Workforce

Coronavirus Roundup: IRS Will Automatically Send Checks to Social Security Recipients

There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.

Nextgov

COVID Response Delays Awards for GSA’s E-Commerce Platform Pilots

The online purchasing platforms were meant to be awarded and rolled out before the end of the year. But getting agencies equipped with teleworking tech has taken priority.

Oversight

Implementing the 2020 Stimulus: Lessons From the 2009 Recovery Act

The new loan initiative could overwhelm the Small Business Administration’s staff and is likely to be a high-risk area for implementation bottlenecks and confusion.

Management

Viewpoint: Authoritarian Populists Have Six Classic Moves. Trump's Response to COVID-19 Uses 5 of Them.

While the president may not be using the coronavirus to consolidate power, Americans should still be worried about the threat he poses to democracy.

Route Fifty

Cities and Counties Make Workforce Cuts as Coronavirus Financial Toll Mounts

Cincinnati this week announced it would place hundreds of workers on unpaid temporary leave. It’s just one of the places facing tough staffing decisions.

Nextgov

Argonne Taps Supercomputing Network to Study How Coronavirus Spreads 

The national laboratory enlisted collaborators to help unleash a range of efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

Defense

How the Marine Corps Plans to Become Lighter, Nimbler, More Unmanned

The Force Design 2030 report discards tanks and doubles UAV squadrons.

Workforce

How To Keep Your Pets Happy While Social Distancing

Staying home for social distancing may disrupt your pets' routine. But recreating a schedule can keep them (and you) happy.

Employee Policy

Federal employee survey on ice

The 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is being postponed, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

Management

GovExec Daily: Medical Supply Shortages and the Pandemic

Route Fifty’s Emma Coleman and GovExec’s Eric Katz join the podcast to discuss the coordination between government and health officials – and where that is failing.

Workforce

Thousands of IRS Employees Are Currently Home With Pay, But Not Working

Agency faces major logistical challenges after massive stimulus package, but union says tens of thousands of employees cannot work remotely.

Management

What Happens if Social Distancing for COVID-19 Ends Too Soon?

A new model can show how different interventions, like social distancing, will affect the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Oversight

House Lawmakers Accuse GSA of Breaching Ban on Implementing OPM Merger

Oversight panel leaders say newly uncovered emails confirm that the General Services Administration’s pending revocation of the Office of Personnel Management’s building operation authority is part of the plan to abolish the HR agency.

Management

Federal Prison System Goes Into ‘Modified Lockdown’

New procedures due to coronavirus concerns will last 14 days, after which the agency will re-evaluate. 

Workforce

Sexual Harassment Protections for Feds a ‘Byzantine Morass,’ Commission Finds in Calling for Widespread Reforms

Claims of sexual harassment by federal employees have spiked by 36% in recent years.

Nextgov

Defense Department Halts Health Records Rollout During COVID-19

The pause is in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Route Fifty

Lessons from States that Embraced Telework Before the Coronavirus

COMMENTARY | How to avoid certain pitfalls now that many—or most—employees must now work from home.

Workforce

Coronavirus Roundup: A Dire New Assessment, More Calls to Close National Parks

There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.

Pay & Benefits

TSP Portfolios Plummet, and a Delay to the Annual Federal Morale Survey

A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.

Nextgov

How Census Is Building a Citizenship Database Covering Everyone Living in the U.S.

By March 2021, the bureau plans to release anonymized statistics while keeping the raw data on individuals' citizenship status confidential.