Every year, tens of thousands of federal employees retire or otherwise leave their jobs. But some agencies have much higher turnover rates than others. That data nugget is buried in a recent Government Accountability Office report examining government workforce trends. From fiscal 2004 through 2012, the average annual government retirement rate was 3.5 percent, the average resignation rate, 2.4 percent, for a combined “separation rate” of 5.9 percent, according to the report. But when GAO reviewers looked at 24 individual agencies, they found a pretty big spread around that average. During that 2004-12 period, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency…
Browsing: Environmental Protection Agency
More than 17,000 Environmental Protection Agency employees will be spared a final furlough day that had been scheduled for Aug. 30, Administrator Gina McCarthy announced today. In a message to EPA staff, McCarthy attributed the decision to savings found elsewhere in the agency’s budget. “The choices we made are difficult, but we continue to be flexible—applying good management decisions to ensure we continue to carry out our mission and reduce the impact of sequestration on each employee,” McCarthy said, according to a transcript provided by the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents many EPA staff. In recent weeks, the…
Hello everyone, My name is Andy and if you haven’t guessed it yet, I am one of the reporters here at the Federal Times. For the last few weeks we have had a new feature on our blog, “Silver Screen Feds,” where we look at famous federal employees in cinema and television. This week my partner-in-crime and colleague Steve Losey is spending time with his family, so instead of doing all the work myself, you guys get a clip-show version of everything we have done so far. Below are each of our entries in the ongoing series, so feel free…
In a memo earlier this month, the Office of Management and Budget ordered agencies to step up planning for across-the-board budget cuts set to begin in March. Along the way, OMB added, agencies should involve employee unions “to the fullest extent practicable” in any decisions on hiring freezes, furloughs and other measures to cut workforce costs. John O’Grady questions whether that message made it to the Environmental Protection Agency. O’Grady heads the American Federation of Government Employees local that represents some Chicago-area EPA staff and is also treasurer for the union’s national council of EPA locals. He sees little evidence…
Several agencies have partnered to launch an online system for streamlining Freedom of Information Act requests. The website, Foiaonline.regulations.gov, allows the public to submit FOIA requests, file appeals, search through requests from others and access previously released documents, the National Archives and Records Administration announced Monday. NARA is partnering with the Commerce Department and Environmental Protection Agency to develop the website, which was built on the same infrastructure as EPA’s Regulations.gov website. “FOIAonline avoided many start-up costs, resulting in a total of $1.3 million to launch and an estimated cost avoidance of $200 million over the next five years if…
Do you want to save the planet and reduce emissions, but are unsure of how to gloat about it to your friends? Well now you have a Facebook game that will put the “win” into dwindling resources, and its brought to you by the federal government. DoSomething.org and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program yesterday announced the launch of eMission, a unique Facebook game with a social mission―to increase energy efficiency and fight climate change offline. The idea is that you get points for environmentally sustainable acts offline that are translated into points in the game.…
Most Americans favor higher government-imposed fuel-efficiency standards, according to a poll released last week. The survey of 1,000 likely voters showed 85 percent favor government requirements to increase fuel efficiency in cars and 78 percent favor government regulation reducing emissions from large trucks, SUVs and minivans. Respondents also support increased fuel efficiency standards even if the price of the car goes up by $3,000, with 66 percent still favoring the proposal and 28 percent opposed. The Environmental Protection Agency received a favorable response: 63 percent of respondents saw the agency favorably or very favorably. Environment America, the Natural Resources Defense…
Last week I wrote about a video contest being sponsored by the General Services Administration, which is offering $2,500 to the person who best extols the virtues of the government’s information portal, www.usa.gov, through a 30- to 90-second video. Not to be outdone, the Environmental Protection Agency is also getting into the act. EPA yesterday launched a contest seeking videos that raise awareness about environmental justice, which EPA defines as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and…
Five percent of the energy federal agencies use this year must come from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass, under the 2005 Energy Policy Act. That’s up from 3 percent in 2009. To help agencies get there, the Environmental Protection Agency has a nifty mapping tool on its website that lists available green power resources by state and links to the utility companies’ websites. The nation’s capital, for instance, has six options that include wind or landfill gas in the energy mix. California offers a dozen green power alternatives, including energy generated by wind, solar, water and landfill gas.…
The Environmental Protection Agency is asking for the public to help it comply with an Obama administration directive to make government operations more open and transparent. EPA has created a special website through which people can submit and vote on ideas for how the agency can solicit more feedback from the public, improve the quality and availability of information posted online and work better with groups inside and outside government. Ideas will be accepted until March 19. EPA will use the suggestions to help write its first-ever Open Government Plan, said Linda Travers, EPA’s principal deputy assistant administrator, in an Feb. 10 e-mail to…