Thursday, June 28, 2012

Healthcare ruling means "very little" to federal workers

Article Title: Supreme Court Health Care Ruling Changes Little for Federal Employees

Snippet of Article: "...For federal employees already enrolled in the FEHP, “it basically means very little,” Walton Francis, primary author of the Consumers’ Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees, said of the ruling...."

Source: www.nationaljournal.com obamacare, Federal Employee Health Benefits,

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Postal Service / Mail Handler Union mediation effort fails to reach a negotiated settlement

Article Title: Mail Handler 2011 Contract Headed for Interest Arbitration

Snippet of Article: "...Several other factors also have come into play as the NPMHU dispute resolution process unfolds. First and foremost, the American Postal Workers Union and the Postal Service reached a comprehensive agreement in March 2011, and that agreement has been held out by some as a pattern or a baseline for future negotiations. Second, the National Association of Letter Carriers is also currently involved in interest arbitration, and has recently announced the selection of Arbitrator Shyam Das as the neutral arbitrator on that panel. Third, and perhaps of most importance, the Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association have finalized their interest arbitration hearings, which began in December 2011, and are awaiting the decision from their panel, which is headed by Arbitrator Jack Clarke. The status of the bargaining agreements for our three sister postal unions clearly could have an effect on what is already an exceedingly complicated process regarding the NPMHU-USPS contract dispute...."

Source: www.npmhu.org National Postal Mail Handlers Union

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

"Fast and Furious": A Primer

Article Title: A primer on the "Fast and Furious" scandal

Snippet of Article: "..."Fast and Furious" is the name ATF assigned to a group of Phoenix, Arizona-area gun trafficking cases under Project Gunrunner that began in fall of 2009. It's the largest of several known operations in which ATF employed gunwalking..."

Source: www.cbsnews.com

Thursday, June 21, 2012

USAJOBS App

Article Title: USAJOBS App

Snippet of Article: "...application puts the power of searching for a Federal job at your fingertips. This application is a companion to USAJOBS.gov, the official job site of the US Federal Government..."

Source: android-apps-iphone-apps.blogspot.com
USAJOBS App

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Looking Ahead to the Federal Employee 2013 COLA

Article Title: The bad news/good news/OMG not-so-good news!

Snippet of Article: "...There are four months left to go in the retiree COLA countdown. The bad-news-good-news is that if the CPI continues to drop it will be because of lower gasoline prices and reduces prices for key staple items...."

Source: federal-retirement.blogspot.com Federal Employee 2013 COLA

Friday, June 15, 2012

Computation of FERS annuity supplement

Article Title: FERS annuity supplement Computation

Snippet of Article: "...The FERS annuity supplement is computed as if you were age 62 and fully insured for a social security benefit when the supplement begins. OPM first estimates what your full career (40 years) social security benefit would be. Then we calculate the amount of your civilian service under FERS and reduce the estimated full career social security benefit accordingly. For example, if your estimated full career social security benefit would be $1,000 and you had worked 30 years under FERS, we would divide 30 by 40 (.75) and multiply ($1,000 x .75 = $750). The result would be your FERS annuity supplement, prior to any reductions...."

Source: www.opm.gov Computation of FERS annuity supplement

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Court sides with unions right to negotiate certain issues surrounding an agency's implementation of a Reduction in Force

Article Title: Court of Appeals Sides With AFGE in RIF Negotiability Case

Snippet of Article: "...In a case brought by the American Federation of Government Employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has upheld the right of federal unions to negotiate certain issues surrounding an agency's implementation of a Reduction in Force...."

Source: www.marketwatch.com Reduction in Force

Friday, June 8, 2012

Employment Opportunities: Many psychiatrists needed at Fort Campbell

Article Title: Fort Campbell seeks psychiatrists, 48 needed

Snippet of Article: "...The greatest need is for clinical psychiatrists, said one of the post's psychiatrists, Maj. Joe Wise. "We'd love to have a flood of interest from clinical psychiatrists," he said, "but we're still recruiting and waiting."

On the USA Jobs website, the psychiatrist postings at Fort Campbell offered salaries starting at $96,000 up to $195,000. Competitive benefits packages are included and relocation expenses are paid up to 25 percent of salary...."

Source: www.wtvq.com

Friday, June 1, 2012

OPM contractor mailed postcards to about 3,000 federal retirees with their Social Security numbers

Article Title: OPM contractor accidentally exposes retirees' Social Security numbers

Snippet of Article: "...An Office of Personnel Management contractor last October accidentally mailed postcards to about 3,000 federal retirees on which their Social Security numbers were printed, according to an inspector general report released Wednesday...."

Source: www.federaltimes.com