Get Prepared: FEHB Open Season Is Just Weeks Away
October 23, 2015
Open season is just around the corner. That means federal workers, like you, may enroll in a federally-sponsored healthcare plan, change your plan, tune it more to your liking, or cancel it. All these changes can be made during what the federal government calls open season. This year, it runs from Monday, November 9 through […]
Outgoing Association President Offers Bleak View on Pay and Benefits
October 19, 2015
The outgoing president of a federal executives association is advising the workforce not to get their hopes up about any improvements in pay and benefits. In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Senior Executives Association President Carol A. Bonosaro offered a sour outlook when asked for her thoughts on the subject on the […]
Driverless USPS Delivery?
October 19, 2015
Will we see a day when nobody (or, more accurately, no body) is behind the wheel of a United States Postal Service delivery truck? It may not be as far-fetched as you think. In a recent blog post, the United States Postal Service Inspector General’s office speculated on the future of driverless vehicles and whether […]
Federal Workers Will Get Letter Notifying Them of Data Hack
October 13, 2015
Federal workers whose identities were stolen in a massive data breach will soon receive an official notice in the mail informing them of what was stolen and what steps they can take to protect their identity. According to a blog posted on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s website, OPM has already begun sending […]
Keep Your Hands Off the Thrift Savings Plan, Group Warns
October 8, 2015
Don’t raid the TSP to save the federal government’s budget woes. That’s the message to Congress delivered by the Employee Thrift Advisory Council, an organization composed of federal worker rights groups, unions, and uniformed services. The council advises the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the TSP’s administrator, and represents roughly 4.9 million TSP account holders […]
Brookings Paper Calls For USPS Breakup
October 5, 2015
Is the United States Postal Service hampered by its constitutionally declared and much assumed mission to deliver mail to places near and far in the U.S., no matter what it takes or costs? According to a Brooking Institution (.pdf) white paper, that universal mandate must be reevaluated and the agency should no longer be under […]
Bill Aims to Curtail Criminal Background Checks in Fed Workforce
October 5, 2015
A proposed law would revamp the federal workforce criminal background check system. Dubbed the Fair Chance Act, the proposal would ban the federal government, including federal contractors and federal agencies, from requesting or asking for the criminal history of some applicants until after the applicant receives a conditional offer for employment. “Empowering people with records […]
OPM Revamping Fed Healthcare
September 22, 2015
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is revamping the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. According to a notice published in the Federal Register on September 17, federal workers will be able to select a “self plus one” healthcare plan. Currently, federal workers can only choose between two plans: individual and family. The “self plus one” […]
Pension Contribution Hike is Unlikely, But It’s Still a Wait-and-See Game
September 21, 2015
Will you be forced to contribute more money to your federal government pension? As always, that’s up to Congress. A House budget bill earlier this year suggested federal workers should pay 6.6 percent of their salary to the Federal Employees Retirement System — the fund where all federal employee pension contributions is funneled into to […]
Free Credit Protection Services for Workers Affected by Latest Hack
September 21, 2015
An influential Senate panel approved a key amendment that would help protect federal workers and contractors whose sensitive personal and financial data were poached by hackers, which could be used for malicious and fraudulent purposes. The Senate Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment that will be folded into a massive government funding bill — the Financial […]
