Pay & Benefits
OPM authorizes retention bonuses for agencies facing restructuring
Agencies with offices subject to closure or relocation can offer payments to employees likely to move to other federal jobs.
Defense
Making sensors more sensitive nets Army engineer top civilian award
Joshua Fairley uses supercomputer to develop supersensors.
Pay & Benefits
Younger generation redefines public service
Aspiring public servants often see nonprofits as an attractive alternative to the federal government.
Pay & Benefits
Experts call for top leaders at agencies to commit to diversity
Structural changes needed if agencies want to increase diversity of their workforces, panelists say.
Pay & Benefits
TSP to restrict interfund transfers
Thrift Savings Plan board votes to allow only two transfers between investment funds per month starting next spring.
Oversight
Senator probes HHS help line
Aide says the swiftest connection to a customer service representative was 14 minutes, while another staffer was on hold 30 minutes.
Defense
Pentagon opens high-level jobs to civilian senior execs
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England creates corps of key executive positions that "require an enterprise perspective."
Pay & Benefits
Generational stereotyping seen as barrier to recruiting
Experts say younger workers, like older employees, prefer to be treated as individuals, rather than as representatives of a generation with shared characteristics.
Pay & Benefits
Telework Is a Tool
Treating it as a benefit misses its potential to improve overall performance.
Pay & Benefits
Women, minorities underrepresented at top of congressional agencies
Report finds such organizations are only slightly better than executive branch agencies in terms of diversity among senior executives.
Pay & Benefits
High court extends deadline for appeal of Defense personnel system
A federal labor union now has until Jan. 7 to determine whether to appeal ruling that implementation of National Security Personnel System can go forward.
Defense
Report faults State IG's management, but not motives
Howard Krongard characterized as unpopular boss who often dressed down employees and nixed travel requests.
Defense
Homeland Security making progress in recruiting veterans
In fiscal 2007, DHS nearly doubled previous years’ totals of new vet hires.
Defense
Customs, border workforce plagued with retention, morale problems
But senators learn there’s little consensus on how to address the issues.
Oversight
EEOC braces for bumpy transition to in-house call center
As contract for privatized center runs out, agency warns of reduced service.
Defense
Army, Marine Corps struggle with mandate to expand
Plans to boost size of forces by 92,000 troops over the next five years are running into trouble.
Pay & Benefits
Federal agencies called unprepared for future wave of retirements
More than 60 percent of managers said their agencies don’t have knowledge management policies, a new survey shows.
Oversight
High-ranking Park Service official pleads guilty to travel fraud
Special agent admits to using a government credit card for nine personal trips.
Pay & Benefits