Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday last Thursday after Biden signed the legislation recognizing it — but what that actually meant for workers in the immediate aftermath has varied greatly. Some nonessential government offices, federal courts and school districts shut down on Friday, NPR’s Camila Domonoske reports. And “a small number of businesses acted swiftly to observe …
As Donald Trump campaigns for reelection by declaring his love for the military and its veterans, the union that represents more than a quarter of a million Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees says that the Trump administration has created an atmosphere of fear and retaliation among the people tasked with taking care of America’s veterans. More than 250,000 VA …
Trump Is Waging War on the VA’s Union, and Workers Are Living in Fear Read More »
Even when people survive COVID-19, their health can be seriously damaged, and their lives changed. We don’t know yet how many people will suffer long-lasting effects, but we can find one sign of how widespread the physical devastation is in federal workers’ claims for disability compensation after they contracted the virus on the job. About …
Thousands of federal workers say they’ve gotten COVID-19 on the job Read More »
House Democratic leaders are postponing consideration of a bill that would include a pay raise for members of Congress, after facing a major backlash from the party’s most vulnerable members. Top Democrats agreed in a closed-door meeting Monday night to pull a key section of this week’s massive funding bill to avoid escalating a clash …
Dems to yank bill to raise congressional pay after backlash Read More »
Many federal jobs (civilian and military) require a specific level of security clearance. If your security clearance is revoked, or if the minimum clearance level changes, you stand to lose your current position and possibly your government career. You do have remedies to appeal a change in security clearance status. You also have rights if …
What If My Security Clearance Is Altered Revoked? Read More »
President Donald Trump issued a memorandum last month freezing the hiring of civilian employees throughout the federal government with the exception of military personnel and “to meet national security or public safety responsibilities.” The order specifies that contracting “to circumvent the intent of this memorandum shall not be permitted.” In addition, it directs the Office …
Federal Hiring Freeze To Hit Rural and Minority Communities the Hardest Read More »
The Republican House majority proposed and passed a rules package on the eve of the GOP seizing control of the House, Senate, and the White House, and it contains more than a few surprises. Republicans received widespread constituent outrage in response to a proposal to gut an independent congressional ethics office and bring it under …
New House rules allow Congress to slash the pay of individual federal workers Read More »
Privatization is bad news for federal, state and local government workers, and the communities where they live. That’s according to a new report released Wednesday by In the Public Interest, a research group focused on the effects of privatization. The study, “How Privatization Increases Inequality,” explores the role privatization plays in the American economy—compiling data …
Contract for Disaster: How Privatization Is Killing the Public Sector Read More »
Despite being one of the most frequently cited boogeymen of right-wing extremists and the target of bipartisan policies that cut their pay and benefits, government employees are very frequently part of the solution and are leading the way in innovating on new and better ways to work with management and improve services and costs. A …
Public Employees Are Leading the Way on Making Government Work Better Read More »
It was just a few months ago when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers were granted the right to form a union following months of contentious debates in Congress. The move paved the way for the largest federal labor election in U.S. history; balloting began in early March. But two amendments recently passed by the House of Representatives …
House Cuts TSA Funding, Eliminates Collective Bargaining Amid Union Election Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
