D.C. Circuit Kicks FLRA to the Curb in the Battle of the Counsels General
In a case Fedsmith has been covering since 2007, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s efforts to impose its will on the National Labor Relations Board. In what some might call a slam dunk, the court decided the FLRA once again misinterpreted another Agency’s enabling legislation.
Posted: July 29, 2010 2:11 PM | Full Story
- NLRB Guilty of an Unfair Labor Practice Says FLRA
- NLRB v. FLRA: Round Two Coming Up
- The Office of Government Ethics and the FLRA: How One Agency Got Another to Do the Right Thing
From Military Service, to Federal Service and Into Retirement
It is possible for military retirees to combine their civilian and military careers so that all their service then can be used to compute their civilian retirement benefit. This requires the retiree to make a military service credit deposit and the retiree must waive his or her military retirement benefit upon retirement from civilian service.
Posted: July 30, 2010 6:39 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
- Going Back to Work for Uncle Sam
- Military Reserve Service and CSRS Retirement Calculations
- Should You Make a Military Deposit?
Favorable Image for Government Employees in Films
New research shows that 60 percent of movies portraying government depicted government systems negatively. Individual employees generally were portrayed positively and often were portrayed as attractive, knowledgeable, well-trained and efficient.
Posted: July 30, 2010 7:37 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
Former Arlington Cemetery Chief Grilled in Congress
The former head of the Arlington National Cemetery who ran the organization for 19 years said before a Senate committee he accepted "full responsibility" for the problems and expressed "sincere regrets to any family for whom these failures may have caused pain." He also complained about inadequate funding and not having sufficient staff members.
Posted: July 30, 2010 7:09 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
Army Suicide Rate Tied to Stress at Home and in War Zones
A 15-month-study on the rise in Army suicides over the last two years found 160 suicides among active-duty personnel, 1,713 suicide attempts and 146 deaths from high-risk behavior, such as drug abuse in the past fiscal year. The sharp increase is likely due to an increase in a range of stresses on soldiers both at home and in war zones according to a top Army official.
Posted: July 30, 2010 7:26 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
Sherrod to Sue Breitbart
Shirley Sherrod, the USDA employee whose dismissal by the Obama administration sparked a national uproar, said she will sue Andrew Breitbart for posting the video excerpt that led to her removal. Some analysts think it will be a hard case to win and that the publicity will benefit the Breitbart site.
Posted: July 30, 2010 7:02 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
One Year in Prison for AFGE Local President
The former president of Local 2250 of AFGE has been sentenced in U.S. District Court to a year and one day in prison to be followed by 24 months of supervised release for thefts from the union, which represents employees of the Muskogee, Oklahoma VA Medical Center. He also will have to pay $33,986.39 in restitution.
Posted: July 30, 2010 6:49 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
Rangel Cuts a Deal But May Be Too Late to Avoid a Trial
A deal was struck with Rep. Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) but it may be too late. Republicans on the House Committee say it is too late. "Mr. Rangel was given multiple opportunities to settle this matter. Instead, he chose to move forward to the public trial phase," said the senior Republican on the ethics panel.
Posted: July 29, 2010 2:26 PM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
NASA Shows Most Accurate Martian Map Ever Available
A camera aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has helped develop the most accurate global Martian map ever. Researchers and the public can access the map via several websites and explore and survey the entire surface of the Red Planet.
Posted: July 30, 2010 7:18 AM | Full Story | Discuss this Story
Federal Hiring Reform: It Didn't Work Before But Let's Try it Again
History has a way of repeating itself, even in reforming the federal hiring process. OPM is about to cancel the central hiring registry it started earlier this year. Is this the same system that OPM canceled in 1994 because it was not working?
Posted: July 29, 2010 8:53 AM | Full Story
- Change in Government: Barack Obama's Letters to AFGE President John Gage
- Change in Government: Barack Obama's Letters to AFGE President John Gage: Part 2
- Federal Human Resources and Civil Service Reform
- Mr. Berry, Meet Mr. Luevano
- Reforming the "20th-Century Bureaucracy" Under a President Obama
- Who Is John Berry and What Are His "Bold Ideas" for the Federal Workforce?



