USAJOBS Top Ten FAQ

Article Title: USAJOBS Top Ten FAQ

Bone up on your USAJOBS knowledge to advance your career, change jobs, or to learn information to assist your family and friends get federal employment.

Source: usajobs.gov

Twenty Seven (27) pay periods for federal employees this year

Article Title: Federal employees will have 27 pay periods in 2012

Snippet of Article: "...Nearly all federal civilian employees will have an extra pay period for leave accrual this year. According to a memo from Angela Bailey, OPM’s Associate Director for Employee Services, the leave year for most federal employees began on January 1, 2012 and will end on January 12, 2013...."

Source: www.asmconline.org

2013 Federal Employee Retirement COLA announced

Article Title: Federal retirement COLA of 1.7 percent announced

Snippet of Article: "...Federal retirees will receive an inflation adjustment of 1.7 percent in January, translating to about a $50 increase in the average monthly payment under the annuity program for most of them...."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Federal Retirement COLA 2013

Excused Absence for Voting

Article Title: Excused Absence for Voting

Snippet of Article: "...This memorandum provides agencies with information on the Federal Government’s longstanding policy of granting employees limited time off from work (i.e., excused absence) to vote in Federal, State, county, or municipal elections, or in referendums on any civic matter in their community. The head of each agency (or his or her designee) has discretion to grant excused absence in limited circumstances under his or her broad authority to govern, unless otherwise prohibited by law. Agencies have discretionary authority to grant excused absence to the extent that such time off does not interfere with agency operations, including the ability to adjust policies to circumstances as they unfold. Typically, polling places throughout the United States are open for extended periods of time, and an increasing number of jurisdictions are offering early voting options. Therefore, excused absence should rarely be needed.Agencies should consider the following guidelines when creating their policies on excused absence for voting in the upcoming election...."

Source: www.chcoc.gov

2012 APWU early retirement incentive approved

Article Title: APWU, USPS Negotiate Retirement Incentive

Snippet of Article: "...The APWU has negotiated a retirement incentive agreement that awards eligible full-time career employees a $15,000 payment in two installments, President Cliff Guffey has announced. The first installment will be $10,000; the second will be $5,000...."

Source: www.apwu.org 2012 early retirement, APWU retirement incentive,

The White House Cyber Attack That Really Wasn't ...or was it?

Article Title: White House Hack Attack

Snippet of Article: "...“In this instance the attack was identified, the system was isolated, and there is no indication whatsoever that any exfiltration of data took place,” the official said. The official said there was no impact or attempted breach of a classified system within the office...."

Source: freebeacon.com White House cyber attack, cyber spearphishing,

2013 pay raise

Article Title: Federal employee issues deferred by Congress

Snippet of Article: "...a 0.5 percent raise in April, while federal employee unions are pushing for such an increase to be made retroactive to the start of 2013. ..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com 2013 federal salaries, 2013 Federal Pay Increase, 2013 Federal Pay Raise, federal worker pay,

2013 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Premium Rates

Article Title: 2013 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Premium Rates

Snippet of Article: "...On average, FEHB Program enrollees with self only coverage will pay $2.75 more per bi-weekly pay period, and enrollees with family coverage will pay $6.39 more. Premiums for Health Maintenance Organizations will increase an average of 5.3 percent, while Fee-for-Service plans will see an average increase of 3.0 percent...."

Source: www.opm.gov 2013 FEHBP rates

2013 COLA estimate for federal retirees

Article Title: Budget office makes 2013 COLA prediction

Snippet of Article: "...The newest estimate comes as CBO was putting a price tag on S 2259, the Senate’s version of a bill to increase veterans’ disability and survivor benefits by the same COLA paid to Social Security recipients. The House of Representatives already has passed a similar bill, HR 4114, in July...."

Source: www.marinecorpstimes.com 2013 COLA

Your shrinking paycheck

Article Title: FEHBP up 7.2% in two years, did your pay go up that much?

Federal workers' healthcare premiums to rise 3.4 percent

Snippet of Article: "...The average premium for federal employees will rise 3.4 percent next year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced Thursday. The increase translates to an extra..."

Source: Federal Retirement News FEHBP

Romey wants to reduce federal workforce, align federal pay

Article Title: Romney outlines $500 billion in annual pay, workforce, program cuts

Snippet of Article: "..."I will look to sharply increase the productivity of Washington by reducing federal government employment by 10 percent through attrition, by combining agencies and departments to reduce overhead, by cracking down on the $115 billion a year in improper payments in government programs, and by aligning government compensation with that of the private sector," Romney told the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce...."

Source: www.govexec.com

Federal Prison Industries (FPI)

Article Title: Two American Companies Layoff Hundreds Of Workers: Military Uniform Contracts Awarded To Prison Inmates

Snippet of Article: "...Alabama-based American Apparel was forced to close one plant and downsize at others due to the loss of contracts to prison inmates, according to company spokesman and retired Air Force Colonel Kurt Wilson. A total of 190 employees had their hours cut and 255 others were laid off this year.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/333741/two-american-companies-layoff-hundreds-of-workers-military-uniform-contracts-awarded-to-prison-inmates/#60cIUdGz7tUp0rOk.99
..."

Source: www.inquisitr.com

Pay raise freeze unfair to federal employees

Article Title: Unions vow to fight extended pay freeze in spending bill

Snippet of Article: "...It is absolutely unfair to federal employees to delay the pay raise until the expiration of the CR. Federal employees bear no responsibility for the inability of the House and Senate to reconcile ..."

Source: thehill.com Pay raise

Bomb threat closes down several blocks in downtown Kansas City

Article Title: Man says bomb threat was huge misunderstanding

Snippet of Article: "...the man who walked into a downtown federal office building Friday and said something about being on the government's terrorist watch list...."

Source: www.kfdi.com

Sequestration could lead to 270,000 lost federal jobs

Article Title: White House misses sequestration deadline; DoD will see 11% cut

Snippet of Article: "...All in all, sequestration could lead to 270,000 lost federal jobs throughout the government, and the furloughs of thousands more.

“And that’s just the first installment,” said Doug Criscitello, a former chief financial officer at the Housing and Urban Development Department and current managing director at Grant Thornton. “There’s nine of them [years of cuts]...."

Source: www.federaltimes.com

Airline Birthday Prank - FBI informs airline of alleged security threat

Article Title: US Airways security threat hoax was 'pretty nasty trick' played on passenger, officials say

Snippet of Article: "...The man taken off the jet and questioned was the victim of a hoax, apparently performed because Thursday was his birthday, officials said. ..."

Source: nbcnews.com

Unfair labor practice filed against EPA

Article Title: AFGE files unfair labor practice against EPA for firing scientists

Snippet of Article: "...The American Federation of Government Employees filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Federal Labor Relations Authority, saying the firings of the two employees and disciplinary actions against two other employees were to "chill employees in the exercise of their rights to participate with the union." The scientists worked for the Ecosystems Research Division of the EPA's National Exposure Research Lab. ..."

Source: www.federalnewsradio.com

EPA union negotiations update

Article Title: EPA Union Questions Administration's Support For Federal Sector Unions

Snippet of Article: "...even greater concern is more than 28 months after opening negotiations on the union contract in May 2010, AFGE Council 238 and EPA have yet to move past the preliminary step of establishing ground rules for those negotiations. "It's a total failure of bargaining in good faith," said AFGE Labor Relations Specialist Derrick Davis. "In more than 30 years of negotiating these types of agreements, I have never been involved in a ground rules negotiation that has taken so long...."

Source: www.heraldonline.com

Mexico Federal Employee Shooting Details Update

Article Title: Mexico: 2 CIA Agents Wounded in Shooting Go to US

Snippet of Article: "...Mexican officials said Wednesday that two Americans wounded in a shooting attack by federal police on a U.S. Embassy vehicle are employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, and acknowledged they have returned to the United States...."

Source: go.com

GOP: Federal compensation exceeds private sector levels

Article Title: GOP platform takes aim at federal workforce

Snippet of Article: "... "Federal compensation exceeds private sector levels by as much as 30 to 40 percent when benefits are taken into account," according to a statement on Romney's website. "This must be corrected."

Similarly, Romney's choice for vice president, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), has also proposed scaling back federal benefits. ..."

Source: www.federalnewsradio.com

Congress on track for another pay raise for 2013, but not you

Article Title: Congressional pay raise in 2013?

Snippet of Article: "...Members of Congress are on track to receive a pay raise in 2013, unless they vote against it when they return from August recess...."

Source: www.govexec.com

Monitoring of federal employee computers and privacy

Article Title: Monitoring of federal workers’ computers spooks privacy advocates

Snippet of Article: "...Monitoring of federal workers prompts privacy worries: Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the increased monitoring of federal workers’ computers, The Washington Post reported, as agencies work to catch information leaks...."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com #FederaEmployeeNews

U. S. Officials Shot by Mexican Police

Article Title: Mexico Says Police Shot U.S. Officials

Snippet of Article: "...The two U.S. officials, employees of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, were wounded but in stable condition in a hospital and didn't have life-threatening injuries, the statement said. ..."

Source: wsj.com

Social Security of Federal retirees can be docked for unpaid student loans

Article Title: Feds Dock Social Security for Unpaid Student Loans

Snippet of Article: "...the federal government is withholding money from a rapidly growing number of Social Security recipients who have fallen behind on federal student loans. From January through August 6, the government reduced the size of roughly 115,000 retirees' Social Security checks..."

Source: socialsecuritynewsgroup.blogspot.com Social Security