Federal agencies failed to coordinate on unscheduled telework policies for employees and government guidance does not clearly instruct agencies on incorporating the practice, the Government Accountability Office said in a July 22 report. In March, the Office of Personnel Management began to allow employees to request unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework before their individually staggered [...]

The Federal Aviation Administration furloughed 4,000 employees Friday after Congressional authorization for several FAA programs expired at 12:01 a.m. on July 23. Congress adjourned Friday without resolving a dispute over a cut in subsidies to 13 rural airports. There is also a bigger standoff between House Republicans and Senate Democrats over a provision in long-term [...]

Federal employees of all ages are willing to learn from each other, but a generational rift still exists, according to a survey conducted by Federal News Radio. Federal News Radio surveyed more than 850 federal employees between July 11-20, with 27 percent of respondents being under the age of 35. Workers with more than 20 [...]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau commenced operations yesterday and President Barack Obama has nominated former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to lead the new agency, the AP reports. Cordray was nominated over Elizabeth Warren, Harvard professor and key force behind the creation of the agency as part of the The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and [...]

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry on Tuesday sent a memo to federal employees regarding the recent heat wave in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas. The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Warning for Friday and Saturday, with both days also being Code Red air-quality days. “The U.S. Office of Personnel Management [...]

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman Joseph Lieberman, ID-Conn., and ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, sent a letter Tuesday to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying its disaster response system is undermined by its poor information technology management. The letter comes after a recent report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General [...]

House lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that ensures military personnel will still be paid even if the federal government defaults, GovExec reports. Rep. Steve King (R-IA), a co-sponsor, introduced H.R. 2496, the “PROMISES (Payment Reliability for our Obligations to Military and Investors to Secure Essential Stability) Act” to prevent interruption to both payment for military [...]

The State Department must expand its Foreign Service ranks despite pressure for spending cuts, a Foreign Affairs Council report says. The report, released Wednesday, evaluated Secretary Hillary Clinton’s leadership over the past two years. The State Department’s diplomatic staff grew by 17 percent in fiscal 2009 and 2010, and Foreign Service had 13,000 employees as [...]

Roslyn A. Mazer has been nominated as the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday. Mazer currently serves as the inspector general of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, where she manages audits, inspections and investigations relating to the ODNI. From 1993 to 2009, she served in [...]

Even if the federal government completely stops discretionary program spending in the second half of fiscal 2011, the savings would not be enough to cover federal debt obligations, FierceGovernment.com reports. The Congressional Research Service released a report June 8, saying the savings would total $688 billion. However, in order for the federal government to continue [...]