Quick Hits

*** The paid family leave benefit included in the National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House of Representatives on Dec. 11 will cost $3.3 billion over four years, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office. The bill extends 12 weeks of paid leave to federal employees with at least one year on the job for the birth, adoption or fostering of a child.

*** While the Trump administration is plagued by senior level vacancies, agencies are doing a good job getting permanent hires into CIO slots, according to data included in the latest FITARA scorecard. According to the biannual scorecard, 22 of 24 big departments have a permanent CIO, with only the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce having acting leadership in the top tech role. We'll have more on the FITARA hearing later today in FCW.

*** The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proposed a rule on Dec. 11 that eliminates official time for federal employees acting as representatives of their colleagues in EEOC hearings. The rule first made news Nov. 19 when the American Federation of Government Employees published a draft, claiming it would have a "chilling effect" on workers seeking redress. Currently, employees are allowed to select a coworker to represent them when pursuing a claim of bias, and to use official time during such proceedings. In a summary posted to the Federal Register website, EEOC said this would to avoid undermining current labor statutes that govern such proceedings. In a statement, AFGE claimed the rule "overturns 47 years of legal precedent."