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 1541-1550 of 1639

from govexec

Lawmakers hear concerns on potential health premium increases

May 21, 2007 Increased enrollment in consumer-directed health plans could result in higher premiums and reduced benefits for federal employees and retirees signed up for more comprehensive, traditional offerings, a witness told lawmakers at a hearing Friday. Alan Lopatin, legislative counsel for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, told members of ...

from govexec

Appeals court allows Pentagon to limit collective bargaining

May 18, 2007 An appeals court on Friday reversed a district court ruling that had struck down the labor relations portions of the Pentagon's new personnel system, holding that the law creating the system grants the agency temporary authority to curtail the collective bargaining rights of employees. The decision, issued by a panel ...

from govexec

Funding, technology cited as key to speeding security clearances

May 17, 2007 Adequate funding and broader use of technology are essential to improving the process of screening security clearance applicants, government officials told lawmakers Thursday. At a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on the federal workforce, panelists noted that the Defense Security Service, in particular, has much ...

from govexec

Union negotiates foreign language pay for customs, border officers

May 16, 2007 Customs and Border Protection officers who use their foreign language skills on the job have the opportunity to earn monetary awards equaling up to 5 percent of their base pay, under an agreement reached with a labor union last week. The American Federation of Government Employees' CBP Council 117 reached ...

from govexec

More than 200 GAO employees to petition for back pay

May 15, 2007 More than 200 active and retired employees at the Government Accountability Office are planning to file petitions with the agency's Personnel Appeals Board Wednesday, seeking pay and benefits they claim to have lost since the implementation of a new personnel system. In a May 4 e-mail, a group of GAO ...

from govexec

Prospects for new whistleblower protections may be improving

May 14, 2007 Legislation overhauling a 1989 law designed to protect government employees from retaliation for reporting potential waste, fraud or abuse holds a better chance for passage this session of Congress, a congressional staffer said Monday. At an event kicking off the first-ever Washington Whistleblower Week, Scott Miller, chief of staff for ...

from govexec

Lawmakers probe agencies’ diversity efforts

May 11, 2007 Outreach to the broadest possible pool of applicants is essential to increasing diversity in the senior levels of government, agency officials said Thursday. At a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, representatives from six agencies and the U.S. Postal Service indicated that while ...

from govexec

DHS touts progress on recruitment, morale

May 10, 2007 The Homeland Security Department is making significant progress in recruiting a talented workforce and improving employee morale, a high-ranking management official said Thursday. At a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee overseeing the federal workforce, Paul Schneider, undersecretary for management at DHS, told lawmakers that the ...

from govexec

House committee backs 3.5 percent military pay raise

May 9, 2007 A House panel on Wednesday authorized a 3.5 percent pay increase for members of the military and approved language that would significantly scale back a controversial personnel system at the Defense Department. The House Armed Services Committee backed the portion of the 2008 Defense authorization bill containing the 3.5 percent ...

from govexec

Mobility cited as key to recruiting top science talent

May 8, 2007 Job mobility may be the most critical feature federal agencies can offer to recruit talented young people to science and technology positions, panelists said Tuesday at an event hosted by the nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government and the Gallup Organization. "I like to think of the government as a ...