Federal Worker | featured news

Ten Energy Department workers were subpoenaed for their private e-mails late last week as part of a congressional probe of a controversial Obama administration clean energy loan program, and five were served at their offices by a federal marshal.

President Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday that he is extending a two-year pay freeze for federal employees until at least next spring because Congress has not agreed on a budget for the next fiscal year.

Federal pay rates would be frozen for the third straight year in 2013 under several plans that advanced in the House on Wednesday. A spending bill covering general government matters for the coming fiscal year approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee contains no additional money to pay for a raise, effectively rejecting President Obama’s request for a 0.5 percent increase in January.

All federal government organizations are potentially at risk for workplace violence, not just those in high-crime areas or dealing with violent members of the public, according to an agency studying the issue.

One of the main arguments against forcing federal employees to pay more for their pensions is that most rank-and-file feds don’t make bloated, six-figure salaries — as fiscal conservatives and Republican lawmakers often allege.

Public employees in the United States are striking back at what they see as attacks on their pensions. Recently, U.S. states have begun making changes both small and large to the benefits they pay retirees in the hopes of closing a shortfall totaling at least $600 billion.

The proposal would pay for extending a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits in part through changes to Medicare and a pay freeze for federal workers.

The federal government pays out millions of dollars to dead people each year — including deceased retired federal workers, according to a new report.

If the government can't pay all its bills come Wednesday, odds are it will pay bondholders. Social Security and Medicare recipients will be high on the must-pay list, too. Likely losers: federal workers in jobs deemed non-essential, private contractors and state and local governments....

Social Security checks would still go out. Troops would remain at their posts. Furloughed federal workers probably would get paid, though not until later. And virtually every essential government agency, like the FBI ...