News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE--"As I begin my second term as President, I want all of you to know how proud I am of your hard work and accomplishments during the past four years. I came to Washington with a high regard for civil servants, and you have only confirmed that opinion" (The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, February 6).

THE FEDERAL DIARY--The President's budget proposes a delay in federal retirees' COLA from January until April for the next five years. But those receiving Social Security and military retirement benefits get their adjustment on time (The Washington Post, Sunday)...Understand fully what you are doing when you borrow from your Thrift Savings Plan. It may not be such a good idea (The Washington Post, Monday).

AROUND GOVERNMENT--The budget proposal to delay retiree cost-of-living adjustments by three months for five years drew criticism from NTEU President Robert M. Tobias and NARFE president Charles R. Jackson (The Washington Post, In Brief)...Workers at four US Air Force laboratories next month will begin getting salaries based on actual results (USA TODAY)...The Clinton administration's plan to underwrite costs of health care for the nation's veterans with insurance and Medicare payments has alarmed the veterans lobby (The Washington Post)...Two deputy Forest Service chiefs are forced to retire. Many say the agency has been politicized (The Washington Times)...Labor's Internet site can help vets find jobs (The Washington Times, Sgt. Shaft).

THE FEDERAL TIMES--New rules may change how performance reviews will beef up employees' years of service during a reduction in force....OPM has proposed making it easier to apply for disability retirement after leaving federal service....GS employees would receive a 2.8 percent raise in 1998, but they would contribute an additional 0.5 percent of their salaries toward retirement under the next five years under the President's FY1998 proposal....About 25,700 positions would be eliminated in fiscal 1998, although the administration already has gone beyond the job reductions required by law (The Federal Times, February 17).

WORKPLACE KILLER--"The dramatic increase in workplace murder has given psychiatrists enough data to build a psychological profile, by which management can identify well in advance those employees most likely to engage in lethal acts of revenge. Employers who know what to look for should have better luck in spotting trouble as early as the pre-employment interview, sparing themselves later grief" (The Wall Street Journal, Manager's Journal).

OF INTEREST--A management consultant, concerned about low morale in the workplace, thinks he has a fresh way to do something about it. His "Chicken Soup Group" workshop gets employees to think and talk about issues of heart and soul -- sometimes (The Wall Street Journal)...Japanese postal workers can work off stress by paying about $400 to smash reproductions of antiques (New York Times photograph).