Stay informed with the latest federal human resources news, including updates on federal employee unions, labor relations, collective bargaining, workplace policies, and federal HR guidance. This category covers OPM regulations, pay, leave, and benefits administration, labor‑management disputes, union negotiations, workplace rights, and major **HR policy changes.
In a memo released this week to heads of executive departments and agencies, OPM director John Berry urged agencies to work towards having a more comprehensive telework policy that utilizes OPM’s recently updated inclement weather policy.
The author says that while the Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act are separate laws, they complement each other under certain conditions. He advises managers to be aware of the nuances of each law to properly determine when to apply each law in personnel situations.
The Office of Personnel Management has released guidelines for agencies to use for analyzing and acting on the results from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.
The author notes that some readers who contacted him for clarification on the requirement to have insurance for five years before retirement have apparently been given incorrect information as to whether the time requirement also applies to a spouse. Here is a quick explanation of the time requirement.
The author says that many people don’t consider the possibility of having performance appraisals that actually improve performance. He says that having a system designed to improve performance would be an appraisal system actually worth having instead of being just about the performance rating.
Now that the country has gone through a polarizing election and billions of dollars and untold hours have been spent to determine the will of the American people, what has changed and what will be the impact on the federal government and federal employees?
A major new change is coming to Flexible Spending Accounts in 2013.
An MSPB survey found that 13% of federal employee respondents observed a violent incident in 2010. According to the report, BLS reported a result of 5% relating violent incidents in industry, state and local government asking similar questions. If the survey sample is valid, nearly 300,000 Feds observed violent incidents at work as there are about 2.3 million Federal employees.
The trick to using your annual leave effectively is knowing what the rules are that apply to you. A little advance planning may go a long way in helping plan your use of annual leave and making sure you have enough leave to allow you to do some of the things you want to do away from the office or your job site without taking a cut in pay while you are not working.
The government’s need for people who can be trusted with sensitive information is not abating. The ranks of federal employees and contractors who held a security clearance rose by 3.3 percent in FY 2011 according to a new report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
