None of them are observed by the federal government, though there are workarounds available for the observant.

For Christians, Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, as described in the Bible. Easter culminates Holy Week or Passion Week in Christianity and follows other holy days including Ash Wednesday and Lent in February. Easter usually falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. A week before, before, Christians all over the world observe Good Friday.

Easter always falls on a Sunday, though the date changes each year. In 2023, Easter will be observed on April 9. Other important days for Christians include Palm Sunday on April 2.

The Jewish holiday of Purim begins on March 6 and continues through March 7 and celebrates the saving of the Jews living in ancient Persia. On this holiday, it is tradition for children to dress up in costume. Then, on April 5, the important holiday of Passover begins for a week after a special family meal called a seder is held on the first night.

For Hindus, Holi — also known as the festival of colors — on March 8 is an important religious celebration of the victory of good over evil and of the transition from winter to spring.

For those of the Bahai’i faith, Naw Ruz is celebrated on March 21 as a welcoming of the new year.

For Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan begins on March 22 and ends on April 21. It’s a time for those who observe to practice self-discipline in keeping with one of the pillars of Islam and is most often shown through fasting.

As for federal employees, none of the above are paid holidays. The next observed federal holiday is Memorial Day on Monday, May 29. However, the stock markets recognize Good Friday as a holiday and will be closed on April 7.

How does OPM’s holiday time work?

There are 11 federal holidays recognized by the Office of Personnel Management. On these days, all non-essential government employees are off work, and most government offices are closed.

For religious observances outside of that list, OPM says an employee must be allowed to work alternate hours to accommodate taking that time off.

“An employees request for time off should not be granted without simultaneously scheduling the hours during which the employee will work to make up the time,” its guidance says.

Religious compensatory time off may be earned within 13 pay periods before or after the period in which it is intended to be used.

OPM also tells agencies they are not to make any judgment about the employee’s religion or affiliation during this process.

Easter celebrations are a White House tradition

In Washington, D.C., Easter is well known for drawing children and families to the South Lawn of the White House for the annual egg hunt and roll.

That tradition dates back to the 1870s, and as it became more popular, Congress observed the rolling of children and eggs on the manicured lawn took a toll on it. In 1876, Congress legislatively banned the Capitol grounds from being used “as a children’s playground,” but President Rutherford B. Hayes nullified that two years later.

This year, the White House will announce ticket lottery information a few weeks before Easter.

Lachance will chair the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), OPM announced March 8. The committee advises the OPM director on pay rates for trade, craft and laboring federal employees via the Federal Wage System, ensuring those rates are aligned with prevailing wages at the local level.

“Janice is the right person at the right moment to lead this pivotal work to make sure critical federal employees are valued and paid fairly as they serve the American people, and we’re excited to welcome her back to OPM,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja in a statement. “Janice brings tremendous institutional knowledge, consensus-building ability, and a strong understanding of labor law to this role. Her proven track record as a fair arbiter and experience navigating the specific rules and regulations that govern federal pay will inform her success as FPRAC Chair.”

Lachance served as the director of OPM from 1997 to 2001. Prior to that, she served as the office’s chief of staff, director of communications, and director of communications and policy. Before joining OPM in 1993, Lachance worked as the director of communications and political affairs for the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.

“I am honored and pleased to have been asked to once again join OPM, where I look forward to working with Director Ahuja and the OPM staff to ensure a Federal Wage System that is grounded in fairness and equity,” said Lachance in a statement. “Working in partnership with employee unions and federal agencies, I am confident we can make real progress on President Biden’s promise to provide additional economic security and dignity to these dedicated workers who provide important services to our nation.”

The first-of-its-kind app, aCTknowledge, gives federal and military personnel a “onestop shop for counterterroism analysis,” the center said. That includes unclassified reports, breaking alerts, analysis and training resources. The National Counterterrorism Center designed the new app to help deliver the latest intelligence directly to first responders and law enforcement officers.

“With the release of aCTknowledge, NCTC is delivering on our mission to innovate how we share intelligence products with our partners. The app empowers its users with the information they need to protect their communities from potential threats,” NCTC Director Christy Abizaid said in a Feb. 7 statement.

The new app is currently available in the Apple App Store and is coming soon to the Google Play Store. While access to the app is limited to the federal government and military, the center said it will be expanded to state, local, tribal and territorial partners in the near future.

Established in 2004 at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, the organization was placed under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The National Counterterrorism Center is the intelligence community’s lead integrator of counterterrorism intelligence.

President Joe Biden Biden established the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment in April 2021 via an executive order, appointing Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as its chair. With over 20 federal agencies, offices and organizations represented, the task force was charged with identifying policies, practices and programs within the executive branch that could be used to support worker organization and collective bargaining.

The Office of Personnel Management is taking the lead on several of the recommendation from the report.

“OPM is pleased to be leading the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to promote worker empowerment within the federal workforce,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja in a statement. “As the nation’s largest employer, the federal government can and should lead by example in encouraging worker organizing and collective bargaining.”

OPM has taken several actions over the last year that it claims have helped reset labor-management relations in the executive branch, such as encouraging agencies to establish labor-management forums and engaging with labor unions before making decisions that impact members. And in October, the office issued additional guidance informing agencies on what actions they can take with regards to employees joining a union and how they should engage with a union.

Moving forward, OPM said it will implement additional strategies laid out in the task force’s report, including:

• Increasing unions’ access and ability to communicate with employees;
• Streamlining the process to become a dues-paying member by improving dues processing and forms; and
• Developing guidance and labor relations materials for agencies to use in training for managers and supervisors regarding unfair labor practices and neutrality in union organizing campaigns.

The Task Force will submit its second report in six months.

In a Feb. 1 memo, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja told federal agencies that they can use excepted service Schedule A appointments to fill positions for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“The IIJA follows through on President Biden’s commitment to rebuilding America, investing in America, and Building a Better America,” Ahuja said. “Agencies need to hire now to fill a variety of essential positions including mission-driven roles: scientists to combat climate change, engineers to repair and rebuild our roads and bridges, and workers to help ensure that every community in America has clean water, just to name a few. These are exciting jobs, and they are critically important.”

Schedule A authorities allow agencies to hire temporary workers for one year and onboard them quickly by eliminating some red tape requirements. Appointments can be extended for up to an additional year, if needed. Ahuja had forecast that the federal government would be ramping up hiring to meet the demands of the new legislation in a December memo.

To help prepare for the rapid onboarding of new employees, OPM released a talent surge playbook to help agencies understand their hiring authorities. In the Feb. 1 memo, Ahuja noted that OPM had also surveyed agencies to understand their staffing needs for implementing the infrastructure law, authorized direct hire authority for human resources professionals, authorized flexibilities for critical hiring needs and launched a special Bipartisan Infrastructure Law jobs page on USAJOBS.

OPM previously used Schedule A appointments to fill a number of positions needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. That authority enabled agencies to hire approximately 2,000 feds from March to December 2020

Initially approved in March 2020, that authority was extended further in December. Federal agencies now have until June 30 of this year to use the authority for pandemic-related hiring.

The personnel mobility program allows federal agencies to temporarily bring in outside workers to address critical skills gaps. A Jan. 27 GAO report notes that while some agencies have found success with the program, several factors prevent it from being used more widely.

Officials who talked to GAO said the program helps them address highly technical skill gaps with administrative ease and flexibility. In its review of four agencies — Defense, Energy, the General Services Administration and NASA — the government watchdog found the program helped those organizations “bring top scientists, researchers, and professors into the federal government to lead complex and highly technical projects and address emerging issues.”

At the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, for example, the government was able to bring in an outside expert to lead artificial intelligence programs. That program manager managed a number of research and development efforts, DARPA officials noted, leading to “major innovations in voice recognition technology.”

And at the Department of Energy, the Office of Fossil Energy was able to bring in someone to manage its research on new technology that could lower carbon emissions. That individual provided executive and managerial guidance while interacting with lawmakers, the administration and the public on policy.

Despite the apparent benefit of the program, it remains limited.

Of the four agencies GAO looked at, the Department of Defense was the biggest user of the program, followed by the General Services Administration. While GSA brought in 92 participants over a five-year period, the U.S. Army alone brought in 174 reported participants. In fiscal 2020, the DoD had 64 reported participants, although the department wasn’t able to determine if there were mobility program assignments at some components.

Officials told GAO there is a lack of awareness about the program. In their comments, DARPA officials added that salary restrictions make it harder to bring in the personnel they want.

The personnel mobility program also allows federal employees to temporarily join outside organizations, but use of that provision is even rarer. Agencies said they were unwilling to lose their employees’ skills and expertise for multiple years, while employees coming back to the federal government after finishing their stint at an outside organization face a number of restrictions due to conflict-of-interest statutes and intellectual property agreements.

Another challenge is the lack of clear, written guidance on what supervisory activities non-federal program participants can engage in. Over the years, the Office of Personnel Management has informally advised agencies on the appropriate supervisory activities of non-federal participants. In short, the office notes that while non-federal participants can serve as project leads and assign work, they cannot take actions like conducting performance reviews or rewarding employees. The latter actions can create a conflict of interest, the OPM notes in a letter to GAO.

GAO recommended OPM update its written guidance on how non-federal participants can engage in supervisory activities. In response to the report, OPM agreed to update its guidance and will address the issue on its hiring information policy website.

The government watchdog’s second and final recommendation is that OPM collect more data on the number of non-federal mobility program participants working with federal agencies, enabling GAO to more fully understand how widely used the program is and how effective it is.

However, the office declined to collect more data on the program, noting GAO admits “in general, agencies maintained accurate records of mobility program assignments, with some previously noted exceptions at DOD.” OPM goes on to state that establishing new reporting requirements for itself and other agencies would be burdensome, which could disincentivize further participation in the program.

For its part, GAO maintains more data is needed.

“OPM’s database lacks complete and accurate data, and likely significantly undercounts the number of non-federal participants serving in the mobility program. While selected agencies generally maintained documentation about all of their mobility program assignments, there is no process or related guidance to report non-federal participants on detail to OPM, despite OPM’s authority to request this information,” the watchdog concludes. “As a result, OPM does not have the information needed to oversee, provide guidance, and more generally promote the program’s benefits.”

“As the largest employer in the country, how the federal government treats its workforce has real impact,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja in a Jan. 21 statement. “The Biden-Harris Administration believes that the federal workforce should be treated with dignity and respect. Raising pay rates across the federal government to a minimum of $15 per hour reflects our appreciation for the federal workforce and our values as a nation.”

A $15 hourly wage would result in a $31,200 annual salary before taxes, assuming a 40-hour workweek.

Ahuja went on to say the new minimum wage will provide a number of benefits to the federal government, including better recruitment and retention as well as increased productivity.

“It’s also the right thing to do,” she added. “We should strive for every federal job to be a good job, and we want to ensure that every federal employee has a pathway to the middle class. Increasing pay rates to at least $15 per hour will keep the federal government competitive in the marketplace and is another way that we can serve as a model employer, setting a high bar for other sectors to follow.”

Of the 67,000 affected employees, 56,000 work within the Department of Defense.

“This pay increase is an important step for the civilian men and women who support the military community and their families,” said Department of Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros in a statement. “It’s also well-deserved. And as the lead agency for administering the Federal Wage System, the Department of Defense will implement this change to benefit all federal agencies.”

OPM issued a memorandum with guidance on how to implement the directive to executive departments and agencies, with the goal of having the new minimum wage in place by Jan. 30.

The new $15 minimum wage for federal employees follows President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce, issued his first week in office. That executive order marked the beginning of a 100-day initiative to require federal contractors to pay their employees a $15-per-hour minimum wage or more, while directing OPM to make recommendations on how to promote a similar minimum wage for federal employees.

A second executive order in April mandated that all federal contract solicitations include a $15 minimum wage clause by Jan. 30, 2022. Vendors already under contract must increase their minimum wage to $15 per hour whenever the contract is extended.

The Biden administration also looked to raise wages for civilian federal employees across the board, seeking a 2.7% average increase in pay in the White House’s fiscal 2022 budget request.

American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley praised the new $15 minimum wage for federal civilian employees.

“For the tens of thousands of workers who will start seeing more money in their paychecks each week, this is a transformative policy choice that will improve their everyday lives,” Kelley said in a statement.

“And because 85% of federal workers live outside the DC area, it is hard to imagine a single action that could have a more significant positive impact on all American workers’ paychecks beyond raising the federal minimum wage itself, which would take an act of Congress,” he added. “Setting a new, $15 per hour wage floor for federal government work will encourage employers across the country who are currently paying poverty wages to compete for labor and start paying fairer rates, lifting the wages of American workers across the country.”

“Through this series, employees will enhance their sustainability and climate literacy, learn more about the President’s Federal Sustainability Plan and their critical role in the shift to more sustainable and resilient operations,” the Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer explains on its website.

The series kicks off Jan. 19 with its first speaker, Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist who currently holds the position of distinguished professor and endowed chair in Texas Tech University’s political science department. She is also the chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy and has written several climate change reports, including the most recent U.S. National Climate Assessment.

The webinar series is organized by the Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, which is part of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and leads efforts to advance sustainability and climate resiliency in federal operations.

The office plans to have four webinars over the course of the year, although it hasn’t announced speakers for any of the other dates.

While it’s free to attend the webinars, space is limited and advance registration is required. Those unable to attend can watch recordings on the office’s YouTube channel.

The initiative comes a month after President Joe Biden issued his Federal Sustainability Plan, an executive order that outlines his plans to use federal infrastructure to tackle climate change. Under the plan, the government will work to reduce emissions across federal operations while investing in clean energy. The White House lists five major goals for the initiative:

• 100% carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030, at least half of which will be locally supplied clean energy to meet 24/7 demand;
• 100% zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) acquisitions by 2035, including 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicle acquisitions by 2027;
• Net-zero emissions from federal procurement no later than 2050, including a Buy Clean policy to promote using construction materials with lower embodied emissions;
• A net-zero emissions building portfolio by 2045, including a 50% emissions reduction by 2032; and
• Net-zero emissions from overall federal operations by 2050, including a 65% emissions reduction by 2030.

“To accomplish our goals, we will transition our federal infrastructure to zero-emission vehicles and energy efficient buildings, powered by carbon pollution-free electricity. We will improve the federal government’s preparedness and resilience to the effects of our changing climate. And we will do so in ways that promote economic and environmental equity for all Americans,” the president said in a letter to federal workers.

In consultation with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has authorized the use of the emergency leave transfer program, which allows federal employees of the executive and judicial branches to transfer their leave to other federal employees severely affected by an emergency or a major disaster. Agencies can also donate time from their leave banks, if they have established them. Recipient employees who need additional time off to recover from the emergency can then use the donated time off instead of using their own paid leave.

Issued Jan. 14, the OPM authorization covers federal employees in affected locations in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. It also covers federal employees effected by wildfires in Boulder County, Colorado.

The Office said agencies will be responsible for administering the emergency leave transfer program, noting that “agencies with employees adversely affected by these events are in the best position to determine whether, and how much, donated annual leave is needed by their employees and which of their employees have been adversely affected by the emergency[.]”

Employees interested in taking advantage of the program or donating leave time should reach out to their agency’s human resources office for more information on the program.

Updated by Congress in 2014, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, or FISMA, requires federal agencies to develop information security programs to protect their systems and data. However, a Jan. 11 Government Accountability Office report found that as of fiscal year 2020 agencies were inconsistent in implementing cybersecurity policies and practices. Only seven civilian agencies were deemed to have effective agency-wide information security programs.

Still, GAO says progress is being made. All of the agencies reported FISMA was enabling improvements, although some cited a lack of resources as an impediment to implementation.

While this most recent report focuses primarily on civilian federal agencies, GAO notes recent reviews have identified cybersecurity weaknesses at the Department of Defense. And as of December 2021, the DoD has yet to implement any of the seven recommendations the agency made in an April 2020 report.

This report falls in line with previous GAO findings. Since 2010, the agency has made 3,700 recommendations to federal organizations to improve cybersecurity. As of November 2021, 900 were still not fully implemented.

In response to GAO’s most recent review, agencies offered suggestions on how to improve FISMA reporting, such as updating the metrics used, focusing reviews more on risk than compliance, and increasing the use of automation in report data collection.

Some lawmakers in Congress are exploring reforms to FISMA, with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform holding a Jan. 11 hearing to discuss proposed legislation.

“The bill would improve the cybersecurity of federal networks through a risk-based approach that uses the most advanced tools, techniques, and best practices,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., in her opening statement. “It would also clarify and streamline the responsibilities of federal entities so they can respond quickly and decisively to breaches and major cyber incidents. By modernizing the law and focusing it on the most important security outcomes, we can ensure that federal agencies are better equipped to combat the evolving threats they face.”