Article Title: Lawsuit: USIS didn’t give mandated notice
Snippet of Article: "...The mass layoffs were in response to the federal Office of Personnel Management not renewing two contracts for background checks of federal employees. More than 2,500 USIS workers have lost their jobs, although the company said it expects many to be hired by whatever company scores the government contract...."
Note added by the Federal Employee News: Walmart is encouraging government subsidies by stealing away employee health benefits. In turn, this places a burden on the government and eventually an increase in taxes to pay for it. At the same time, hard working people lose a much needed employee benefit. Where you spend your money or don't spend your money makes a bold statement to retailers.
Article Title: Wal-Mart cuts health benefits for 30,000 part-timers
Snippet of Article: "...More of Wal-Mart's employees signed up for health benefits this year than the company expected, which boosted the company's costs. ... Employees who lost the Wal-Mart coverage option would now be eligible for government subsidies on Obamacare exchanges. ..."
Article Title: U.S. Postal Service denies curbside mail in Palmer, Bethlehem Township development
Snippet of Article: "...After receiving mail for a week upon moving into the Maple Shade Estates development in July, his mail delivery suddenly stopped. The U.S. Postal Service, under a cost savings plan, told residents it would no longer be delivering to individual homes and wants developer Tuskes Homes to construct cluster mailboxes...."
Article Title: Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-49) and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee needs serious reform
It appears Congressman Darrell Issa, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the committee both need to go. This committee has been a complete failure and gives more of an appearance of a government privatization initiative as opposed to an oversight committee. Referencing Issa's own committee website, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Mission Statement reads as:
Article Title: White House Intruder’s Past Raises Concern
Snippet of Article: "...Virginia officials said Mr. Gonzalez was charged with reckless driving, one felony count of eluding police and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. He was released after posting a bond. Last month, Secret Service officers stopped Mr. Gonzalez in front of the fence on the White House’s South Lawn after they noticed a hatchet in his waistband, the officials said. ..."
Article Title: Long List of Breaches and Scandals for Secret Service Under Obama
Snippet of Article: "...The Secret Service under President Barack Obama has been scarred over and over by security breaches and public embarrassments. ..."
Article Title: Where can I find OPM guidance on furloughs?
Snippet of Article: "...The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has prepared human resources guidance for agencies and employees in the event of furloughs. There are two types of furloughs: administrative furlough, shutdown furlough, ..."
Article Title: Former DoD worker pleads guilty to $2.2M in fraudulent federal healthcare claims
Snippet of Article: "...As a federal employee stationed overseas, Hargett was enrolled since 2002 in the Foreign Service Benefit Plan. Because of his service in the Army, he also was eligible for healthcare coverage from the Veterans Affairs Department.
From January 2007 through April 2012, Hargett submitted fraudulen..."
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| Map as found on Goverment Executive |
Article Title: USAJobs site still leaves something to be desired for users
Snippet of Article: "...The federal government’s human resources department fixed many of the problems that led to the troubled launch of USAJobs.gov in 2011, but the agency still wants to fine tune its employment database...."
Article Title: 'Revving' economy calls for higher wages, Obama says on Labor Day
Snippet of Article: "...Despite the absence of a federal increase, 13 states raised their minimum wages at the beginning of this year. Those states have added jobs at a faster pace than those that did not raise the wage..."
Article Title: Local VA employee to speak with federal investigators
Snippet of Article: "...NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A Hendersonville man has added his name to the list of employees who have agreed to speak with federal investigators about what he saw at VA hospitals...."
Snippet of Article: "...A cyber attack at a firm that performs background checks for U.S. government employees compromised data of at least 25,000 workers, including some undercover investigators, and that number could rise, agency officials said on Friday...."
Article Title: 20Stamps - Turn Photos Into Real US Postage Stamps
Snippet of Article: "...20Stamps - the world’s first app to turn your favorite photos into real US postage stamps.
Amaze your friends and family by sending cards and letters with custom photo postage featuring your family, your pet, wedding portrait or any other treasured personal picture.
Now you can make custom postage stamps..."
Article Title: Darrell Issa Investigation Benefits Ex-Aide
Snippet of Article: "...Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) has accused House oversight committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) of inappropriately intervening in an ongoing Federal Trade Commission case against a company being represented by a legal group run by a former Issa staffer...."
Article Title: Federal Employees Union Says Obamacare Could 'Hurt' Members
Snippet of Article: "...Among the bills is H.R. 1780, sponsored by Michigan Republican Dave Camp. The NTEU says the bill could hurt workers because it would "require most federal employees to leave the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program...and instead join health plans established under the Affordable Care Act."..."
Article Title: Windfall Elimination Provision
Snippet of Article: "...The Windfall Elimination Provision primarily affects you if you earned a pension in any job where you did not pay Social Security taxes and you also worked in other jobs long enough to qualify for a Social Security retirement or disability benefit...."
Article Title: 50 Senators Call for Moratorium on USPS Facility Closures
Snippet of Article: "...“This one-year moratorium will give Congress the time it needs to enact the comprehensive postal reforms that are necessary for the Postal Service to function effectively into the future,” the group said in a letter to Appropriations Committee Chairman Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., and ranking member Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala...."
Article Title: Don’t Buy School Supplies at Staples
Article Title: Should ‘essential’ federal employees receive additional shutdown pay?
Snippet of Article: "...Campbell-Smith wrote that “courts have determined almost universally that an FLSA claim accrues, for limitations purposes, when an employer fails to pay workers on their regular paydays, and that a violation of the Act also occurs on that date.”..."
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| Smokey Bear turns 70 |
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| America's Post Office for Sale |
Article Title: F.A.A. Halts U.S. Flights to Israel
Snippet of Article: "...The Federal Aviation Administration instructed American air carriers on Tuesday not to fly to Israel for 24 hours, and major airlines canceled their flights, after a rocket fell about a mile from Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv. All three United States carriers with scheduled service to Israel — Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways..."
Article Title: Clearance investigations need tighter control, IG says
Snippet of Article: "...One background check reviewer at USIS claimed to have completed 15,152 case reviews over the course of one month..."
Article Title: Bill would eliminate controversial Border Patrol overtime system
Snippet of Article: "..."On average, agents will see a $6,200 pay reduction per year over what they have traditionally earned under AUO," Judd said. "We are probably the first labor organization to come before this committee asking for a pay cut. My agents are asking you to do this..."
Article Title: Holder to renew focus on growing domestic terror threat
Article Title: How much porn does it take to get fired at EPA?
Snippet of Article: "..."So this guy is making $125,000, spending two to six hours a day looking at porno," said Rep. John Mica (R-FL), who was told by officials that the worker had been given performance awards - despite one time spending four straight hours on a website called, "Sadism is Beautiful." "How much pornography would it take for an EPA employee to lose their job?..."
Article Title: Triumph of the Drill
Snippet of Article: "...the federal government has pumped more than $470 billion into the oil and gas industry in the form of generous, never-expiring tax breaks. Once intended to jump-start struggling domestic drillers, these incentives have become a tidy bonus for some of the world's most profitable companies...."
