Management
Border Wall Construction Continues During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Lawmakers and advocates call on the Trump administration to stop construction to protect public health and save taxpayer dollars.
Pay & Benefits
House Oversight Leaders Seek Childcare Payments and Other Help for Feds in Next COVID-19 Relief Bill
In a letter to House leadership, Democrats unveil a laundry list of legislative proposals to assist federal employees and contractors during the coronavirus pandemic.
Route Fifty
Too Much Food at Farms, Too Little Food in the Stores
Faced with a supply chain disrupted by the coronavirus, agriculture departments and farm bureaus are striving to connect farmers with food banks and potential buyers.
Workforce
Coronavirus Roundup: Federal Employee Cases and Deaths Continue to Increase
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.
Workforce
How the Coronavirus Forced the Pentagon to Improve Its IT — and Quickly
New teleworking capabilities — hastily installed to help DoD get work done at home — will stick around after the virus subsides.
Employee Policy
Court: Investigations into whistleblowers are not retaliation
Whistleblowers must prove retaliation through official personnel action under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Defense
Pentagon Orders 60 Machines that Disinfect Desperately Needed N95 Masks
Each Battelle-made machine can clean up to 80,000 masks per day, allowing healthcare workers treating coronavirus patients to reuse them up to 20 times.
Benefits
AFGE urges Congress to support federal worker protections
The American Federation of Government Employees is asking Congress to ensure worker safety provisions are included in future COVID-19 response legislation.
Tech
The Mission NASA Doesn’t Want to Postpone
So far, the pandemic isn’t stopping the space agency from moving forward with a historic SpaceX launch next month.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: Overseeing Agencies' Pandemic Response
Katherine McIntire Peters and Courtney Bublé join the podcast to discuss how IGs, agencies and Congress can account for the money in the CARES Act will be
Route Fifty
Tourist Towns Ban Short-Term Rentals to Prevent Virus Spread
Short-term rental listings have drawn ire from local officials for advertising homes as quarantine retreats.
Management
Immigration Review Office Remains Open Despite Potential COVID-19 Exposure
Most support staff at the Executive Office of Immigration Review in Falls Church, Va., remain unable to telework even after two floors had to be deep cleaned after an employee exhibited coronavirus symptoms at work last week.
Management
Agencies Can Launch Retaliatory Investigations Into Whistleblowers, Court Rules
Ruling sets a new governmentwide precedent.
Nextgov
How Homeland Security’s Biosurveillance Arm Uses Tech To Track a Pandemic
The National Biosurveillance Integration Center began tracking what would become the novel coronavirus on Jan. 2.
Route Fifty
States Announce Regional Efforts to Restart the Economy
The moves came as President Trump declared he and the federal government have primacy over deciding when “to open up the states” amid the coronavirus crisis.
Management
White House Advises Agencies on COVID-19 Spending and Reporting
“Time is of the essence,” but “spending transparency and regular reporting will provide important accountability mechanisms to help safeguard taxpayer dollars,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a memo.
Management
Coronavirus Response 'Likely' to Lead to IRS Backlogs, IG Says
Outstanding cases have already spiked due to shutdown, and now thousands of employees are home and not working.
Benefits
Feds struggle to get temporary excused paid leave
Feds with dependent care responsibilities that stretch them to the breaking point have a stopgap once leave options are exhausted, but many agencies are reluctant to put it in play.
Management
Border Agency Cancels Weather and Safety Leave for Some Employees, Angering Union and Lawmakers
The agency had been using weather and safety leave to mitigate employees’ potential exposure to the coronavirus, but cancelled that practice along the northern and southern borders because of “COVID-19 related requirements.”
Workforce