Monday, November 30, 2009

USDA gets approval for employee buy outs from OPM as mega-management reorg continues

as first reported by federalnewsradio

Article Title: USDA gets approval for employee buy outs from OPM as mega-management reorg continues
Snippet of Article: "...Employees selecting the VSIP option are eligible for a lump sum payment of $25,000 (gross) or an amount equal to the employee’s computed severance pay, whichever is less. Since the VSIP is limited to retirement eligibles..."


Source: www.federalnewsradio.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Monday, November 23, 2009

FEMA trailer auctions continue

Article Title: FEMA trailer auctions continue
Snippet of Article: "...Federal Emergency Management Agency officials had estimated that heading into the fall, about 30,000 trailers remained at five, Pine Belt staging areas..."


Source: www.hattiesburgamerican.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

AFGE Lauds Proposed Expansion of Americans with Disabilities Act

Article Title: AFGE Lauds Proposed Expansion of Americans with Disabilities Act
Snippet of Article: "...too frequently federal government employees with the aforementioned impairments have been burdened with establishing that these conditions substantially limit a major life activity. Many failed to meet this requirement and subsequently were denied a reasonable accommodation and/or their day in court.”..."


Source: www.afge.org

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

2010 Federal Employee Per Diem Rates

Article Title: 2010 Federal Employee Per Diem Rates
Snippet of Article: "...The FY 2010 federal per diem rates have been released. Rates are set by fiscal year, effective October 1. To look up rates throughout the continental United States (CONUS), select a year and click on a state...."


Source: www.gsa.gov

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Friday, November 20, 2009

Bill Would Ban P2P Use By Federal Employees

Article Title: Bill Would Ban P2P Use By Federal Employees
Snippet of Article: "...The risks of file sharing over P2P resurfaced last month when a source provided the Washington Post with a confidential House ethics committee report that had been exposed on a P2P network by a staffer who has since been fired. ..."


Source: www.informationweek.com/

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Thursday, November 19, 2009

EPA Employees Silenced for Criticizing Cap and Trade

Article Title: EPA Employees Silenced for Criticizing Cap and Trade
Snippet of Article: "...Their bosses in San Francisco approved the effort by Williams and Zabel to release the tape, but after an editorial they wrote appeared in the Washington Post, EPA Director Lisa Jackson ordered the pair to remove the video or face disciplinary action. Specifically, the administration's chief environmental official did not want Williams or Zabel mentioning their four decades with the EPA -- time spent studying cap and trade. ..."


Source: www.foxnews.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Already under fire, long-term-care insurer sends bad data to workers

Article Title: Already under fire, long-term-care insurer sends bad data to workers
Snippet of Article: "...long-term-care program for federal employees has mailed out more than 70,000 forms with mistakes about potential premiums, and as a result, it is pushing back the selection deadline for those workers to March 15, 2010. ..."


Source: www.washingtonpost.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Monday, November 16, 2009

Obama to encourage federal hiring of veterans

Article Title: Obama to encourage federal hiring of veterans
Snippet of Article: "...President Barack Obama was to sign an executive order Monday creating the Veterans Employment Initiative. The program will underscore for federal agencies the importance of recruiting and training military veterans...."


Source: www.philly.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

2011 Locality Pay Recommendations

Article Title: Level of Comparability Payments for January 2011 and Other Matters Pertaining to the Locality Pay Program
Information on Federal Pay and Leave
Snippet of Article: "...As authorized by the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA), we present our recommendations for the establishment or modification of pay localities, the coverage of salary surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for use in the locality pay program, the process of comparing General Schedule (GS) pay to non-Federal pay, and the level of comparability payments for January 2011...."


Source: www.opm.gov

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Federal Court Rules VA Employees Owed Years Worth of Back Pay

Article Title: Federal Court Rules VA Employees Owed Years Worth of Back Pay
Snippet of Article: "...The Federal Court in Washington, D.C. decided that the VA violated federal pay statutes by not including premium pay when employees used “paid leave” and therefore, these employees are eligible for “substantial” back pay and interest...."


Source: www.afge.org

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Ready for Christmas? Print your free Santa Letter and North Pole Postmark

Free for Federal Employees ...and anyone else!
Article Title: Print your free Santa Letter and North Pole Postmark
About: Christmas is just around the corner. Take a look at the northpolepostmark.blogspot.com and get your free North Pole Postmark and a Letter from Santa.


Source: northpolepostmark.blogspot.com

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Open Season Begins November 9, 2009

Article Title: Federal Benefits Open Season
Snippet of Article: "...The opportunity for you to choose health, dental, and vision insurance coverage for 2010, and whether contributing to a health and/or dependent care flexible spending account flexible spending account will save you money by using pre-tax contributions to pay your out-of-pocket costs. You should review your options..."


Source: www.opm.gov

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

TSP: Rates of Return for October 2009

TSP: Rates of Return for October 2009

October, being Halloween, most of the TSP funds took a scary ride down, with the exception of the 'G' Fund and the 'F' Fund. However, if you were able to hang on for that scary ride and followed the concept of Dollar Cost Averaging, you did well for the year-to-date. Looking at the big picture, the past twelve months provided a healthy return of over 24% for those willing to make the often risky investment in the International Fund. The 'S' Fund trailed in the year-to-date category at over 21%.


Read more here

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