OPM director John Berry has talked a lot about expanding federal telework programs — and it occurs to me that this week gives him a perfect opportunity to evangelize. Today is the second consecutive snow day for the federal government, and if tonight’s forecast is accurate, tomorrow might well be the third. Each snow day costs the federal government $100 million — possibly more during this blizzard, because I’m sure some feds will just take the rest of the week off and give themselves a “snowcation.” But many telecommuters are expected to work today, according to OPM — even though…
Browsing: HR Management
The libertarian Reason Magazine has a — shall we say — provocative article online, entitled “Class War: How public servants become our masters.” It raises some valid points about problems associated with public-sector employment: The impending “pension bomb,” for example, is a serious threat to the finances of many state and local governments. But I think the author, Steven Greenhut, makes a couple of questionable propositions about the federal government.
Federal employees will get a little more time for last-minute Christmas shopping this year. President Barack Obama on Friday evening issued an executive order closing executive branch agencies and excusing employees on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. But employees who are essential for national security, defense, or other public needs will not get a short day, Obama said. FedLine assumes that also goes for the crucial staff at NORAD Tracks Santa. President George W. Bush gave federal employees Christmas Eve off — and a four-day weekend — in 2007, when Christmas fell on a Tuesday. Last year, when Christmas fell on a…
As you may have read, President Obama signed an executive order Thursday that re-establishes labor-management partnerships aimed at fostering greater cooperation and collaboration between government and union leaders. More details on this to come soon, but for now, here’s a link to the executive order. What do you think? Are labor-management partnerships good for a smoother-running government? Or will they put too much power in the hands of federal unions? What do you see as the likely result of this?
A reader e-mailed us earlier today asking if federal employees will get the day after Thanksgiving off, giving them a four-day weekend. I checked with OPM and the answer is no — federal employees still have to come in to work Friday, even if they’re recovering from a tryptophan-induced coma.
It seems like everybody’s got a new idea for attracting new talent to the federal government these days. But Jim McDermott, chief human capital officer of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, thinks he’s found a foolproof way to convince young engineers to come to his agency: Find them dates. “There are incentives, and then there are incentives,” McDermott told a crowd of human resources officials at the HCMF Conference in Arlington, Va., earlier today. “When we’re hiring, we say, ‘Is there a significant other in the picture?’ If there’s no significant other, I tell them, ‘We can help.’ ” McDermott said his…
A quick heads-up, in case you haven’t heard: The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo late last week announcing a new policy on political appointees “burrowing in” at the end of an administration. The memo, from OPM director John Berry, requires all agencies to get OPM’s permission before moving political appointees into career positions (at all levels). OPM previously required permission for such moves only during election years. The policy, which takes effect in 2010, applies to anyone who has held a politically-appointed job in the previous five years. OPM’s reviews will be conducted by career employees. “Burrowing in”…
Samuel Heyman, the businessman who founded the Partnership for Public Service eight years ago, passed away Nov. 7. The New York Times reported that Heyman died due to complications from open heart surgery. Heyman was an assistant U.S. attorney at the Justice Department until he entered the private sector in 1968.
As a runner and general fitness nut, I was pleasantly surprised to find a press release in my inbox from the Office of Management and Budget this morning announcing a new mandate for OMB staff: wear a pedometer. OMB Director Peter Orszag launched the “OMB Pedometer Challenge” today to improve employee health by having everyone wear a pedometer to track their physical activity throughout the day. Employees will enter their daily steps on an internal Web site and compare their activity levels to Orszag’s activity levels and their division’s levels. They’ll also be able to enter health statistics like body…
Everybody’s heard the urban legend that it’s impossible to fire a government worker, but Federal Times wants to take a closer look at the federal firing process and find out what’s really going on. And to do that, we’d like to hear from you. Are you a manager who has found it impossible to get rid of the one bad apple in your office who can’t — or won’t — improve? Or has your agency backed you up when you needed to terminate someone for disciplinary reasons or poor performance? On the other hand, are you an employee who lost your…