Industry News

The civil service got a jolt when the Obama administration declared the federal government must reduce its reliance on private industry to do the important work public employees should do.

Federal agencies should rethink how they approach diversity and link recruitment and retention efforts to their current workforce structure, the acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said on Tuesday.

The Senate this week will take up a bill that contains several provisions affecting federal workers, including one that would allow those enrolled in the Federal Employee Retirement System to count unused sick leave toward their pensions.

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry has directed agencies to review their use of recruitment, relocation and retention incentives to make sure such payments are effective.

The Federal Office of Personnel Management is adding a few new details on plans to begin using gift cards and other informal mean as employee bonuses.

The Obama administration wants to institute a pay-for-performance system for all federal employees, the new Office of Personnel Management director said Wednesday. John Berry told reporters that the effort would take several years, though he did not put a deadline on it.

Calling the federal pay system "balkanized to the point of a risk of failure," Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry said on Wednesday that he will pursue a significant reform of the civil service system within the next two years...

A bill that would allow agencies to rehire retired employees won approval of a Senate committee last week. But, despite measures designed to appease unions, it still faces opposition from labor groups.

The Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management announce plans to form a group to review the Pentagon's pay-for-performance National Security Personnel System.

Several federal departments are expected to increase civilian staffing next year. The Defense, Commerce, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs departments and the Social Security Administration will all add full-time equivalent positions, largely through "insourcing."