GovExec

The American Federation of Government Employees Council 216 has filed an unfair labor practice complaint, alleging the agency bypassed ongoing negotiations over the return to traditional work sites and engaging in “surface-level” bargaining.

Department argues the changes would increase flexibility, efficiency and enforcement, but attorneys for contractors say the revisions would hurt transparency.

A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.

In its legislation to keep the government open until Sept. 30, Congress has instructed federal agencies to report back on human capital issues and the future of work.

The civil rights agency originally planned to bring bargaining unit employees back in February, but union officials said management did not properly consult them.

Workers who filed complaints faced retaliation and rarely got a favorable result from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

This is the first attempted use of the act during the Biden administration.

Lawmakers are pushing to bolster diversity efforts at national security agencies, require greater transparency ahead of agency relocation efforts, and reauthorize the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The agency tasked with investigating employment discrimination said it is considering “next steps” after a planned rule ending union officials’ guaranteed access to official time to work on complaints was withdrawn following President Biden’s inauguration.

Agencies reportedly are waiting for guidance from their legal teams and OPM before taking action to repeal restrictions on collective bargaining, official time and other elements of the Trump administration’s workforce policies.

With the Biden team focused on issues like COVID response and immigration reform, significant action to rescind the Trump administration’s harmful federal workforce policies could take a back seat.

The vast majority of U.S. workers are deemed “at will” which means they can be fired at any time, without notice, and for any reason.

Whistleblower rights supersede speech restrictions, and any gag orders that neglect to spell that out are illegal.

Dr. Donald F. Kettl joins the podcast to look retrospectively at the past four years and how they’ve shaped the management of the civil service.

A government watchdog agency last week announced that the gender pay gap in the federal government has improved significantly over the last two decades, but warned that agencies must improve their data collection to continue to make progress.