For furloughed employees, paychecks might be delayed, but bills are still due. Ed Zurndorfer offers advice for how to not fall behind on your payments.
Think you've seen the worst effects of the government shutdown? Think again, says former DHS CHCO Jeff Neal. As time goes by, more people will be impacted.
The House approved a bill to ensure furloughed federal workers receive backpay once the government shutdown ends. The vote on the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act was 407-0. Twenty-five members didn't vote. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) had introduced a Senate version of the bill earlier this week.
Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.) introduced the "Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act" late Monday. The bill would guarantee both employees required to work through the shutdown and those placed on unpaid leave receive backpay.
Employees at multiple federal agencies, who would normally receive a direct deposit electronic paycheck today, will have to wait until Tuesday because of a mix-up by the Interior Business Center, one of the largest federal payroll processors. Affected agencies include the National Archives and Records Administration, NASA, the National Transportation Saftey Board, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
Want to know the size of the next federal pay raise? Your best bet is to take $20, or the going rate, and find yourself a first-class tarot card reader. If she deals you the Ace of Pentacles you will be in the money, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
President Barack Obama issued some good news for federal workers before the start of Labor Day weekend, calling for a 1 percent pay increase for feds in 2014. But Congress could still prevent the raises through legislation. Federal employees have had their pay frozen since January 2011.
A popular cable TV show involves doomsday preppers. These people expect an economic collapse, because of war, weather or natural disaster, forcing everyone to fend for themselves. What's one group that has yet to be featured? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey asks. Federal workers, who face the very real dangers very soon.
What do you do when your friends and neighbors are told how to find out exactly how much money you make because you work for the government? Do you think it's public information? Do you grin and bare it? Or do you get mad? Lots of people are unhappy with the latest federal pay information dump, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
What would your neighbor, your bragging brother-in-law and your ex-spouse say if they knew how much you really make as a government worker? Did you maybe forget to tell your significant other about that big bonus you got in 2012? Now the world knows, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and the GSA inspector general released separate, but related, reports that show GSA abused its authority to give Senior Executive Service (SES) members bonuses between 2009 and 2011. GSA official said they have since fixed these problems. McCaskill also found that on average the Labor Department, the Navy and the National Science Foundation handed out more than one bonus per SES employee.
The threat of furloughs is hanging heavy over tens of thousands of federal workers who say they won't be able to pay the bills if forced to stay home for five to 15 days. So, Mike Causey wants to know, is there light at the end of this tunnel?
Federal employees would see a slight pay bump next year under President Barack Obama's proposed budget for 2014. But at the same time, the White House budget outline proposes sweeping changes to federal employees' retirement benefits, including reductions to annual cost-of-living increases for retirees.
Senate Democrats and Republicans released a 2013 government funding bill Monday that includes language to extend the federal pay freeze through the end of the calendar year, while providing additional funding for domestic priorities like health research and highway projects.
In order to counter funding reductions due to sequestration, Customs and Border Protection has begun sending furlough notices to many of its 60,000 employees. An officer in the union representing CBP agents says these measures amount to a 40 percent reduction in salaries.