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March 29, 2024

Federal Employee Retirement and Benefits News

Tag: federal employees

federal employees

Federal employees are the qualified individuals that serve the federal government. Their services play an important role in the running of the country as well as in the economy and they are compensated well for their efforts via retirement plans and allowances.

MPS Survey to Begin Soon for Federal Employees

The Merit Systems Protection Board has announced that it will be conducting an MPS survey in a few days’ time. The survey would be based on different topics and it would be conducted in stages so that the federal employees do not feel pressured. The MSP Board is seeking help from the agencies for better participation. The survey is not conducted annually but it is a great platform for feds to voice their opinions on crucial matters.

federal employeesFederal Employees Get a Platform to Voice their Opinion

The MPS survey would allow the federal employees to share their views on how fairly they are being treated at work. They would also get a chance to highlight the workplace issues and their thoughts on the issues. The topics on which the employees can share their opinion vary from fair treatment to harassment and from addressing poor performance to non discrimination. It also involves topics like recruitment and retention as well as HR services.

The Survey

The survey would be named the 2016 Merit Principles Survey. It will be conducted in the months of July and August. It would gather the opinion of about 120,000 federal workers. This survey is not done annually. This survey is also sent out in smaller samples. This time, the survey will be sent in three versions. Each of these versions would include different topics. The survey is divided into versions because the Board wants to reduce the demands on federal employees and agencies.

The Difference

The MPS survey is different from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey conducted by the Office of Personnel Management because it focuses more on human resources policies, human resource practices and merit system principles.

Seeking Support

The MSPB had informed the agencies and major unions about the survey beforehand because it wanted them to help in making the survey more successful by increasing the employee participation in it.

The Results

The results of the survey are shared with the Congress, the President and many other federal decision makers. The aim of sharing these results is to ensure that only the effective and merit based human resource policies and practices are being promoted in federal agencies. This survey to help federal employees voice their opinions has been conducted regularly since the year 1983. It is a vital part of the statutory oversight responsibilities that need to be fulfilled by the MSPB.

Trump is Better than Clinton at Combating Terrorism: Federal Employees

A new poll has found out the most federal employees think that Republican Presidential Candidate, Donald Trump would deal better with preventing terrorism on U.S. soil when compared to his opponent, Democratic leader, Hillary Clinton. The poll also found out that feds still preferred Hillary overall and they considered her to be a better change agent.

Federal Employees Wish to Stop Terrorism

federal employeesA majority of federal employees believe that Trump would be better at combating terrorism than Clinton. Trump attained the majority by just a small difference. About 44 percent respondents supported him while 41 percent picked Clinton. Nearly 15 percent said that they were not sure. The survey that revealed these results was done by Government Business Council which is the research arm of Government Executive Media Group. It shared the results of the survey this week only.

The Survey

The poll was sent to some random subscribers of Government Executive from July 12, 2016, to July 18, 2016. About 768 federal employees participated in the poll. Out of these 33 percent were democrats, 30 percent were republicans and 28 percent were independent. These respondents represented over 30 defense and civilian agencies.

Clinton is Still Preferred

Despite a small victory for Trump, Clinton is still leading overall. The survey found out that Clinton was holding a five-point lead over Trump in a match-up of general elections.

The Policies

The respondents also shared their opinion on policies suggested by the presidential candidates to combat terrorism. About three-quarters of feds demonstrated support for Clinton’s ideas of working with the Muslim American Communities. They also favored expanding the scope and number of background checks on the transfer and sale of firearms.

The feds also supported the common policies suggested by the presidential candidates, such as the policies relating to boosting surveillance on individuals who have visited a country that has a strong presence of terrorism and escalating overseas campaign against the ISIS. A majority of federal workers also showed support for the idea of expanding the social media monitoring and hiring more federal border security personnel.

The Change Agent

A majority of federal employees on a government-wide basis think that Clinton would be better at enacting positive changes at the agencies when compared to Trump. About 43 percent of respondents chose Clinton as a better change agent. Just 37 percent of feds think that Trump can be a better change agent.

Report Questions why Full Time Union Federal Employees are Paid with Tax Dollars

A new report has found out that several federal employees who work full time as the union employees are being paid from the taxpayers’ money. Experts believe that the report highlights how much control the federal governments have over the federal agencies. They also believe that the report shows that no one wants to change the status quo as everyone is benefitting from it. Some agencies are working hard to change the status quo so that the taxpayers’ money can be put to better uses.

taxesHow Many Federal Employees are Benefitting

The report was created through the Freedom of Information Act requests. It discovered that about 490 federal employees who work as full-time union employees are getting paid by using the taxpayers’ money. The report was recently published by the Americans for Limited Government Foundation. The vital report also highlighted the departments which had the most number of such employees. The departments of Education, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security and Labor are among them. It also includes employees from the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Money Spent

The report divulged that this practice has cost about $1 billion over the past 20 years and it was paid through the taxpayers’ money. The amount increased further if the money spent by the local and state government was also counted.

Experts Speak

Jared Labell, who is currently serving as the Executive Director of Chicago-based Taxpayers United of America shared his opinion on the report. He stated that the report clearly shows that unions have a lot of influence on the federal agencies and the agencies don’t seem to have any incentive to change. This practice is benefitting the labor unions, the politicians so no one wants to change it.

The Efforts

Labell stated that this issue of paying the federal employees working full time for the union by using the taxpayers’ dollars is highlighted by his organization at the state level so that some reforms can be enacted that lessen the influence of unions on the taxpayer-funded agencies. He said that by emphasizing the issue, his organization hopes to bring changes at the federal levels as well. He also expressed hope that other organizations would join in the effort so that the issue can get maximum exposure and the speed at which the reforms are expected can be expedited.

OPM Creates Strategies to Retain Cyber Security Federal Employees

As OPM and other federal agencies are facing some problems in hiring and retaining federal employees who are experts in cyber security, OPM has created the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Strategy to deal with the problem. The strategy aims to increase the number of cyber security personnel, not only at the government, but also at overall U.S. workforce.

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The Aim of Strategy to Hire Cyber Security Federal employees

OPM Director, Beth Cobert recently announced that the strategy was created to ensure that more federal cyber experts are hired and retained as they can strengthen the security of federal systems, networks, and assets. She also added that cyber security is a shared responsibility of the leadership, employees, private industry, contractors as well as the American people.

OPM has outlined four core strategies to increase the cyber workforce at all levels. The strategies are mentioned below.

Education and Training

The first strategy includes offering a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program and communicating with the universities regarding their resource and teaching needs. This strategy also proposed funds of $62 million to enhance cyber security education.

Better Hiring

OPM is also focused on hiring the best talent by streamlining the existing hiring processes, focusing on diversity outreach and searching for opportunities to build a cyber security team as a part of the  Presidential Management Fellows program.

Retaining the Employees

OPM aims to enhance the retention of cyber talent by creating transparent career paths and developing a government-wide cyber orientation program that promotes sharing of information.

Seeking the Workforce Needs

The cyber security workforce needs of every agency would be identified by making use of the National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework that points out identifies 31 discrete specialty areas within cyber security workforce. The framework was created by National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) partner agencies.

The Success Factors

Cobert also stated that these changes would be implemented over time and the long-term success of these strategies would depend on attention, resources, and innovation from all levels of government. She also added that the initiatives mentioned in the strategy would play a key role in establishing, growing and strengthening a pipeline of cyber security into the future. It is being hoped that this time OPM would succeed in hiring and retaining the best federal employees who specialize in cyber security and have the caliber to protect government from advanced cyber attacks.

Bill Introduced to Hire Federal Employees at Remote Borders

Agencies have been facing a lot of problems in recruiting federal employees near the North Dakota ports. The main reason behind this problem is that it is hard and expensive for a person to get settled in the area. The new bill would give more benefits to the new employees so that the hiring numbers can increase and the employees feel more comfortable with the new surroundings.

2000px-North_Dakota_in_United_States.svgThe Bill to Lure more Federal Employees

The bill aimed at luring more federal employees to work at North Dakota ports was introduced by Heitkamp, D-N.D who is a U.S. Senator. The bill is named the Flexible Hire Act and it would use several federal resources to seek the most vibrant and effective workforce that can support the local communities as well as the business across the U.S. This bill would provide resources to hire workers particularly in those areas which are remote or have unusual economic circumstances.

The Challenges

The workforce challenges in Northern and Bakken borders are severe as workforce shortages are present there. The Customs and Border Protection have been trying hard to fill the shortage but they are not succeeding. The cost of living in North Dakota is too high and competitive wages offered during the oil boom are another problem. Lack of good housing is another problem that needs to be addressed. It is pertinent to add here that understaffed workforce may lead to many security threats for the nation.

The Figures

The vacancy rate at Customs and Border Protection ports across the country is 4.5 percent. This percentage is more than 15 in 28 ports which include six ports from North Dakota itself. The Grand Forks Sector includes 861 miles of international border in Minnesota and North Dakota.

The Support

Heitkamp has got some support for the bill. The President of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd recently agreed with her when he stated that working on a border is rewarding but it can also be very challenging. He added that there is a need for hiring only the best people and retaining them because the nation needs to protect the borders in the dangerous times. He also stated that the Flexible Hire Act of 2016 is a critical part of these efforts.

The Advantages

The bill would help the federal agencies get extra hiring authority and better monetary control which will enable them to hire more federal employees by offering relocation bonuses, recruitment bonuses, retention bonuses and higher rates of pay for certain occupations.

Official Time of Federal Employees to be Tracked and Reported to Congress

Soon, Federal Employees will not be able to waste even a single minute at work by indulging in wasteful activities. A Republican leader has succeeded in passing a bill that asks the OPM to record and report the time spent by the federal employees in the official working hours. OPM is expected to present an annual report of the same to the Congress. The aim of the bill is to ensure that taxpayers’ money is not wasted by federal workers while they are on the clock.

federal governmentThe Bill that Keeps an Eye on Federal Employees

The bill was introduced in January by Dennis Ross who is a Florida Republican. The bill is co-sponsored by Jody Hice, a Georgia Republican. When explaining the need for this bill, Ross pointed out that the bill would allow Congress to be aware of federal employees’ use of working hours so that it can avoid wasteful spending. The bill is entitled H.R. 4392.

The Bill Increases the Responsibility of OPM

Ross added that the bill would require OPM to submit an annual and detailed report to Congress. The report will highlight how the federal employees spend their official time.  It will also mention which activities and purposes are best suited for the official time. The official time was also defined by Ross. He stated that the official time can be used by the federal workers to carry out consultative or representational functions during the official hours. So, the federal workers are allowed to perform union functions during the official time.

The Passing of the Bill

The bill presented by Ross was made a part of the Government Reform and Improvement Act. It passed on party lines vote a few days back. Expressing his delight on the decision, Ross stated that he would like to thank Chairman Chaffetz and Mr. Hice for lending their support on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The bill now needs to be approved by the Senate.

The Need

The need to track federal employees’ during the official hours is very much important because as per OPM data, the federal workers spent around 3.4 million hours conducting union business while they were on duty. This cost about $157 million to the American taxpayers. The data was revealed in the year 2012 in an official report presented by OPM.

Federal Employees to be Reimbursed When They Use a Ride Sharing Service?

Some legislators are seeking to improve and enhance the way the federal employees travel for completing any government work. As per a freshly introduced legislation, it is being requested that the federal workers be reimbursed for every work related journey they take via a ride sharing application. The legislation would ensure that the government offers benefits that are at par with the private sector benefits along with ensuring that people know that the government has adopted all the aspects of the 21st century.

federal governmentThe Act Offering Additional Reimbursement to Federal Employees

The act that is offering an additional reimbursement option to all the federal workers is named as the Government Travel Modernization Act. This bill would allow all the federal workers to use bike and cab sharing services such as Lyft and Uber when they are traveling for any government purpose. This bill was recently introduced by the Congressmen Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Will Hurd (R-TX).

The Benefit

Federal workers would largely benefit from this bill as they would get the liberty to order a ride by using a Smartphone app and save their time. This act would also ensure that the government travel facilities are as per the 21st century. This act would also save the taxpayers’ money as ride sharing is a comparatively cheaper option than hiring a cab for only one person. It is pertinent to add here that the government is currently offering reimbursement on other services such as taxi cabs.

Updated Policies

Rep. Hurd has also stated that the government must pass this act to ensure that it doesn’t remain behind the times by adopting only outdated policies. He added that the government that rewards only outdated technology often ends up paying more than it should for even the basic services.

Hurd is also the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on IT. He is well-known for being an advocate of embracing new technologies and modernizing the federal IT system.

Innovation and Competition

Hurd also reiterated the fact that if the new reimbursement method offered to federal employees is accepted, it will ensure that the government catches up with the private sector that has been offering such reimbursements for a long time. It would also ensure that the overall image of the federal government seems to be more responsive and innovative at the same time.

Report Reveals Most Satisfied SES Federal Employees

A recent report has tried to find out that the SES federal employees are happy in which agencies and which of the agencies offer the least satisfaction. The report also digs up the reasons why SES employees leave their jobs. The report highlighted the need for hiring more SES employees as a huge chunk of them would retire in the next few years.

federal employeesSatisfied and Dissatisfied SES Federal Employees

The report was offered by McKinsey & Co. consulting firm and the Partnership for Public Service. It listed the agencies where the SES federal employees have the best and worst satisfaction levels. The highest level of satisfaction was present in NASA, OPM, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Labor. The maximum numbers of dissatisfied SES employees were present in the Defense Department, Social Security Administration, and the VA.

The Reasons for Leaving the Jobs

The report also found out the main reasons why the SES employees quit their jobs. The biggest reasons were organizational culture, political environment, and senior leadership. It is pertinent to add here that salaries or dissatisfaction with the current pay structure was further down on the list.

Boosting Morale

One of the respondents pointed out that recognition and culture were key aspects to boost employee morale. The respondent highlighted the fact that President Obama’s meeting with SES employees that was held in November 2014 was a huge plus. The respondent meant that it motivated the SES employees a lot.

SES in Jeopardy

The report also pointed out the sad fact that the SES is currently in jeopardy as most of the SES members would be retiring in the next 10 years. The report also mentioned that just around half of federal employees who have GS 14 and 15 ranks have expressed interest in filling up the SES ranks that are soon to be vacant. Hence, there is a need to fill up a lot of empty SES posts in the near future.

The Corrective Measures

The report was not only focused on finding out the problems, it also offered solutions. It demonstrated that how agencies are doing well in culture, performance management, and recruitment. It pointed out which agencies were lacking in these areas and how they can improve their performance so that the overall health of the SES and satisfaction of federal employees can be improved government-wide.

OPM Getting Better at Clearing Retirement benefits Backlog

OPM’s struggle to keep pace with the retirement benefits applications of the retirees has been a much discussed issue. We updated you last on the same in April. It’s time for another update. In the month of June, the agency received fewer applications and so the agency succeeded in processing more applications than it received for the month.

Retirement BenefitsJune’s Data on Processing Retirement Benefits

OPM got about 6,000 new retirement benefits claims in the month of June. It is about 18 percent lower than the claims received in the months of May. The number of new applications is also sixth lowest since October of 2014. In June, the agency processed just over 6,400 claims. It shows that the agency processed more claims than it actually received. The number of claims processed in the month of June is around 16 percent less than the claims processed in May. The number of claims processed is also the third lowest amount processed by the agency in the last 21 months.

The Total Backlog

The total backlog of the claims now stands at just over 13,500. It is a bit less than around 14,000 outstanding backlog of May 2016. In the report presented in May, the OPM added the steady state line at exactly 13,000 claims but the agency has clearly failed to reach this line. It has just been able to reach half of the goal.

Getting Better

Despite the hiccups, it is clearly visible that the agency is getting good at handling the claims and it seems that it has finally gotten a handle on the inventory backlog of claims. This inventory was out of control in the month of January. The reason behind the sudden escalation in the inventory was the fact that most federal employees file for a retirement in January only.

The 60 Days Factor

OPM data has also revealed that it processed 75 percent of claims in less than 60 or exactly 60 days in June. It has not changed since the month of May. The agency took an average of 37 days to process the claims that were processed in less than 60 days. The average has also remained unchanged. The retirement benefits claims that took more than 60 days to process were 103 in May and it stands at 115 in June.

Federal Employees Receive Huge Extra Bonuses

A Senator is seeking more information on the matter of some bonuses given to a federal employee via smurfing. The Senator is against the provision of offering extra bonuses to the federal employees as it violates the law. The Senator took up this matter with the OPM and wants to know whether any other government agencies are paying extra bonuses to the employees.

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Image Credits

Are Federal Employees Being Paid Extra Bonuses?

The incident of offering extra bonuses to federal employees came into light when Senator Claire McCaskill sought information from the OPM and asked why a TSA employee was paid extra bonuses that exceed the amount the employee was entitled to receive as per the law. The information was sought via a formal letter.

The Incident

The letter was written by Senator McCaskill when she learned about the reports that state that extra bonuses were paid to the former head of security for TSA, Kelly Hoggan. The bonuses were paid by using a special technique known as “smurfing” in which the particular financial transactions are broken into something below the reporting requirement so that they can be masked. It is pertinent to add here that Hoggan received the extra bonuses when the news of security problems and delays at TSA were spreading like fire.

The Money and the Discrepancy

The letter written by Senator McCaskill to OPM Acting Director clearly mentions that Hoggan received $90,000 in bonus payments in 13 months. She mentioned that this incident is a clear violation. She also added that as per the federal law, the SES bonuses must not exceed the 20% of an employee’s base salary and they must be paid in a lump sum. If the 20% base salary factor is considered in this incident then Hoggan’s salary would have had to be more than $450,000 per year.

No Excess Bonuses

Senator McCaskill also opined that the federal employees must not be receiving bonuses in a clandestine manner and the amount of the bonuses must never exceed the 20% cap that is mentioned in the law. She also expressed concerns over the fact that other agencies might be doing the same thing that the TSA did with Hoggan. Hence, she has requested OPM to provide details on the number of federal workers that received bonuses that are over the 20% amount or the ones that are more than 10% of an agency’s base pay for senior executives.

Federal Employees’ Representatives Push for a High Pay Raise

Federal employees‘ Representatives are asking for a higher pay raise for the federal workers. They want a higher raise than what President Obama proposed. They argue that the private sector employees are getting way better pay raises while the federal workers are underpaid. They want the pay raise to help boost the declining standard of living of the federal employees.

federal employeesThe Demands of Federal Employees’ Representatives

The higher pay raise is demanded by The Federal-Postal Coalition which is a collection of over 20 unions and associations. This Coalition represents employees across government. It sent a letter to the lawmakers a few days back wherein the lawmakers were implored to support a measure that would increase the pay of a federal employee 5.3 percent in 2017. It is pertinent to add here that President Obama proposed a 1.6 percent raise for the federal workers and it was the largest in six years.

The Delay

The measure was to get the votes on the House floor a few days back but a sit-in by Democrats caused it to be delayed. The Republicans have adjourned the chamber till the fourth of July, after which, it is being assumed that the bill will be debated. For people who aren’t aware why the democrats caused a sit-in, it should be mentioned that they were protesting against the lack of a vote on the gun safety bills.

The Act

The Federal-Postal Coalition is requesting the lawmakers to accept 2016 Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act. This act has a proposal to give federal workers a 5.3 percent raise. The Coalition has stated that the private sector salaries have jumped 11.3 percent over the past six years and the federal employee wages just grew 3.3 percent. They also added that the cost of living increased 9.2 percent over the past six years so several feds have been dealing with declining quality of life.

The Appeal

In the letter, the Coalition has appealed that every federal worker, be it a teacher or an engineer is underpaid. It should not be the case. The government needs to hire the best and brightest federal employees and for that offering a good pay is imperative. The letter also stated that the quality of life of feds and their families have declined. To stop that, they need a catch-up raise that reflects the market rates.

Federal Employees to be Trained by OSHA

OSHA is about to initiate a training on making the workplaces safe and healthful. The training will include federal employees and federal contractors. It may even be attended by private sector attendees. The federal employees can attend this training for free. The training will be held to ensure that OSHA is fulfilling its duty of offering education, training and assistance to federal workers.

federal employeesDetails of the Training Held for Federal Employees

OSHA is preparing to organize the training event for 3 days in August. The event will be held at Illinois on second to fourth August 2016. The aim of this particular event would be to educate the safety and health personnel of the federal agencies to get knowledge on how they can provide healthful and safe workplaces to all the federal workers.

Main Topics

The main topics of the training would include construction safety, fire protection, and fall protection. It would also cover details of forklift and material handling as well as industrial hygiene sampling methods.

The Collaboration and Location Details

The training is not just organized by OSHA Training Institute alone. It will be organized by the institute in collaboration with the agency’s Office of Federal Agency Programs. The location of the training would be the training institute that is situated at 2020 South Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL.

How to Attend?

Any person or persons who are interested in becoming a part of this useful training must register their names by July 20, 2016. For any other queries, the OTI Student Services can be contacted by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Fee Details

The training is absolutely free for all the federal workers but the federal contractors and private sector attendees will have to pay a tuition fee. The fee will be collected in accordance with the  Department of Labor regulations.

OSHA Responsibilities

It is pertinent to mention here that OSHA provides education and training on occupational health and safety to not only federal employees but also to other personnel. The list includes state consultants, state compliance officers, other federal agency workers and even some private sector personnel. To know more about the eligibility for the program, the official web page of OSHA’s Directorate of Training and Education must be visited.

The responsibilities of the OSHA’s Office of Federal Agency Programs’ include coordinating OSHA inspections and coordinating OSHA investigations of safety and health complaints. These tasks are done from time to time to ensure that all federal employees are getting safe work environments.

Veterans to Get Training to become Federal Employees

Elizabeth City State University is organizing a workshop for veterans that will let them know how they can grab federal jobs and become federal employees. The workshop will benefit all the people related to veterans. OPM is also involved in the workshop as it will teach employees the process of federal employment. The workshop will be conducted soon and the registration process is very easy. The workshop is also free of cost.

veterans affairs federal employeesVeterans Can Learn the Process of Being Federal Employees

The workshop will be organized at the Elizabeth City State University this Wednesday and Thursday. The workshop is free for everyone and anyone can attend it. The people who are eligible for attending the crucial workshop are veterans, student veterans, transitioning military service members and their families. The Veteran Center of the university is working in conjunction with Office of Personnel Management and Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City to organize this vital workshop.

The Aim

The aim of the workshop is to teach the participants how veterans can become federal employees. The details about the steps required to be a federal employee would be shared. The workshop would also include details such as how to create a resume for federal jobs. Experts representing Office of Personnel Management will teach the federal employment process to all the participants of the workshop.

The Helping Hands

Apart from the university members and the Office of Personnel Management, several agencies are also helping in organizing the workshop. The names include N.C. Dept. of Commerce Division of Workforce Solutions, Disabled American Veterans Transition Service and the N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs.

Vital Details

The workshop would begin at on June 22 at 9 a.m. and would last till 2 p.m. The same timing would be applicable on June 23. The venue of the workshop would be the Information Technology Center on the ECSU campus.

Registration Details

Veterans who are keenly interested in becoming federal employees must sign up for the workshop by completing a simple registration process. To register, one needs to visit this link- www.eventbrite.com/e/federal-employment-workshop-tickets-25386648148. For people who need any more information about the workshop, it’s timings or any other details the number 252-335-3253 is a direct way to get all the answers. One can also learn about the veteran center of the Elizabeth City State University by calling on the mentioned number.

Federal Employees Get Another Source of Discounted Tuitions

It seems that OPM is very serious about developing the skill levels of federal employees and closing the skill gap spread over the country. A few days back, we reported that OPM had partnered with Excelsior College to offer discounted-tuitions to federal employees and their families. Now, the agency has partnered with the Central Michigan University to offer discounted tuitions.

OPM Federal employeesFederal Employees Get a Discount at CMU

The partnership terms that offer federal employees to get a discount state that about 15 percent discount is made available to all the federal government workers and the federal agencies’ departments. The discounts cover all the dependents and the spouses of federal workers.

The Limitation

A major limitation with regard to this benefit is that the discount is available only on the online courses and not the main campus in Mount Pleasant. The courses available on the CMU’s 45 satellite locations would be included in the discounted courses. The discount would also be applicable on all of CMU’s 30 online academic programs These details were made public through a press release created by CMU.

The Benefit

When a federal employee, a dependent or spouse opts for a standard undergraduate credit hour via the Global Campus, he or she will have to shell out just about $336. If the discounts are removed, the actual cost of the hour is $395. It must be added here that Global Campus hosts CMU’s online classes.

CMU Reaction

Pete Ross, who currently serves as the CMU Vice Provost of Academic Development expressed delight at the prospect of partnering with OPM. He said that the CMU is proud of this partnership and that they would be happy to help 1.8 million federal employees to grow personally and intellectually via the programs.

OPM’s Reaction

The Acting Director of OPM, Beth Cobert also expressed her views on the partnership. She stated that the agreement done by the government with CMU would play a key role in ensuring that the federal workers get access to higher education and further their careers. She also added that it is being hoped that this step would close the skill gaps within the federal government.

Cobert also highlighted the core fields in which the skill gap is increasing. She said that the areas in which the federal employees lack proper skills are human resources, acquisitions, cyber security, management and engineering.

Does the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Have a Downside? by Nelson Secretario

Nelson Secretario investigates the potential downsides of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)

fers - nelson secretario

If you’re a federal employee who is enrolled in FERS (the Federal Employees’ Retirement System), then you are probably well aware of the many benefits that this program has to offer as far as saving for the future.

For example, as soon as you have reached your minimum retirement age – which ranges between 55 and 57, this program allows you to retire using an immediate, unreduced annuity if you have put in 30 years of service. In some cases, an employee may even be able to retire at a younger age, provided that they have had either 20 or 25 years of service.

However, while working for the government may allow you to leave the world of employment at a younger age than many other professions can, there can also be some drawbacks to relying solely on the FERS program as your only source of retirement income. Some of these can include:

  • Cost-of-Living Adjustments – If you do happen to retire prior to age 62, you won’t be able to receive a cost-of-living adjustment on your annuity (unless you are a disabled retiree or a survivor annuitant). Therefore, you could essentially go for several years receiving the same amount of income, while the prices of goods and services that you’re paying for continue to go up. And, if you are receiving a special retirement supplement (SRS), the funds from this source do not ever receive a cost-of-living adjustment.
  • Possible Benefit Reduction – You may also be subject to having your benefit amount reduced, based upon when you actually retire. For instance, the MRA+10 (Minimum Retirement Age) program that is a part of FERS, can allow you to retire at any age, as long as you have at least ten years of service. However, if you do end up retiring early, the amount of your annuity will be reduced by 5% for each year that you are under age 62. So, depending on just how early you leave the workforce, you could see a significant reduction in your retirement income amount.

With this in mind, it can be a good idea to have other retirement income sources available to you that can be used to supplement your FERS benefits. That way, you will be able to both fill in the “gaps” that are left between your income from your FERS retirement income and your living expenses, and you can also provide yourself with a way to compensate for the increased income that you will need in the future.

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Federal Employees Can Be Punished If They Refuse to Break Law

The U.S. Court of Appeals has recently sided with the State Department and ruled that federal employees can be punished if they refuse to follow an order that violates any federal law. A federal employee filed a lawsuit when the department gave him a poor performance review because he refused to do a job that violates the law.

federal employeesSetting of a New Precedent for Federal Employees

A federal court thinks that the State Department was right to punish a federal employee for refusing to do a rule breaking assignment. This judgment sets a new precedent for federal employees who believed that The Whistleblower Protection Act would protect them.

The Lawsuit

It all began when Timothy Rainey was asked by a supervisor to coerce a contractor to rehire a fired sub-contractor. Timothy refused to do the task as it violates a provision mentioned in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. As a result of the refusal, Rainey received a poor performance review. He was also forced to let go of some of his responsibilities as a contracting officer. They argued that he failed to comply with a directive.

Rainey was enraged by these circumstances and filed a complaint. The Merit Systems Protection Board sided with the state and Rainey didn’t get justice. The U.S. Court of Appeals also upheld the ruling of The Merit Systems Protection Board in the Rainey v. State case and ruled that the State was allowed to take those actions as the rules and regulations do not qualify as the federal statute.

The Protection

Federal employees who are facing the same problems like Rainey believed that they were protected by The Whistleblower Protection Act as this act protects a federal employee from retaliation if the employee refuses to obey an order that would make it mandatory for the individual to violate a law.

The Loophole

The loophole in The Whistleblower Protection Act came to the surface when the MSPB ruled and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that the right to disobey provision applies only when an employee is asked to specifically violate a federal law. It was also ruled that this was not the situation in the Rainey v. State case as Rainey was not specifically asked by any supervisor to break a specific law.

In other words, federal employees cannot refuse an order that breaks the law until their supervisor asks them to break a specific law.

Agencies Reminded to Offer AWS to Federal Employees

OPM has reminded the agencies to offer alternative work schedules for the federal employees. This step is taken to make sure that the Metro’s 10-month SafeTrack plan doesn’t affect the work progress at the agencies as the employees face commuting difficulties. The agencies were given full freedom to adopt the AWS they liked but most of the agencies have not offered any AWS to the employees.

The Directive Shared by OPM to Help Federal employeesfederal employees

Metro’s 10-month SafeTrack plan has started affecting the federal employees. OPM has reminded the agencies of the AWS system that was earlier shared in the form of a directive. On June 8, 2016, OPM sent out a memo to the agencies in which the varieties of AWS were mentioned in detail. OPM didn’t directly order the agencies to implement AWS but ensured that the agencies knew how it can be done.

The details regarding AWS such as what are the types of AWS, how it functions and different factors that needed to be considered such as premium and holiday pay were mentioned. OPM also made it clear that it is not issuing blanket decisions and that the onus is entirely on agencies.

Unique Solutions

OPM memo mentioned that the one size fits all approach would not be useful in this regard as the agencies need to decide about which AWS schedules they are adopting. The agencies are free to not adopt any AWS plan if the SafeTrack project doesn’t impact the agency mission and employees.

The Survey

The impact of SafeTrack project on federal employees was gauged via a survey conducted by Federal News Radio. The survey was carried out for three days during the first week of SafeTrack plan. It found out that almost all the feds were feeling the impact. About 85 percent of respondents said that they saw an increase in commute times.

About 50 percent of respondents admitted that their commutes had increased by more than half an hour. Around 13 percent of the respondents stated that they were spending more than an hour longer than usual during commuting.

Minimal AWS Offered

More than half of the federal employees who were surveyed admitted that their agencies have given no other option than their existing standard work schedules. About 38 percent respondents admitted that they got the option of Telework. Just 14 percent respondents stated that their agencies were offering alternate work schedules.

More Protection for Federal Employees who got their Data Hacked

opm cyber securityThe federal employees who became the victim of the massive data breach at OPM last year may get extra protection and benefits from the OPM. The OPM has refused to comment on the situation but employee unions are demanding better protection. The issue can be a hot topic now that the 18 months of protection offered is to expire soon.

How Were the Federal Employees Victimized?

The data breach had exposed the data of more than 21.5 million people. The hackers have penetrated the OPM website and the website of its related outsourcing contractors to get access to the data of all the current and former federal employees whose data was collected as a part of the background investigations done at OPM.

The Changes

As of now the people who got the impact of the data breach are eligible for 3 years of credit monitoring services and identity theft protection as well as up to $1 million in identity theft protection. The head of the company currently providing those services has hinted that the protection period may be expanded to 10 years and the protection amount to $5 million. It is pertinent to add that the expansion of the protection was directed by Congress last year.

The Vulnerability

Bob Gregg who currently serves as the CEO of ID Experts has stated that this better package might not be enough and may still leave people vulnerable. The company, ID Experts got a $330 million contract from OPM after the announcement of the massive breach. He added that using the data exposed in the hack to receive medical benefits is a fraudulent activity is growing popular day by day and the OPM has informally considered the idea to include protection against this fraud in the expansion of the protection.

The Appeal

While the OPM spokesperson declined to comment on the assumptions of expanding the protection, lawmakers and employee unions want better protection. The federal employee unions have asked for extended services and the lawmakers want the hack victims to get lifetime protections.

The Anticipation

Gregg has stated that the matter of protection would heat up soon enough as the 18 months of protection that was given to the original population of 4.2 million hack victims  is about to expire. It is being predicted that all the hack victims, i.e., the federal employees would surely speak up for attaining better protection in the future as well.

Federal Employees in Major Departments Greatly Favor Democratic Nominees

A recent data shared by Fedsmith.com has revealed that some federal employees belonging to specific departments have shelled out more money to Democrats when compared to the money shelled out for Republicans. The data was compiled just for the 2016 election cycle. The money donated for campaign contributions of the democrats is about 10 times more than the money donated to Republicans in some cases.

federal employeesFederal Employees of which Departments have Contributed the Most?

If the data shared by Fedsmith.com is to be believed, the federal employees working in 4 different government departments have contributed 10 times more towards the campaign contributions of the Democrats when compared to the campaign contributions of the Republicans. These 4 departments are Department of State, Department of Treasury, Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Department of Treasury Donations

The contribution made by the Department of Treasury towards the campaign contributions of the democrats was about $170,897. It was just $1,925 to Republicans, states the Center for Responsive Politics data accumulated by FedSmith. The contributions were made in the years 2015 and 2016.

Preferred Presidential Candidate

It must be added here that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont received just $7,727 in his campaigns for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. On the other hand, the Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got more than 3 times of the amount by getting $26,587 for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

Donations by Department

FedSmith has also revealed the amount of money spent by different departments towards supporting the Democrats. The employees working for the Department of State have spent just $24,241 to offer as a donation to the Republicans but for the Democrats, this figure rose to $299,224

The employees of The Health and Human Services have donated about $139,483 to support Democrats while spending just $12,319 to support Republican candidates. Finally, the employees of Department of Justice have spent $137,603 as a donation to the Democrats. They just offered $14,939 as donations to the Republicans.

Conclusion

After studying the data presented by FedSmith, it is clear that most federal employees want the Democrats to win the next presidential elections. The only support received by the Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is the support he got from the National Border Patrol Council. He seems to be aware of the hard facts because he recently stated that he’s got their back.

Calculating the FERS Supplement by Paul Kalra

A Lesson on Calculating the FERS Supplement by Paul Kalra

FERS Paul Kalra

There are many FERS annuitants who are able to retire prior to the age of 62, and who are eligible for the SRS (Special Retirement Supplement). You can meet such requirements if you have retired:

  • Following the MRA (Minimum Retirement Age) after putting in at least 30 years of service;
  • At age 60 with at least 20 years of service; or
  • Upon either an early voluntary or an involuntary retirement at age 50 after having 20 or more years of service, or at any age after at least 25 years of service, when it has been determined that your agency is undergoing a major reorganization, a RIF (reduction in force) or a transfer of function. (In this situation, you will not receive the SRS until you have reached your Minimum Retirement Age).

As Social Security retirement benefits cannot be received until you reach at least the age of 62, the Special Retirement Supplement can help you with bridging your income until the time that these benefits are paid out.

In order to determine roughly how much you will receive from your SRS, you should first obtain an estimate of benefits from the Social Security Administration. Each year, Social Security provides a statement of estimated benefits, so you will be able to easily find the dollar amount of estimated benefits that you are likely to be receiving at age 62.

Next, take this dollar amount and multiply it by your years of FERS service (rounded off to the nearest whole number). Once you have done so, divide this figure by 40. This will provide you with the approximate amount of FERS supplement that you should receive.

As an example, if the amount of Social Security benefit that you are estimated to receive at age 62 is $5,000 and you have put in 30 years of FERS service, then the calculation will be as follows:

$5,000 X 30 / 40 = $4,500

In running this calculation, your estimated FERS Supplement benefit would be approximately $4,500 per month. It is important to note, however, that certain situations such as obtaining outside employment following retirement could have an impact on the amount of benefit that you ultimately receive.

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