official time

• OPM releases long-awaited report on official time

  After months of urging from lawmakers, the Office of Personnel Management released a new report on official time, including data from fiscal year 2012. Official time hours totaled nearly 3.5 million in FY 2012, with cost estimates at $157 million, according to OPM's data.

  Management

  October 07, 2014
• GOP lawmakers seek updated ‘official time’ report

  Two Republican members of the House want to know how many hours federal employees are spending on union-related business while on the job. Reps. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) wrote to Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta urging the agency to release updated data on employees' use of "official time." The most recent year for which data is available is from 2011.

  Congress

  March 25, 2014
• Senators seek to eliminate ‘official time’ for federal employees

  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced a bill to eliminate official time for federal employees. Official time is the paid time that employees spend on union work.

  Congress

  July 22, 2013
• Archuleta makes case to senators to be next OPM director

  Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee members pressed Katherine Archuleta on her qualifications, how she will address the retirement claims backlog and on the use of official time. Archuleta appears headed down the path toward confirmation.

  Congress

  July 17, 2013
• Coburn calls on OPM to fire feds ‘paid to do nothing’

  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has written to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, saying the office should take steps to offload federal workers and contractors who don't show up for work, aren't performing official duties or "are simply not working at all." In the letter, Coburn, the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said doing so could prevent the need to furlough critical employees under sequestration.

  Budget

  March 29, 2013
• Work time spent on union activities at a 7-year high for feds

  OPM issued its fiscal 2011 Official Time report. The data shows employees, on average, spent 2.82 hours on union-related work during official hours. The cost of official time also increased by almost 12 percent.

  Federal Drive

  February 18, 2013
• Lawmakers at odds over ‘official time’

  House Oversight and Government Reform members disagreed on the whether federal employees should perform union activities during the work day. A bill banning official time has been introduced which AFGE says would all but end collective bargaining rights.

  Workforce

  June 02, 2011