GovCentral

For a long time there has been a lot of empty noise about the federal hiring process. Now the squeaky wheel is finally getting some high-level grease. Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, has put agency and department heads on notice about the urgent need to fix federal hiring. He gave them six months to make progress ...

The White House and the Office of Personnel Management this week announced hiring initiatives aimed at halting a decline in the representation of disabled employees in the federal workforce. President Obama earlier this week said he hoped the government could become a model for other employers. "Across this country, millions of people with disabilities are working or want to work, and ...

"It's a done deal," says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey when he joined the Federal Drive. It is a trifecta win for all federal employees because NSPS is going to be phased out, the FERS Flu is going to be cured, and retired federal employees are going to be allowed to return to work without harming their annuities. The Defense Authorization Bill ...

Federal stimulus spending has created or saved thousands of Oregon jobs, state officials boasted Monday, but at least three out of every four positions were in government work, according to the state's own figuring. The lion's share of the money -- about $750 million, went to beefing up entitlement programs, such as Medicaid, unemployment benefits and food stamps. But the remaining ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three U.S. states said on Tuesday they plan to sue FedEx Corp, accusing the second-largest U.S. package delivery company of violating labor laws by illegally classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees to save money.

For some, money meant to soothe victims’ wounds has made things worse

WASHINGTON – As the Supreme Court weighed a dispute over a religious symbol on public land Wednesday, Justice Antonin Scalia was having difficulty understanding how some people might feel excluded by a cross that was put up as a memorial to soldiers killed in World War I.

The wind and rain make it seem that even the skies are weeping.  The 2,752 who died here are in the minds and hearts of everyone who attends.

Programs criticized as cash cows that fall short in preparing for classroom

OSLO (AP) -- President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism. Nobel observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two ...

WASHINGTON – The Democrats' control of a hefty majority in the Senate — plus the House — would suggest that President Barack Obama is within reach of overhauling the nation's health care system this fall.

N.J. school district draws fire for spending $65k to motivate at-risk athletes

Moving Yankees, Jets games to accommodate Yom Kippur a good start

WASHINGTON – A government program that brings extra scrutiny to poorly performing nursing homes leaves out hundreds of troubled facilities, investigators report.

Never let it be said that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano doesn't know how to kick off National CyberSecurity Awareness Month. "I'm pleased to announce today that we've been given direct authority to hire up to 1,000 additional cyberspecialists within the Department of Homeland Security, to assist, and make our efforts more robust and vibrant than they are right now." The ...

SINGAPORE – Stubbornly high joblessness threatens to trigger loan defaults and drag on consumption next year, hobbling a U.S. economy struggling to rebound from recession, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — An American Muslim who was captured while fleeing Somalia in 2007 accused two FBI agents and two other U.S. officials Tuesday of illegally interrogating him and threatening torture while he was allegedly held at U.S. behest in Kenyan and Ethiopian

Small programs are paying unemployed to start their own enterprises

CHICAGO – More than half a million U.S. children yearly have bad reactions or side effects from widely used medicines that require medical treatment and sometimes hospitalization, new research shows.

If President Obama's plan to attract lots of bright people to work for the feds by making "government cool again" doesn't quite do the trick, money might. Congress is considering legislation to create a program that makes such good sense, you might wonder why no one thought of it before. The Roosevelt Scholars program would draw young people to key positions ...