Agencies across the government are cutting space. They are shrinking cubicle sizes and they are promoting workstation-sharing along with more telework. More and more federal employees are giving up sole occupation of the traditional cubicle. Have you given up yours? Have you been given then choice? Feel free to comment about what you have seen or experienced in the comment section below or email amedici@federaltimes.com.
Monthly Archives: June, 2013
Dubbed a traitor by House Speaker John Boehner and yet hailed as a brave whistleblower by Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden’s leaks about National Security Agency data collection techniques have ignited public debate about privacy, security and the scope of U.S. government surveillance activities. But legally speaking, the 29-year old, self described high school dropout isn’t really a whistleblower: “Whistleblowers are individuals who have engaged in lawful disclosure,” said R. Scott Oswald, managing principal of The Employment Law Group, a DC-based law firm that represents whistleblowers, including some in the intelligence community. Snowden, however, leaked classified information subject to a court…
Time and time again, big contractors went over the heads of General Service Administration contracting officers who were trying to negotiate good prices for the government. But when it came time to choose, GSA supervisors sided with the contractors. That’s the conclusion of recent GSA Office of Inspector report that raises troubling questions about the enormous pressure contracting officers can come under from contractors with close ties to managers and even members of Congress. While GSA says it’s got new management and won’t tolerate such interference nowadays, the bigger questions are whether this sort of thing happens elsewhere, not just…
The Office of Personnel Management today published proposed regulations on a new phased retirement option, which will let federal employees ease into retirement on a part-time basis, while still getting half a pension. You can read all about OPM’s plan here. And we’d like to hear from you on this potentially monumental change. Are you interested in phasing into retirement? If so, why? (Or if not, why not?) And if you are a manager, do you think allowing your employees to take phased retirement will help with your agency’s succession planning and knowledge retention efforts? E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com if…
For anyone who’s counting, this week marks six months since an advisory board released 14 recommendations for modernizing the national security classification system. The White House remains on square one—mulling the board’s first recommendation to form a steering committee to guide implementation of the other 13. “Options for the creation of a senior-level group are currently being considered,” said Laura Lucas, a National Security Council spokeswoman, who had no information today on the timetable for a decision. The Public Interest Declassification Board issued the recommendations Dec. 6 in response to a 2009 charge from President Obama for a “more fundamental transformation” of the…
Todd Grams, the Veterans Affairs Department’s chief financial officer, is leaving to become chief of staff at the IRS. In an email sent today to “Friends and Colleagues,” Grams, who is also the VA’s executive-in-charge for management, said he is returning to the IRS this week at the request of acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “For a total of almost 11 years (over two tours), I have had the honor to serve our nation’s veterans,” Grams said. “I am very grateful to have had both opportunities to contribute at the VA.” Grams was previously at the IRS from 2001 to 2006, first…
Twenty agencies big and small were recently noted for top-notch financial and performance reporting by the Association of Government Accountants. The “Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting” (CEAR) singles out “high-quality Performance and Accountability Reports (PARs) and Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) that effectively illustrate and assess financial and program performance, accomplishments and challenges, cost and accountability,” the accountants association said in a news release. The association also spotlights the teams of dedicated federal professionals who (often unsung) put the reports together. “Given the fiscal status of the United States government and the public’s perceptions about government fiscal accountability and transparency,…
The feedback keeps coming on the Office of Personnel Management’s planned makeover of the Combined Federal Campaign. With just five days to go before the June 7 deadline to weigh in, OPM has gotten some 320 comments as of today, according to the government website, regulations.gov. But as FedLine has previously noted, OPM so far isn’t making any of those comments public. In response to our request, a number of you emailed your comments, and, with the permission of each individual or organization, we’re posting links below. Thanks very much to all who responded. In an emailed statement, incidentally, Keith…