Federal News Network

"I want to ensure that we are using our in-person time to meaningfully facilitate the kind of collaboration, innovation and team building required to unleash the full power of the department"—Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in email to employees, obtained by @FederalNewsNet (2/2)

Well, this seems to be the week of agency return-to-office announcements: The Labor Department sent an email to staff today announcing at least 5 days per pay period in the office for SES members, SL employees, Schedule C employees, managers & supervisors, starting Oct. 22. (1/2)

When it rains, it pours: The Education Department has announced senior executives, managers and supervisors will return to the office at least 4 days per pay period this fall. In-office schedule for bargaining unit employees is TBD until negotiations are complete. @FederalNewsNet

"We’ll continue to make decisions about telework eligibility based on individual positions and circumstances ... Most full-time employees will physically be in the office 3-4 times per week." -- Secretary Antony Blinken in an email to employees, obtained by @FederalNewsNet (2/2)

NEWS: The State Department has become one of the latest agencies to announce return-to-office plans for its employees. (1/2)

Today is the deadline for President Biden to submit an alternative pay plan to Congress for a 2024 federal pay raise — @FederalNewsNet will have the details, so stay tuned!

Several thousand Postal Service rural carriers have expressed an interest in leaving their union, after most of them saw pay cuts under a new pay system. federalnewsnetwork.com/unions/2023/08…

CISA reports that its first ever cybersecurity shared services offering is off to a hot start. federalnewsnetwork.com/cybersecurity/…

Federal agencies and their watchdogs are still getting to the bottom of the total amount of fraud across more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 emergency spending, but the Labor Department is uncovering a major source of those misspent funds. federalnewsnetwork.com/big-data/2023/…

A federal union’s calls for collective bargaining over diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) at the Environmental Protection Agency are getting support in Congress. federalnewsnetwork.com/unions/2023/08…

There’s never enough time to fix everything. The initiative needs more time to bake. The law, policy or regulation will take time to implement and show results. When it comes to cybersecurity, time isn’t on our side. federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-note…

But as part of a concerted effort to improve user experience, the service has shown it’s possible to cut those maddening daily waits to only about 30 seconds. federalnewsnetwork.com/on-dod/2023/08…

If a new House bill ends up becoming law, federal contractors would have to adopt policies for accepting vulnerability information from security researchers as well. federalnewsnetwork.com/cybersecurity/…

LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as single individuals, enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program have “unnecessary barriers and costs” to accessing the program’s full range of health benefits, a group of House Democrats has said. federalnewsnetwork.com/benefits/2023/…

The report, released Monday by the Defense Management Institute, a DoD-affiliated nonprofit think tank, found the position lacked well-defined boundaries and never got the full support of senior leadership. federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2…

The National Security Agency and other intelligence components across the Defense Department can now offer higher pay for cyber and other technical roles under a new system quietly approved earlier this year. federalnewsnetwork.com/pay/2023/08/pe…

Like many agencies, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is more aware of their enterprise risks than ever before. federalnewsnetwork.com/tsp/2023/08/ho…

With many agencies’ return-to-office plans taking effect as early as next month, the Office of Personnel Management is making a few clarifications on when hours traveling to and from the office count as hours worked in a day for federal employees. federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2023…

The speed of software innovation in industry has the Defense Department struggling to keep its policies on pace with what the commercial sector can provide. federalnewsnetwork.com/army/2023/08/a…

Several thousand Postal Service rural carriers say they’re in favor of decertifying their union, after USPS implemented a new pay system that led to significant pay cuts for two-thirds of the rural carrier workforce. federalnewsnetwork.com/unions/2023/08…