Calif., Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Agencies must set up new COVID testing programs for unvaccinated, on-site employees

Workforce

FILE - In this April 3, 2019, file photo people visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington. Smithsonian’s Museum of American History has acquired the vial that contained the very first dose of COVID-19 vaccine administered in the United States. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Smithsonian statement on COVID and employees

Commentary

FILE - In this April 3, 2019, file photo people visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the National Mall at 14th Street and Constitution Ave., in Washington. In response to rising COVID-19 infection numbers, the Smithsonian Institution is indefinitely shutting down operations at all its facilities, effective Monday and affecting seven museums, plus the National Zoo. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

The nation’s museums put the federal employee COVID dispute on display

Workforce

Bradey Police Lt. Philip Trudeau, left, comforts Bourbonnais Police officer Andy Cox following a ceremonial procession for fallen Bradley Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, in Bourbonnais, Ill. Rittmanic died after a shooting at a Comfort Inn the night before. (Tiffany Blanchette/The Daily Journal via AP)

New database aims to get a better understanding of suicide within law enforcement

Federal Newscast

telework, work from home, home office, federal employees

Pandemic boosted federal telework participation and overall eligibility

Workforce

Dr. Manjul Shukla transfers Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at a mobile vaccination clinic in Worcester, Mass. As the U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant, doctors across the country are experiencing a more imminent crisis with a delta variant that is sending record numbers of people to the hospital in New England and the Midwest. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Appeals court deals another blow to contractor vaccine mandate

Workforce

FILE - Michael Carvajal, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining issues facing prisons and jails during the coronavirus pandemic on Capitol Hill in Washington, on June 2, 2020. Carvajal is resigning amid increasing scrutiny over his leadership in the wake of Associated Press reporting that uncovered widespread problems at the agency, including a recent story detailing serious misconduct involving correctional officers. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool via AP, File)

US prisons director resigning after crises-filled tenure

People

Capitol Police Chief says force sure ‘to get tested again’

Workforce

Number of feds who telework regularly went up in 2020 but not as much as expected

In today’s Federal Newscast, while COVID-19 drove a majority of federal workers out of the office in 2020, new data from the Office of Personnel Management…

Federal Newscast

Does your program make people happy?

Evidence of how the government’s pandemic response produced more than checks and shots

Federal Report

How OSHA has dealt with the workload it got handed by the pandemic

Workforce

The pandemic has made things busy and a little difficult for OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.