Search:

Custom Search

Court Clarifies Employees' Obligation to Exhaust Administrative Remedies Before Filing in Court
To have jurisdiction in a federal court, a federal employee must show that he exhausted his administrative remedies by allowing the agency and/or EEOC to process the case. Trouble arises in cases where a federal employee exhausted his administrative remedies for the underlying discrimination complaint, but not for claims of retaliation.

Posted: November 6, 2009 8:33 PM | Full Story

How Two Recent Employee Benefit Changes May Work
How will some of the recent changes to employee benefits be implemented? Here a further explanation of two items: CSRS employees can on the job longer by allowing them to work part time without adversely affecting their retirement and returning to work without a salary offset.

Posted: November 6, 2009 6:38 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

Who Gets Biggest Benefit from Sick Leave Changes? Young Federal Employees
The recent change for FERS employees in applying their unused sick leave to their retirement annuity won't make a big difference. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the average FERS employees will gain an additional three months of service toward their pension calculation, which would increase their retirement checks by an average of $150 a year.

Posted: November 6, 2009 6:52 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

Army: Suspect said 'Allahu Akbar!' before shooting
The base commander at Fort Hood says soldiers who witnessed a shooting rampage that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire at the Texas post.

Posted: November 5, 2009 8:31 PM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

237 Millionaires in Congress
Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That's 44 percent of the body - compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall.

Posted: November 7, 2009 9:16 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

Unemployment Surprise: 10.2 Percent Highest in 26 Years
The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today— and it is likely to go higher.

Posted: November 6, 2009 10:56 AM | Full Story

Cousin Says Suspected Fort Hood Gunman Feared Impending War Deployment
The man suspected of a deadly rampage Thursday at Fort Hood was a military psychiatrist whose had turned against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but was about to be sent overseas according to a news report.

Posted: November 5, 2009 3:09 PM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

VA Director Steps Down After Complaints
The director of the Fayetteville, NC VA Medical Center announced his retirement Wednesday, three days after the local paper reported dissatisfaction among employees and patients at the hospital.

Posted: November 6, 2009 10:40 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

When the Prize is Safety, Every Employee Wins
What's up? Letter carriers and retail associates in their crisp blue uniforms, rural carriers and maintenance employees in casual attire, and managers and dignitaries in suits mingle around the staging area shaking hands and patting each other on the back.

Posted: November 6, 2009 7:16 AM | Full Story

Census Worker May Have Hanged Himself
Investigators probing the death of a census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his job.

Posted: November 6, 2009 6:49 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

Backlash Feared from Trial of Federal Air Marshal
The director of the Federal Air Marshal Service is warning that a criminal trial in Britain could have serious implications for the agency's international mission.

Posted: November 6, 2009 6:28 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story

Banner Year for Federal Benefits: One Other Big Benefit May Be On the Way
2009 has seen a number of enhanced federal employee benefits. The year isn't over yet. There is another possible benefit that may see the light of day and that could provide a significant financial gain for many readers.

Posted: November 5, 2009 8:43 AM | Full Story

The New FLRA: Ten Suggestions that Might Improve Federal Collective Bargaining
FLRA has a new website and, according to its Chairman, a new "season" based on "Revitalization, Reinvention, and Re-engagement". Her message is the keynote on the cosmetically altered site. Taking on the prior Authority (of which she was a member) claiming it's "performance, along with employee morale, had suffered" and sounding a lot like Al Gore, she wants to reinvent the FLRA but how she plans to do so is a bit hazy.

Posted: November 4, 2009 7:19 PM | Full Story

Headline Archives »

FedSmith Features

Dumping Those Nasty 2008 Losses From Your TSP Statement
When you look at your TSP returns for the past twelve months, it will make you feel good to see how much money you have made. But you need to be realistic. Your investment may still be down despite the rosy figures. Here's why.

More News »

  • Stimulus Creates Jobs In China
    And for those that think the Stimulus is working, news reports say that it sure has created many more jobs for wind energy in China than the USA.
  • Flra
    It would be helpful if the FLRA would fix the research features of the website. I recently spoke to an FLRA agent who confided that he no longer uses their website, but uses Lexis instead.
  • Unused Annual Leave Contribution To Tsp
    Would unused annual leave contribution to the TSP be in addition to the already authorized $16,500 limited allowed by the IRS?

Write for Us

Do you like to write articles on subjects of general interest to the federal workforce? Consider sharing your knowledge through the FedSmith site. Our guest authors share their expertise and impact issues of interest to the federal workforce. Some of our authors are consultants and trainers and can simultaneously promote their business through their articles. Visit our guest author page to learn more about the benefits of writing for FedSmith.com.

Featured Authors

picture of Ralph Smith Ralph Smith

Ralph Smith is one of the founders of FedSmith.com. He writes in a blunt, entertaining style with a viewpoint that reflects an in-depth knowledge of federal HR issues.

picture of Steve Oppermann Steve Oppermann

Steve Oppermann is a consultant/trainer with GRA and a former long-time Federal HR manager. He writes on a variety of HR, EEO, management/supervision, and employee issues and always welcomes reader comments.

picture of Bob Gilson Bob Gilson

Bob Gilson is a writer, trainer, advisor specializing in labor and employee relations. Bob enjoys opportunities to needle some pompous institutions.

About FedSmith.com

FedSmith.com is your one-stop Federal Government news and resource Web site, providing current news, Thrift Savings Plan rates and information, retirement news, General Schedule pay rate information, readers' discussion blogs, and surveys on news and topics of interest to both current and former federal employees. Read More »