Oversight

Lawmakers push labor-management partnerships

Bill would re-establish a council Bush dissolved in 2001, with the goal of helping front-line employees and managers work together more effectively.

Pay & Benefits

In Benefits Feds Trust

Comments on a story about Hillary Clinton’s health care proposal indicate that at least some federal employees are very protective of their benefits.

Oversight

Employee advocates cite disparities in Hatch Act enforcement

Career civil servants face much harsher consequences for breaking the law than most political appointees, witnesses say.

Defense

Commissioners call for streamlined vets benefits

Recommendations include assigning the Defense Department sole responsibility for performing physical exams that determine soldiers' fitness to serve.

Pay & Benefits

Clinton’s health plan unlikely to affect feds’ premiums

But analysts say it could promote changes in drug prices and insurer transparency.

Pay & Benefits

Mid-level hires rank government above previous employers

Federal jobs rated as better than survey respondents’ former work in 14 of 15 categories, including training and development.

Oversight

Report cites some gaps in Defense payroll security

More could be done to increase physical security of data in the Defense Civilian Pay System, auditors say.

Tech

Panelists offer advice on training technology

Capability and flexibility are more important than the latest bells and whistles, specialists say.

Pay & Benefits

Stepping In

Hands-on management is critical not only to rating employees effectively, but to motivating them.

Defense

Judge rejects request to halt NASA background checks

Ruling in suit filed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists says questionnaire is “relatively nonintrusive.”

Oversight

Watchdog criticizes State Department foreign aid staffing

Training is inconsistent, data to track aid workers is inadequate, and some employees are overstretched, GAO says.

News And Analysis

Disability Loophole

Federal firefighters are trapped in a Catch-22 health crisis.

Defense

Steady funding, staffing urged for executive boards

Groups can play a key role in crisis, but support and expectations need to be clear, panelists say at hearing.

Defense

Survey: Feds less satisfied than private employees with moving services

Federal employees and military personnel may keep their belongings in storage longer, increasing the possibility of damage.

Oversight

Arbitrator rules for union in dispute with IRS

Management rights don’t outweigh the need to bargain, arbitrator finds.

Pay & Benefits

Personnel chiefs grapple with workforce planning, pay systems

Measuring and managing performance -- and compensating workers based on it -- top many head human capital officers’ to-do lists.

Oversight

Air traffic controllers sue over alleged mold problems

Detroit controllers say mold persists despite efforts to remove it; FAA says the problem has been solved.

Oversight

House passes FAA reauthorization bill

Substantial differences remain between House and Senate over language on contract negotiations and funding.

Pay & Benefits

Making Better Pay Decisions

As pay-for-performance systems spread, managers who make compensation decisions need to be armed with as much data as possible.

Pay & Benefits

High-performing civil servants honored at black tie gala

Science and technology played major roles in award recipients’ work in medicine, security, service delivery and diplomacy.