A few weeks ago, we wrote about the devastating financial impact facing states across the nation due to COVID-19 related expenses and revenue shortfalls over the past few months. At the time, individual states were beginning to lay out the scenarios that would keep them afloat if the federal government didn’t provide assistance in the…
Category Archives: Uncategorized
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State and Local Governments May Lay Off 4 Million
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HR Teams: COVID-19 Doesn’t Wait Weeks for a Recommendation
While states have started to significantly relax Coronavirus-necessitated private business restrictions, most state and federal employees continue to work remotely. This isn’t going to continue indefinitely, however. Federal agencies have already issued guidance on how to bring employees back to the office. Employees who have been on paid leave because they cannot work remotely will…
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The Outline of a New Normal for Many State Employees
Years from now, when Americans look back at our transition away from a normal work environment as Covid-19 infections escalated, we’ll probably describe those days as full of confusing decisions. That was to be expected – it’s hard to practice for something that only happens every hundred years or so. Unfortunately, we haven’t practiced for…
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Federal Employee COVID-19 Provisions – Will Work-From-Home Stick?
This week brought the implementation of two policies in the stimulus bill that are specific to federal workers. First, federal employees who performed work in response to the COVID-19 crisis became eligible for higher premium pay caps. Some of this must be reimbursed by FEMA, while some may come directly from the employing agency. The…
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Why Mandatory Work-From-Home Might Be Especially Miserable
Remote work has been popular at private businesses for years now. Employees value it as a job perk. Commute time is eliminated. Businesses that use it extensively don’t need as much office space, lowering overhead. It’s even been found to be good for employee health, on balance. This time, however, might be different. Here’s why:…
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Employees Working From Home and Time Cards
In the midst of this health crisis, a record number of people are working from home. Private employers who have never contemplated a work-from-home policy are being forced to choose between allowing an employee to work from home or to shut down their business entirely, as governments across the country are ordering social isolation policies…
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Is the Federal Hiring Revolution Finally Coming?
Federal hiring regulations haven’t been a gold standard for much of anything for a long time. It takes just under 100 days to hire someone for a federal job – three times longer than the average for private companies. The applications are lengthy, and the list of requirements is long. Hiring flexibility is weak. Unsurprisingly,…
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Millennials: Are They Available for Public Service?
One of the most popular insights about Millennials with regard to public sector employment is that they aren’t interested in it. GovExec reported in August of last year that less than eight percent of the federal workforce is under 30. While a shortage of public employees is being offset by older employees delaying retirement, the…
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Your Agency’s Biggest IT Risk: Its Employees
Whether you’re trying to improve the security posture of your own HR team or you’re enforcing policies for all agency employees, technology is a point of concern for HR. That’s because it’s a major vulnerability for government agencies. There are plenty of reasons. Government software tends to be older, because it’s more expensive to replace…
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Who Waits Four Months for A Paycheck?
Unfortunately it’s the average federal job applicant. The time it took to hire someone in 2018-2019 is down a little over five percent from the year prior, but it’s still just under 100 days. By the time a job candidate makes it through the hiring process, waits for their start date, and then works towards…