When the Watchdogs Need Guard Dogs, IG Reform is Urgently Needed In response to President Trump’s so-called Friday night massacres of several IGs, and other problems with OIGs the Trump Administration brought to light, legislation aimed at reforming OIGs has been compiled into the Inspector General Independence and Empowerment Act, which members of the House […]

Agencies Must Enroll Security Clearance Holders in Continuous Vetting Programs As part of the federal government’s ongoing initiative to modernize the security clearance process, all federal agencies must enroll the remainder of their employees and contractors holding security clearance in the new continuous vetting program by the end of September 2021. The initiative, known as […]

An Air Guard colonel was allowed to quietly retire while his unit was investigated for sexual misconduct “They were like, ‘rape her!’ and people started laughing.”  APRIL 12, 2021 A colonel in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard will retire despite the unit he commanded being investigated for sexual harassment claims that were revealed last summer […]

Management What Feds Should Know About Waivers, Non-Disclosure and Non-Disparagement Agreements Most federal agencies have standard terms for resolving claims of discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, MSPB appeals, or other administrative claims. Debra D’Agostino | APRIL 8, 2021 03:16 PM ET  A federal judge ruled earlier this week that the non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements the 2016 Trump campaign […]

April 2, 2021 at 12:04 pm EDT | by Erica Bilkis Fed’l agencies must comply with order prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination Equality Act, gay news, Washington Blade President Joe Biden and his administration have been forthright in their support for LGBTQ rights. He campaigned on the promise to pass the Equality Act, which would provide explicit […]

 20 Monday on the NewsHour… Monday on the NewsHour, a new single-dose inoculation is approved as the CDC chief warns against rolling back safeguards amid concerns of a new potential COVID surge, we discuss solutions to sexual assault in the military as the Pentagon announces a new commission to address rising cases, and former President […]

Process vaccine exceptions based on religion and disability similarly By Anjali Patel, Esq., cyberFEDS® Legal Editor Washington Bureau IN FOCUS: Handling requests from employees who are unwilling to get a COVID-19 vaccine is going to become a “hotspot” issue over the next few months, Federal Practice Group partner Debra D’Agostino warned during the LRP webinar, […]

Ethical Considerations for Furloughed Employees With the recent, and longest, government shutdown in history just coming to an end this past month, it is important for government employees to understand the ethical limits which may continue to apply to them even while on furlough. Furlough status obviously can place employees in a difficult financial position, […]

Updates on paid leave, vaccines and mask mandates for federal employees By Beatrix Haddon, Government Matters Published 11:00 AM, February 21, 2021 Jessica Klement, Staff Vice President for Policy and Programs at NARFE, and Joanna Friedman, Partner at The Federal Practice Group, talk about some of the most important news for federal employees to pay attention […]

Federal Employees may need Reasonable Accommodation despite OMB and Executive Order Requiring Mask Mandate for Federal Employees New guidance issued by Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the White House require that federal employees and contractors wear face mask coverings while inside all federal building as well as to allow telework whenever feasible and […]