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READ THE CURRENT ISSUE OF THE FEDERAL MANAGER MAGAZINE!
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- FMA AND GMC COLLEAGUES ADVOCATE FOR EMERGENCY LEAVE TRANSFER PROGRAM - September 18, 2020
- FMA National President Craig Carter joined fellow presidents of the Government Managers Coalition (GMC) on a joint letter urging the establishment of an emergency leave transfer program (ELTP) to help relieve federal employees adversely affected by Covid-19. “Due to the ongoing management challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents for our workforce, the Government Managers Coalition believes the federal government would benefit from the establishment of an emergency leave transfer program (ELTP) both as a management tool and as a means by which to support our workforce,” the letter noted.The GMC sent the letter to Michael Rigas, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management and Acting Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget.
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- Most participants still like the TSP, but satisfaction among new military members lags - August 25, 2020
- By Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News NetworkThe Federal Managers Association proudly sits on the Employee Thrift Advisory Council (ETAC) which advises the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board which administers the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).The vast majority of participants are still largely pleased with the Thrift Savings Plan, but satisfaction lags among the TSP’s newest members from the uniformed service blended retirement system.
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- FMA Chapter 373 Calls for Gender Pay Equity in United States Marshals Service (USMS) - August 24, 2020
- Today, Chapter 373 at the United States Marshals Service (USMS) calls for gender pay equity for women and men at the USMS in two key positions assigned to its district offices: Administrative Officers in its 36 largest district offices/cities and Detention Enforcement Officers. For more than three years similar requests have gone unheeded for comparable grades as those positions assigned to its headquarters division offices and other DOJ components in the same largest cities.
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- Democratic Senators Introduce Bill to Include Feds in Coronavirus Response Decisions - July 31, 2020
- A task force of administration and union officials would make recommendations for how agencies should protect workers during the pandemic.Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveLegislation introduced in the Senate would assign seat on the Coronavirus Rapid Response Federal Labor-Management Task Force to the Federal Managers Association.A group of six Democratic senators on Wednesday introduced legislation to ensure federal employees have input into how agencies respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
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- FMA Recognizes National Whistleblower Appreciation Day - July 30, 2020
- Today, July 30, 2020, has been designated National Whistleblower Appreciation Day. The U.S. Senate adopted a resolution (S. Res. 634) sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley and cosponsored by 18 bipartisan colleagues. The resolution aims to encourage federal agencies to acknowledge employees who call attention to fraud, waste, abuse, and violations of laws and regulations, and to remind employees of their rights as whistleblowers.In a letter to United States Marshals Service (USMS) Director Donald Washington, FMA's USMS Chapter 373, led by Chapter President Dave Barnes and Vice-President for Law Enforcement Operations Jason Wojdylo, continue to recognize the bravery and contributions of whistleblowers. On this National Whistleblower Appreciation Day in 2020, FMA is proud to stand with Chapter 373 in its effort to make progress and increase awareness of whistleblower rights at USMS and across the federal workforce, and we are grateful for Senator Grassley's leadership in Congress on this issue.
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- Message from FMA President: Facing Challenging Times - June 3, 2020
- Dear FMA Member:Our country is facing many challenges at this time, and I want to commend America's federal managers and supervisors for staying focused on the vital work of serving our country's citizens.
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- FMA APPLAUDS HOUSE VOTE ON FY20 APPROPRIATIONS - December 18, 2019
- On Tuesday, December 17, 2019, the House of Representatives approved two spending packages that would fund the federal workforce for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2020. The funding package includes a 3.1 percent average for federal employees, comprised of a 2.6 percent across-the-board salary increase and a 0.5 percent average boost to locality pay. FMA is pleased with this development, which the association worked for throughout 2019.FMA supports both the pay raise and the spending deal. We urge the Senate to approve the measures, and President Trump to sign the bills into law, prior to the expiration of the current continuing resolution.
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- FMA, OTHER MANAGER GROUPS SUPPORT PICK FOR OPM - May 26, 2017
Federal Managers Groups Largely Support Trump OPM Pick
By Erich Wagner, Government Executive
The Trump administration’s nomination of George Nesterczuk to serve as director of the Office of Personnel Management is already making waves among groups that represent federal workers.
While groups representing managers voiced varying levels of support for the announcement Wednesday, a union official was warier of the choice.
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- FMA COMMENDS HOUSE ON PASSAGE OF CONTINUING RESOLUTION - September 23, 2020
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Alexandria, VA - On September 22 the U.S. House of Representatives approved a continuing resolution (CR) providing government funding through December 11, 2020. The final vote was 359 – 57. Federal Managers Association (FMA) National President Craig Carter made the following statement in response to its passage:
"FMA would like to acknowledge the House’s efforts to fund the federal government. The House successfully passed ten of twelve spending bills before the August recess, and did significant work on all twelve. Passing these spending bills is critical to enabling federal workers and agencies to carry out their crucial missions on behalf of the American people. We thank the House for their commitment to this process. FMA urges the Senate to respond to this overwhelmingly bipartisan continuing resolution by swiftly passing their own CR prior to October 1 when the government would be forced to shut down due to lack of funding.”
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- FMA APPLAUDS SENATE INTRODUCTION OF FEDERAL LABOR-MANAGEMENT COVID PARTNERSHIP ACT - July 31, 2020
- Federal Managers Association honored to be recommended to advise task force.Alexandria, VA – On Tuesday, July 28, the Federal Labor-Management Covid Partnership Act (S. 4347) was introduced in the Senate to create a task force of administration leaders, managers, and union officials, with FMA representing workforce managers. The task force would review agencies’ policies related to the Covid-19 pandemic and make recommendations. As lead sponsor Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) noted, “This bill is about protecting our federal workers during the Covid pandemic.”
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- FMA Urges Pay Parity for Federal Workforce - July 14, 2020
- Alexandria, VA – The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill tomorrow, July 15. As reported out of the subcommittee last week, the bill stays silent on a pay raise for federal employees, which would accede to President Trump’s 1.0 percent raise in his budget request. Federal Managers Association (FMA) National President Craig Carter made the following comments on the status of a pay raise for federal employees:
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- FMA DISCOURAGED BY OPM DIRECTOR’S RESIGNATION - March 18, 2020
- Alexandria, VA – On Tuesday, March 17, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Dale Cabaniss submitted her resignation. She was confirmed to the post on September 11, 2019. Federal Managers Association (FMA) National President Renee Johnson made the following comments.“I am discouraged to learn of Director Cabaniss’ resignation as OPM Director. FMA enjoyed a positive working relationship with her and her team and saw eye to eye on many, if not most, issues."
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- OPM INTERIM RULE: SCHEDULING OF ANNUAL LEAVE BY EMPLOYEES DETERMINED NECESSARY TO RESPOND TO CERTAIN NATIONAL EMERGENCIES AUGUST 10, 2020
- OPM MEMO: PAID PARENTAL LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES INTERIM REGULATIONS AUGUST 7, 2020
- OPM GUIDANCE ON ADDITIONAL PAID SICK LEAVE FOR FEDS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC APRIL 23, 2020
- FEEA PROVIDES CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES FOR FEDS - INCLUDING MASKS!
- FMA Washington Report: September 14, 2020
- This report communicates what FMA’s professional staff is doing on behalf of FMA members in Washington, D.C., and provides an update on issues affecting federal managers. Click here to view the September 14, 2020, edition of FMA's Washington Report. In this issue, we discuss the payroll tax deferral, FY21 appropriations, movement on the nominee to lead OPM, and shine a spotlight on Chapter 373's push for gender pay equity at the United States. Marshals Service, among other issues impacting FMA members. As always, we encourage you to visit www.fedmanagers.org on a regular basis for information on these and other matters.
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- Federal Employee Pay Raise for 2021 - September 25, 2020
- By Ralph R. Smith, FedSmithThe process for determining the amount of a pay raise for federal employees is usually a meandering, convoluted process with the results finalized in December—shortly before the next raise becomes effective in January.2020 has been an unusual year, unfortunately, and the process of determining the federal pay raise for 2021 is unusual as well.
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- Arbitrator Finds Trump Workforce Orders Violate Law - September 24, 2020
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveAn independent arbitrator on Monday ruled that a series of 2018 executive orders seeking to reduce the role of unions at federal agencies violate federal labor law, in the first case testing an administrative review process since a federal appellate court ordered the dismissal of a legal challenge against the orders on jurisdictional grounds last year.
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- House Passes Stopgap Spending Bill Seeking to Avoid Shutdown Through Dec. 11 - September 23, 2020
- By Eric Katz, Government ExecutiveThe House passed 359-57 a short-term spending bill on Tuesday, setting the stage to delay a potential shutdown until Dec. 11.Lawmakers struck a bipartisan agreement on the continuing resolution after negotiations over which “anomalies” to include above fiscal 2020 spending levels. House Democrats had agreed to the Senate Republicans’ demands for the length of the continuing resolution, but delayed a scheduled vote on their stopgap bill after Republicans objected to it. The two sides have since agreed to include relief funds for farmers impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic and President Trump’s trade disputes in exchange for spending on nutritional programs. Absent congressional action, federal agencies would be forced to close their doors on Oct. 1.
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- McConnell unexpectedly rejects Democrats' funding bill, leaving U.S. on the verge of government shutdown - September 21, 2020
- The Week MagazineSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) rejected the government funding resolution House Democrats introduced Monday, leaving the U.S. government on the verge of a shutdown.
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- Survey: Most Teleworking Federal Employees Expect to Remain Home for At Least Six More Months - September 18, 2020
- By Eric Katz, Government ExecutiveA majority of federal employees currently working from home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic do not expect to return to the office any time soon, according to a new survey, with 60% saying they expect to remain in their current posture for at least another six months.
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- Lawmakers Make Last Ditch Push for Payroll Tax Deferral Opt-Out - September 14, 2020
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveLawmakers in both parties and both chambers of Congress on Tuesday made a last-ditch effort to persuade the Trump administration to allow federal employees and members of the military to opt out of a controversial plan to defer payroll taxes through the end of this year.
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- You Get a Lot More Than a Retirement Benefit - September 11, 2020
- By Tammy Flanagan, Government ExecutiveIn addition to generous retirement benefits, federal employees and retirees have a wide variety of insurance benefits to choose from. That wasn’t always the case.
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- Payroll Tax Deferral Will Be Mandatory for Eligible Feds, Service Members - September 9, 2020
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveFederal employees and members of the military will not be able to opt out of the Trump administration’s plan to defer payroll taxes from this month until the end of the year, despite calls from lawmakers and federal employee groups.
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- Congress, White House Appear on a Path to Temporarily Avoid Shutdown - September 8, 2020
- By Eric Katz, Government ExecutiveLawmakers and the White House are advancing talks toward agreement on a stopgap funding bill that would avoid a shutdown in October, extending funding for agencies until at least after the Nov. 3 election.
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- Planned Payroll Tax Deferrals Create Minefield for Feds - September 2, 2020
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveThe Trump administration reportedly will begin deferring payroll taxes for all eligible federal employees later this month over the objections of unions and other employee groups, who lambasted the plan as “chaotic and confusing.”
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- Justice Department Employees Urge Leadership to End Pay Disparities - September 1, 2020
- By Erich Wagner, Government ExecutiveA coalition of half a dozen Justice Department employee associations is urging department leaders to stop asking job applicants for their salary histories, saying the question contributes to pay disparities among workers.
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- US Shipyards Lack Needed Repair Capacity, Admiral Says - August 28, 2020
- By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense OneAmerica’s shipyards lack the repair capacity the Navy needs in peacetime, let alone during war, a Navy admiral said Tuesday.
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- Federal Retirement Applications, Processing Both Down in October - November 12, 2019
- By Erich Wagner, Government Executive,The Office of Personnel Management announced last week that the backlog of pending federal retirement claims nearly reached 18,000 last month. Although the number of requests has decreased in recent months, so too has the pace by which the federal government’s HR agency has processed them.According to agency statistics, only 7,044 federal employees filed for retirement in October. That represents about 400 fewer claims than OPM received in September, and a decrease of nearly 2,000 requests compared with the 9,012 that were filed in October 2018.
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- BOTH STAFF CUTS AND BUDGET INCREASES FOR FY 2019 - July 13, 2017
Staff Cuts and Budget Increases Are Both on Tap for 2019
By Eric Katz, Government Executive
The Trump administration has provided federal agencies with the latitude to request up to a 5 percent funding boost in fiscal 2019, saying the White House may accommodate a “limited number” of programmatic increases in its final blueprint.
Generally, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said in a memorandum to department and agency heads, agencies should keep their 2019 spending requests in line with what the White House spelled out in the fiscal 2018 budget submission. They should also, however, “identify additional investments in effective programs that further support their mission and fill a clear federal role.”
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- Agencies Could Rehire, Promote Former Employees With New OPM Regulatory Fix - December 24, 2019
- By Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News NetworkThe Office of Personnel Management wants to help agencies rehire former employees who have left government — and offer a non-competitive promotion to a higher grade level to sweeten the deal.In a proposed rule, which is scheduled for publication later this week, OPM will recommend new regulations that will allow agencies to non-competitively reappoint former employees to other positions at a higher grade level than when they left government.
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- How The Government Wants Agencies To Regulate AI - January 14, 2020
- By Andrew Eversden, Federal TimesThe Office of Management and Budget released a draft memorandum Jan. 13 providing guidance to agencies on how they should approach regulation of industry’s artificial intelligence applications.The guidance emphasizes that agencies should consider how any regulatory action would potentially hinder expansion of AI use. The draft memo “calls on agencies, when considering regulations or policies related to AI applications, to promote advancements in technology and innovation."
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- A Fair Pay Raise for Feds in 2021 - August 5, 2020
- This article originally ran in the August 4, 2020, issue of FEDManager.com.One of FMA’s primary objectives each year is to provide a fair pay raise for federal employees that reflects their selfless contributions to their fellow Americans. In February, before the disruptions of Covid-19 set in, President Trump proposed a 1 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2021. While better than a pay freeze, a 1 percent raise fails to keep up with inflation and is inadequate. Regrettably, Congress has thus far chosen to remain silent on the pay raise issue in the appropriations process, effectively acceding to the president’s proposal. Most recently, on Thursday, July 30, the House of Representatives approved a major spending package without language to provide a reasonable pay raise for federal employees in 2021.
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- Infrastructure Investments and Modernization Needed at Federal Installations - February 5, 2020
- Hear It from FMA, FedManager.comOn Wednesday, January 29, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other top legislators in the House unveiled a $760 billion infrastructure package. They appealed to President Trump, who campaigned on a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, to join them in moving this funding forward. As recently as May 2019, the President was expected to propose a $2 trillion infrastructure package, but he urged Congress to first pass the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal. He signed that deal into place on January 29, the same day House Democrats offered their infrastructure proposal.
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- Viewpoint: Let’s Keep a Level Playing Field for TSP Investors - November 25, 2019
- Participants in the federal employee retirement savings program deserve the same investment options as other Americans.The Federal Managers Association sits on the Employee Thrift Advisory Council (ETAC) which advises the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB). Clifford Dailing is Chair of ETAC, and Michael Kennedy is Chair of FRTIB.By Michael Kennedy and Clifford Dailing, Government ExecutiveWhen President Ronald Reagan signed the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act in 1986 flanked by a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers, the intent was clear: to provide federal employees a defined contribution retirement plan like private employers’ 401(k) plans. The Thrift Savings Plan has grown to hold the retirement savings of more than 5.5 million participants from federal and military service, with total assets of $600 billion.
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- FMA’s Take On The Agency Reorganization Proposals - July 3, 2018
- The Federal Managers Association, FEDmanager.comIt has been two weeks (as of writing) since the administration formally unveiled its long-awaited agency reorganization plan, called “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century.” We at FMA have heard from many of our members and continue to analyze the merits for reform.
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- THE IMPORTANT BUT LESS SEXY SIDE OF INVESTING IN OUR MILITARY - December 19, 2017
The Federal Managers Association, FedManager.com
The Federal Managers Association (FMA) is featured in the latest edition of FedManager.com. Hear it from FMA is a regularly scheduled article that runs once a month in the publication. In this article, we write about investing in modernizing infrastructure and facilities across the government. It is sexy and splashy when headlines announce next generation of sophisticated aircraft and advanced ships, but we need to make the necessary investments to keep them viable.
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