Washington weather predictions are getting worse and worse. The National Weather Service just issued a winter storm warning — which replaces the previous winter storm watch and means they’re pretty sure it’s happening — that says we’re looking at 10 to 20 inches of snow beginning Tuesday at noon. Temperatures are expected to drop from near-freezing into the upper 20s Tuesday night, and the winter storm warning is scheduled to last until Wednesday at 7 p.m. This is a marked increase from this morning’s predictions of six inches or so. NWS warns that “The combination of snow and strong winds…
Browsing: Office of Personnel Management
The Office of Personnel Management just released guidance on the upcoming open season for choosing next year’s plans under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Federal employees will be able to select health, dental and vision insurance plans and enroll in a Flexible Spending Account between Nov. 9 and Dec. 14. Anyone already enrolled in a health, dental or vision plan will stay enrolled in their current plan unless they choose to change or cancel it. But Flexible Spending Accounts don’t carry over from one year to another — enrollees must set up an account again if they want to keep directing pretax…
The White House has released a fact sheet outlining the benefits it will grant to same-sex domestic partners of gay and lesbian federal employees today: Domestic partners of federal employees can be added to the long-term care insurance program. Federal employees will be allowed to use sick leave to care for domestic partners and their non-biological, non-adopted children. The memo will also outline benefits for partners of State Department Foreign Service officers, who for the first time will: Be able to use medical facilities at posts abroad. Be medically evacuated from posts abroad. Be counted when State measures a Foreign…
New Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry’s announcement last week that the Obama administration wants all federal employees to be paid based on how well they perform doesn’t exactly have federal unions doing cartwheels. The American Federation of Government Employees said pay for performance can’t work in the government, and said that the General Schedule is enough to reward hard workers. The National Treasury Employees Union, on the other hand, said it would wait and see what Berry comes up with. And the National Federation of Federal Employees just weighed in on the issue this morning. Though President Rick Brown said he felt…
Federal Times wants to hear from security clearance investigators about your job. Do you have enough resources to conduct your investigations? Are the workloads too heavy? Do you feel pressure to sacrifice quality to clear cases faster? What needs to be done to improve the process? E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com if you’d like to talk. If you’d prefer that your name not be published, that would be fine.
The Office of Personnel Management is going to announce the Obama administration’s new telework policy tomorrow morning. OPM Director John Berry, along with Reps. John Sarbanes, D-Md., and Gerald Connolly, D-Va., will outline his plan to improve the government’s efficiency by expanding the use of telework. In a statement announcing the Capitol Hill press conference, Berry said: Telework is good for the environment [and] good for the continuity of government operations. It also shows the commitment of President Barack Obama to provide a work/life program that is improving the quality of life for federal employees. Check back with Federal Times tomorrow…
The Office of Personnel Management is warning agencies to be prepared in case swine flu hits their area. An April 26 memo from OPM Director John Berry tells managers that employees might become sick or have to care for family members who contract swine flu, and reminds them of the government’s various sick leave and family care policies. And for employees at agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration or Customs and Border Protection – who could come into contact with travelers who may have contracted swine flu — the memo also includes advice on how to manage such encounters. OPM recommends that…
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to vote on John Berry to be the next Office of Personnel Management director tomorrow afternoon. Berry, who received few tough questions in his confirmation hearing last week, is expected to be confirmed.
Federal Times wants to hear from employees and managers under the National Security Personnel System about how the program should be improved. Do you think it’s working or not? Where are its weaknesses? What can be done to fix those problems, now that the Pentagon and Office of Personnel Management are putting NSPS under the microscope? Or do you think the system is too flawed to repair, and that it’s time to return to the General Schedule? E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com if you’d like to talk. If you’d prefer that your name not be published, that would be fine.
John Berry, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park, has officially been nominated to head the Office of Personnel Management. There’s been speculation about his appointment since January, but until now it’s been just that – speculation. Update, 4:33 p.m.: Positive reactions so far from federal employee unions. Here’s one from the American Federation of Government Employees.