The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 5 ruled against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Federal government contractors put in place by the Biden administration in November. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register today that looks to rescind previous Trump-era Federal workforce policies centered around how agencies handle employee misconduct and poor performance. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is extending the deadline for agencies to adopt skills-based hiring assessments, according to a memo from OPM Director Kiran Ahuja. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established new criteria for Federal agencies hiring data scientists by releasing its new occupational series for data scientists in government – a project that has been more than two years in development. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) has increased restrictions at the Pentagon as COVID-19 cases climb due to the omicron variant of the virus. The Pentagon remains at Health Protection Condition (HPCON) Bravo Plus, but is implementing additional measures to protect the workforce. […]
As a very busy 2021 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the past year and look forward with optimism to the possibilities of the new one that’s about to begin. Rounding the corner to 2022, MeriTalk asked several experts on the industry side of Federal IT for their predictions of what the next year will bring. […]
President Biden signed an executive order on Dec. 22 making the 2.7 percent Federal pay raise official for 2022, consistent with his fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget. […]
Digital security breaches have shown us that Federal agencies are more vulnerable than anyone thought, and their security tools are no longer effectively defending against them. This begs the question, what can IT leaders and staff at all levels do to better protect Federal networks? The short answer: it’s time to rethink our approach to basic security and how we defend every endpoint across the enterprise. […]
An all-female panel of Federal agency leaders acknowledged on Dec. 9 that while women have made a significant gain in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations, they continue to face challenges. […]
While healthcare disparities are not new, the COVID-19 pandemic did highlight the persistent and systemic inequities with healthcare in this country, especially for indigenous communities. […]
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an expanded plan for telework and remote work through a new FAQ page on its website, allowing eight days of telework per pay period. […]
An increasingly digitalized global economy requires ever-more digitally skilled workforces for nations to remain productive. Unfortunately, according to a recent report, the U.S. workforce is becoming less digitally savvy than other countries. […]
The Subcommittee on Government Operations of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing today in which members of Congress explored how to build a stronger Federal workforce. […]
The Biden Administration announced this week that agencies should not enforce penalties for Federal employees who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 until after the holiday season. […]
A recent report proposed that government agencies consider implementing new education programs to help reskill the existing workforce on more advanced technologies as part of the longstanding Federal push to modernize government operations. […]
The White House has released a government-wide strategic plan to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) for the Federal workforce, as required under President Biden’s June 25 DEIA executive order (EO). […]
While the Social Security Administration (SSA), like much of the rest of the Federal government has been largely operating in a work from home setting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency is preparing to return to office through a phased re-entry plan, the agency confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
The White House’s Safer Federal Workforce Task Force released new guidance this week to align with Federal contractors’ delayed vaccine deadline. […]
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) – the largest union for Federal employees – is pushing for Federal workers to have the same extended deadline as Federal government contractors to receive their COVID-19 vaccine. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) finalized an interim rule today that would make it easier for Federal agencies to hire college graduates more easily into the Federal workforce. […]
The White House announced today it is pushing back the deadline for Federal contractors to receive their COVID-19 vaccine until January 4. […]
Looking towards a post-pandemic environment, training programs for supervisors and team leads will be crucial to guide employees through this workforce transformation, Federal government workforce leaders stressed during an AFCEA Bethesda event on November 3. […]
Nineteen states have sued the Biden administration over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Federal government contractors, according to separate lawsuits filed late last week. […]
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) President Amy Gilliland explained how the company is tackling the industry-wide talent crisis at GDIT’s Women + Technology virtual event on October 26. […]
The threat landscape has shifted drastically amid the COVID-19 pandemic as more and more organizations and governments deal with emerging cyberattacks and ransomware threats. Pure Storage, an IT leader delivering a portfolio of modern data solutions and services, has continued to provide organizations with innovative solutions to mitigate these threats with its portfolio of data protection tools. […]
In a move to strengthen K-12 computer science education, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded two non-profits nearly $1 million to increase computer science education throughout the state of Tennessee. […]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) should develop and implement a process for collecting and sharing lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform hiring during future emergencies, and share these lessons governmentwide, the Government Accountability Office urged in a new report. […]
The President’s Management Council, in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and General Services Administration, launched the first government-wide pulse survey to gain a better understanding of how Federal employees feel about employee engagement, inclusion, and return to their offices. […]
Following several Federal initiatives published this year such as the National Security Strategic Guidance and Cybersecurity Executive Order, greater collaboration between the public and private sectors is critical to better understand and manage risk. […]
Federal and state CIOs shared pandemic lessons and their thinking about return-to-office strategies during an October 19 panel discussion at the Dell Technologies Forum online event. […]