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☆ Biden to sign executive order expanding access to birth control
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden signs an executive order in support of Joining Forces, the initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors on June 9, 2023 at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. Biden's order also:Directs those departments to consider new ways to broaden access to affordable over-the-counter birth control medications, such as Plan B emergency contraception. Instructs the Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management to consider actions that would shore up birth control access for veterans and federal employees, among other provisions. The president's order does not suggest a timeline for shoring up that access and does not direct federal departments to consider new requirements to codify access to birth control. Approximately 65% of women ages 15 to 49 used birth control from 2017 to 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Persons: Joe Biden, Wade, Clarence Thomas, Xavier Becerra, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Roe Organizations: Forces, Fort Liberty, White House, White, Treasury, Labor Department, Department of Health, Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Affordable, FDA, Veterans Affairs, Management, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Democratic, Northern District of Locations: Fort Liberty , North Carolina, U.S, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ Federal employee pleads guilty to steering millions in contracts to family-connected firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The OPM worker, 54-year-old Sheron Spann, is due to be sentenced Sept. 21. When Enlightened was incorporated in Maryland and Washington in 1997, Sheron Spann signed documents as a witness for its articles of incorporation, documents show. Enlightened won that contract, which had a funding ceiling of $4.5 million, with Sheron Spann serving as OPM's point of contact on the deal, the court filing said. Work under that contract ended up surpassing the original funding ceiling, "to exceed $25 million," according to the filing. Enlightened won a $1.5 million contract from OPM in April 2017 without having to compete with other bidders, the filing said.

☆ Why the U.S. government, the country's largest employer, wants to ban the salary history question
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The federal government, the largest employer in the U.S., wants to make the salary history question a thing of the past. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, introduced a proposal this week that would bar hiring managers from asking candidates about their salary history, and it could impact 1.5 million roles, Axios reports. Pay equity advocates say the salary history question perpetuates cycles of marginalized workers, namely women and people of color, being underpaid by basing their new pay on previous earnings, which could be artificially low due to discrimination. On average, women in the U.S. are paid 84 cents for every dollar paid to a man, and the gap widens for many women of color. The gap widens for women of color — 15% for Black women in comparison to what white men are paid, and 27% for Native women.

☆ Data of 237,000 US government employees breached
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The personal information of 237,000 current and former federal government employees has been exposed in a data breach at the U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT), sources briefed on the matter said on Friday. The breach hit systems for processing TRANServe transit benefits that reimburse government employees for some commuting costs. The breach impacted 114,000 current employees and 123,000 former employees. Federal employees and agencies have been target of hackers in the past. Two breaches at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in 2014 and 2015 compromised sensitive data belonging to more than 22 million people, including 4.2 million current and federal employees along with fingerprint data of 5.6 million of those individuals.

☆ ATF broke the law by paying agents millions in wrongful benefits, watchdog tells Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives police officers are seen in Uvalde, Texas, May 25, 2022. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which disclosed the mismanagement, said it had alerted President Joe Biden and Congress of "substantial waste, mismanagement, and unlawful employment practices" involving high-level jobs at ATF. The Office of Special Counsel said that during a five-year period that officials investigated, 108 ATF employees who worked in non-law-enforcement jobs "were improperly provided Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) and enhanced retirement benefits." In its official response to OSC, ATF contested claims about the designation of some of the positions being misclassified. OPM later concluded that the ATF's leadership "demonstrated disregard for the rule of law and regulations" governing federal management policies and practices.

☆ White House asks agencies to step up workers' return to offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday asked federal agencies to revise workforce plans as it aims to "substantially increase" in-person work by government employees at headquarters offices and improve services, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The memo to executive branch agencies from White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Shalanda Young directs agencies to refresh work environment plans and policies. Some Republican lawmakers have pressed federal agencies to require more government workers to return to offices. "It’s time for the federal workforce to get back to work in-person for the American people. Aiming to cut long wait times and delays in processing federal services, OMB's memo said: "Agencies should prioritize improving experiences and services that directly impact the public."

☆ Russia can't match the US military's hardware, but it has other ways to keep it from working properly
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But Russian information operations could still affect US forces, a US government watchdog says. Once perceived as a conventional near-peer threat, the Russian military now appears to be more of a paper tiger. While Russia can't match the US military's hardware, it has other ways to keep it from working. Near-peer adversaries, such as China and Russia, know that and have sought ways to counter their more powerful adversary. Doing so could mean that Chinese or Russian intelligence services could not only to influence individual service members but also the performance of specific weapons.

Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks. Greene falsely blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl deaths that happened while Trump was in office. MAGA-faithful Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks while trying to take shots at President Joe Biden. Rep. Matt Gaetz, meanwhile, got schooled for unknowingly basing a critique of Biden's policies on a Communist newspaper. Gaetz tried to recover, pressing Kahl to "just tell me if the allegation is true or false."

☆ FBI investigates hack of its own computer network
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 17 (Reuters) - The FBI is investigating a hack of its computer network, in an isolated incident that was now contained, the agency said on Friday. "The FBI is aware of the incident and is working to gain additional information," the agency said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without providing further details. CNN, which first reported the incident citing people briefed on the matter, said FBI officials believe it involved computers at its New York office which were used to investigate child sexual exploitation. The FBI breach is the latest in a series of high-profile U.S. government hacking incidents over the last decade. The OPM breach was later attributed to Chinese hackers.

☆ Federal workers not entitled to COVID hazard pay -U.S. appeals court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 14 (Reuters) - A divided U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said federal workers are generally not entitled to extra pay for being exposed to COVID-19 through their jobs. In a 10-2 decision with potentially "far-reaching" ramifications, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against 188 current and former correctional employees at a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. But the appeals court said the government's Office of Personnel Management, the human resources agency for more than 2.1 million federal workers, had no regulations affording extra pay for exposure in most settings to contagious diseases. Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna dissented, saying the prison employees plausibly alleged they deserved extra pay for exposure to "unusually" hazardous conditions. The decision is Adams et al v U.S., U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

☆ Biden calls for expanding federal workers' access to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will call on Thursday for government agencies to expand federal workers' access to paid and unpaid leave as he joins with former President Bill Clinton to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. The law, the first Clinton signed after taking office, guarantees that certain workers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave without losing their jobs or health insurance benefits. On Thursday, he will issue a presidential memorandum calling on federal agencies to support access to leave without pay for federal workers, including during their first year of service. She said the Biden administration would "do whatever we can do by executive action" to advance protections for workers while continuing to push for national legislation ensuring paid family and medical leave. Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said such changes would buttress the strength of the U.S. economy.

☆ Hackers linked to Chinese government stole millions in Covid benefits, Secret Service says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sarah Fitzpatrick | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Kit-Ramgopal-Byline.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Hackers linked to the Chinese government stole at least $20 million in U.S. Covid relief benefits, including Small Business Administration loans and unemployment insurance funds in over a dozen states, according to the Secret Service. One senior Justice Department official called it “dangerous” and said it had serious national security implications. ‘The horse is out of the barn’As soon as state governments began disbursing Covid unemployment funds in 2020, cybercriminals began to siphon off a significant percentage. China’s targets include state governments, which can have inadequate cybersecurity defenses. “The state governments don’t allocate a lot of cyber protection money to their state I.T.

But agency veterans, outside public health officials, and workplace organization experts said the current workplace structure could be a major barrier to that goal. As of early 2020, much of the workforce of the FDA and the National Institutes of Health was working remotely. Today, the NIH is mostly back in the office, but the FDA said many of its employees continue to work remotely when possible. Many people have fled the U.S. public health workforce in recent years, burned out from the covid-19 response. Benjamin said the CDC would likely have made its pandemic stumbles even if staffers hadn’t been working remotely.

☆ U.S. Audit Watchdog Looks to Strengthen Rules on Quality Controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The regulator inspects audit firms’ approach to quality controls as part of its reviews. Fourteen audit firms issued audit reports for over 100 businesses apiece last year, the PCAOB’s website shows. Audit firms would have to conduct the first evaluation of their quality controls by the following Nov. 30. It is considering revising changes to rules on confirmations, a process by which audit firms obtain and evaluate audit evidence from independent third parties. The regulator is working to update more than 30 audit rules related to 10 of its standard-setting projects, many of which refer to outdated technology.

☆ DOJ plans to monitor elections in these 46 cities and counties to ensure voters aren't harassed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Justice Department plans to monitor polls in two dozen states across the country to ensure no one intimidates voters or otherwise meddles with Tuesday's midterm elections. The department's Civil Rights Division selected 64 jurisdictions in 24 states, including Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Nevada, for oversight in both the general election and early voting. The division routinely monitors elections in the field, starting in 1965 when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. DOJ monitored polls in 18 states and 44 cities and counties in 2020, by comparison. Attorneys' Offices and the Office of Personnel Management will assist the DOJ Civil Rights Division in monitoring efforts and maintaining contact with state and local election officials.

☆ Why companies like UPS and Disney are allowing workers to show their tattoos
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Companies including Disney, UPS and Virgin Atlantic have relaxed their dress and style codes to allow employees to show their tattoos in the workplace. Shifting views on tattoos at workBartlett said after that policy was well received, UPS began looking at changes to its tattoo policy. Previously, the company barred employees from showing any visible tattoos — workers with tattoos had to cover them with long sleeves or pants, or skin-colored coverings. According to the Disney cast member handbook, visible tattoos that are no larger than an extended hand are permitted except for any on the face, head, or neck. That carried over into corporate culture, where hiring managers would stereotype applicants with visible tattoos, or where employers would worry that employing someone with tattoos would turn off customers.

☆ The 2 things Steve Jobs said many companies get wrong with their best employees
▼ + stars: | 2022-02-09 | by ( Business Insider Deutschland | Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Steve Jobs, former CEO and co-founder of Apple, gave some tips for entrepreneurs. Jobs said that companies need to listen to and benefit from the knowledge of employees. He also said that the boss doesn’t need to be the smartest person in the company. The concept of the knowledge workerThe term "knowledge worker" was coined by management expert Peter Drucker as early as 1959. Three important rules for personnel managementBased on Jobs' ideas, the most important principles for management can be summarized in three points.

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