It is indeed a rare ocassion in Washington when the three branches of our Federal Government can put aside major ideological differences to act in unison for the greater good of the nation. This historic display of leadership has occurred with the enactment of landmark legislation — the Affordable Care Act — providing access toRead… Read more »
In 21st century America, access to affordable health care for all should be considered a fundamental freedom and a basic human right. Today, more than ever, access to health care is central to one’s attainment of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Yet tens of millions of Americans nationwide, including those with severe andRead… Read more »
Hopefully, you have never been harassed at work and never will be. But what would you do if such a situation occurred? Would you know where to turn and what steps to take? Do you know your employment rights and the laws protecting you? What constitutes harassment? You probably have a good general idea ofRead… Read more »
When most folks hear about workplace harassment, it’s likley to be sexual harassment because that’s usually the most common and publicized form. The typical scenerio involves a female subordinate being sexually harassed by a male manager/supervisor, and/or co-worker(s). However, harassment is much broader than that of a purely sexual nature. In fact, harassment may takeRead… Read more »
Some argue that when it comes to polishing its public image, Feds should follow the rebranding examples of Corporate America. But Federal Government does not need to spend multiple millions of dollars — in our case with taxpayer money, whether real or perceived — to improve its public standing. Unlike the corporate world, we areRead… Read more »
It’s true that negative public perceptions of Feds are more commonplace today than during prior years and decades — as discussed in Part I of my post on this topic. Therefore, some have suggested the solution is a wholescale rebranding of the Federal workforce, which appears to be a popular idea in theory. But toRead… Read more »
Does the Federal Government need to rebrand itself, as some have recently suggested, due to low public approval, politically-charged rhetoric, and negative stereotypes of Federal employees? I think not. Rather, I stipulate that: 1) Rebranding Feds is unnecessary and inadvisable at this time, and 2) There is no real “crisis” for Feds that warrants aRead… Read more »
To BYOD, or not to BYOD? That is the question, to paraphrase Shakespeare in Hamlet. But for today’s humble Government worker, what is the answer? In 2012, more employees of Uncle Sam are saying Y-E-S to B-Y-O-D, bring your own device. This is reportedly happening in Government workplaces across the country and around the world.Read… Read more »
Riddle me this: How does a small independent federal agency like EEOC — facing a 15% IT budget cut — successfully negotiate a 30% cost savings with telecom giant Verizon for continued Blackberry use agency-wide? Moreover, can your agency emulate this example? Federal Times tells the story of an IT cost savings lesson learned inRead… Read more »
Background: Some recent commentary and conjecture have taken aim at the federal sector equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaint process. Following are facts to aid in demystifying the “myths”: MYTH: Discrimination is found in less than 2 percent of EEO complaints. FACT: Discrimination may occur in up to 33 percent of EEO cases. The 2-3 percentRead… Read more »