'...In a letter to House and Senate leaders, the president reiterated his support for ending the pay freeze with a 0.5 percent raise, to take effect Jan. 1, 2013, that he proposed early this year....'
'...Several pieces of legislation of importance to federal employees crossed the congressional finish line late last week while some others reached the halfway mark, including one calling for the firing of those far behind in paying their federal taxes....'
'...Just a few miles from the gated estates of corporate chieftains and Hollywood stars, Ms. Keany lives in a tiny mobile home, barely getting by on little more than $1,082 a month from Social Security....'
'...The agency that hears challenges to disciplinary actions, whistle-blower retaliation complaints and appeals of many other job decisions affecting federal employees is planning to overhaul many of its policies. Proposed rules that the Merit Systems Protection Board published Thursday in the Federal Register would...'
'...A little more than half of all Senior Executive Service members are satisfied with their pay levels, a significant drop from 2008 numbers, according to the Office of Personnel Management’s latest SES survey....'
'...A cyber attack has potentially stolen the personal information of as many as 123,000 government employee Thrift Savings Plan participants, according to Reston-based Serco Inc., which supports the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board....'
'...Federal agencies are leading the way in telecommuting, according to the Alexandria, Va.-based Telework Exchange’s (TE) report...'
'...after years of paying income taxes on your “contributions” you are ready to retire and collect the benefits—only to find out that they may be taxable! It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Well, here’s how...'
'...pay an additional 5 percent of salary for retirement benefits, with no increase in those benefits in new bill. “After this goes into effect, they will in fact not have as much take-home as they did the day before,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) acknowledged on the House floor....'
'...Items Concealed in VCR: A checked bag at Newark (EWR) appeared to contain a VCR that had been tampered with. After TSA’s Explosive Detection Team cleared the bag to be searched, it was determined that the contents inside of the unit was a VHS tape along with 23 smartphones each individually wrapped in aluminum foil and taped to the unit. ...'
'...money toward incentives for about 100,000 employees to retire in the near future. Some interested parties blame much of the Postal Service’s financial problems on a law that has required the USPS to pay for several decades worth of future retirement benefits over the course of a few years....'
'...threatening a federal shutdown. And a payroll tax cut, extra unemployment benefits and a host of temporary tax breaks for businesses will all be about to expire. "You've got a budget just about to blow up. There's never been anything like this," Bixby said ...'
'...the impending closure of 223 mail-processing facilities and post offices could be detrimental to broad segments of the country, including small-businesses owners and people who rely on mail deliveries of medication. ...'
'...NASA reported that it was the target of 47 sophisticated cyberattacks - the report calls them "advanced persistent threats" - in 2011. Thirteen of those 47 attacks successfully compromised NASA computers....'
'...the bill is a GOP attack on federal workers, and said Congress needs to balance any proposed cuts to the government...'
'...Federal employees would pay more toward their pensions and new employees would receive less generous retirement benefits under a House Republican plan to pay for highway programs....'
'...In exchange for Republicans dropping the NMB rule recission, Democrats have agreed to include a provision that would raise the threshold for rail and aviation workers expressing interest in forming a union from 35 percent to 50 percent. This would mark the first time that an FAA reauthorization included any NMB changes, which is likely to make organized labor uncomfortable....'
'...The radiation exposure of 16 workers at a nuclear research lab in I, daho stemmed from a failure to properly assess the risks posed by the handling of decades-old plutonium fuel cells, federal investigators concluded on Wednesday....'
'...After a two-year freeze in federal workers’ salaries, President Obama will propose a 0.5 percent pay increase for civilian employees as part of his 2013...'
'...The rising salaries make the federal government a desirable place to work, and the analysis also found that workers are less likely to leave...'
'...To authorize the presentation of a United States flag on behalf of Federal civilian employees who die of injuries in connection with their employment....'
'...Even with early-out incentives, Williams expected that a "sizable" reduction in force (RIF) also would be needed. "This is going to be a mess...'
'...there's more to the TSP than just those two funds...'
'...likely to mean 2012 will see a hiring freeze, buyouts and early outs, and maybe even layoffs through reductions-in-force to start bringing payroll costs down....'
'...leads in donations from federal employees, with $95,085 through Sept. 30. That is more than four times ...'
'...Federal employees turning 65 might be wondering: Do I get Medicare Part B coverage in addition to my federal health plan? ...'
'...whether they are too generous -- are the subject of much discussion right now on Capitol Hill...'
'...The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, often called the Supercommittee, is examining a wide-range of options that could dramatically affect federal employees, such as huge...'
'...Federal retirees will receive in January the first inflation adjustment to their annuity benefits since 2009, an increase of 3.6 percent...'
'...One of the most influential aspects of the super committee’s decision will involve the federal workforce. Among the options for cutting the deficit, federal workers could be forced to contribute even more to their retirement....'
'...Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform urged the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to “avoid further cuts for federal employees given the significant cuts already imposed on them.”...'
'...The outage caught much of D.C. off guard Wednesday and underscored the region’s reliance on the BlackBerry — which is still the only federally approved smartphone for employees in some government agencies....'
'..."In federal prisons, it used to just be drug kingpins, tax-fraud prisoners, assassins," Perkinson said. "But now it's become full of more low-level offenders, which ironically makes for more violent prisoners....'
'...bathrooms at the GSA Regional building were declared off-limits after two Department of Homeland Security employees were injured Monday by the toilet blast...'
'...The Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan independent organization based in Washington, D.C., said it found that federal employees were less expensive than contractors...'
'...“Applicants need basic computer and communication skills. They’ll be trained for the rest,” said Kevin Johnson, a spokesman for the VA human resource department. “With an economy that stinks, these are great jobs with a career opportunity to get your foot in the door. And the benefits are great.”...'
'...On August 8, 2011, GAO (via memo) announced a Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA or Early Out) opportunity and the upcoming possibility of a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP or Buyout) for specified positions....'
'...The USPS is also asking Congress to change legislation that requires postal workers to get federal health care and retirement benefits. Instead...'
'...Constituents from U.S. Rep. James Lankford's congressional district will join with leaders from the nation's largest federal employee union to protest the first-term congressman's anti-worker legislative agenda on Tuesday....'
'...His kidnapping and death are not believed to be related to his status as a federal employee, and court officials had been told he crossed the border to have some work done on his car....'
