Voices: Brittany Ballenstedt

Brittany Ballenstedt

Blogger

Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.

Results 1521-1530 of 1639

from govexec

House appropriators approve 3.5 percent civilian pay raise

June 12, 2007 A House panel late Monday backed a bill granting civilian federal employees a 2008 pay raise of 3.5 percent, a figure equal to the adjustment already authorized in the House for the military. The House Appropriations Committee approved the raise in the markup of the fiscal 2008 financial services appropriations ...

from govexec

Employee groups back automatic TSP enrollment, new default fund

June 12, 2007 A federal Thrift Savings Plan advisory panel decided Tuesday to back proposals for legislation allowing automatic employee enrollment in the plan and changing the default fund for indecisive investors. At a biannual meeting of the Employee Thrift Advisory Council, representatives from labor unions and other federal employee groups expressed support ...

from govexec

Homeland Security launches graduate academy

June 11, 2007 The Homeland Security Department is expanding graduate education opportunities for its employees by establishing a new academy near Washington, the agency announced last week. The department launched the Homeland Security Academy on June 6 at the Office of Personnel Management's Eastern Management Development Center in Shepherdstown, W. Va. The full-time ...

from govexec

Firm outlines steps to successful workforce reforms

June 8, 2007 Federal agencies must start treating employees as a critical variable as they tackle staff shortages, seek to increase job satisfaction and forge stronger links between policy and practice, according to an upcoming report from global management and technology consulting firm Accenture. The report, which will be released in July, identifies ...

from govexec

Survey finds increased satisfaction with federal benefit programs

June 8, 2007 Federal employees are more pleased with their benefits, and view them as more valuable and competitive with the private sector, than they did several years ago, according to new survey results released by the Office of Personnel Management. The 2006 employee benefits survey, released Friday, indicated that employees' satisfaction with ...

from govexec

Appropriators block funding for DHS personnel reforms

June 6, 2007 A House panel late Tuesday approved language that would block funding for a controversial human resources system at the Homeland Security Department. The House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to approve a $36.2 billion fiscal 2008 DHS spending bill that would block funding for the department's personnel system - now called ...

from govexec

Auditors question Pentagon projections for health care savings

June 5, 2007 The Pentagon's proposal to cut health care spending by increasing the share of costs paid by some TRICARE beneficiaries is unlikely to achieve the large savings the agency projects, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. From 2000 to 2005, the report (GAO-07-647) noted, the Defense Department's ...

from govexec

Riskier TSP funds bring greatest gains for May

June 4, 2007 Small and common stocks, two of the riskier fund options in the Thrift Savings Plan, led the pack for earnings in May, while only fixed-income bonds lost ground. The S Fund, which invests in the stocks of small- and mid-sized American companies, grew the most, at 4.40 percent last month. ...

from govexec

Advocates sketch plan for public service academy

June 4, 2007 The creation of a U.S. Public Service Academy would provide opportunities different from those available through existing public administration programs at universities across the country, according to a draft blueprint created by academy lobbyists. The blueprint, released Friday, aims to highlight the unique mission of the academy compared to other ...

from govexec

OPM pushes to extend locality pay to Alaska, Hawaii

June 1, 2007 Cost-of-living allowances for federal employees in Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. territories could be replaced with locality payments under a new Bush administration proposal sent to lawmakers Wednesday. The legislative proposal seeks to correct potential disparities between locality-based comparability payments allowed under a 1990 law and nonforeign area COLAs authorized ...