'...National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon said in a statement that the Employment Cost Index shows growth in private industry wages of 10.4 percent on average over the last five years, compared to an overall increase of 5.4 percent for federal workers in the same period....'
'...Agencies also can offer incentives to entice employees to leave, creating vacancies. One way is to allow employees to retire before they are eligible. With OPM’s permission, agencies facing job cuts can allow employees to retire at any age with at least 25 years of service, or at age 50 or above with at least 20 years tenure, subject to a reduction in the annuity in some cases. The other incentive is a buyout. Agencies can offer those with OPM’s permission to reorganize, although most agencies would need authority from Congress to offer them for downsizing. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has asked his staff to review whether voluntary buyouts across the government would be a better way to shrink the workforce because they provide incentives for retirement-eligible and other...'
'...At this point in fiscal 2017, OPM has processed 56 percent of its claims in 60 days or less. compared to 80 percent in February 2016. Of those claims processed within that 60-day window, it took OPM an average of 38 days to process. Claims beyond that window took an average of 104 days to process...'
'...The investigation is looking into how the documents came into WikiLeaks' possession and whether they might have been leaked by an employee or contractor. The CIA is also trying to determine if there are other unpublished documents WikiLeaks may have...'
