FCW Insider: Aug. 6, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
Feds who lie about vaccination status or avoid testing could face discipline
The Biden-Harris administration is looking into what feds could be subject to more stringent vaccination requirements in addition to the mandate for VA clinical staff, said Jeff Zients, COVID-19 response coordinator.
CISA launches new initiative to combat ransomware
The Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) will allow the federal government and corporate partners share information to combat ransomware.
Biden puts his stamp on FLRA, Thrift Board
Biden's nominee to the general counsel at the FLRA could help clear a backlog of unfair labor practice charges from federal unions.
ICYMI: Kiran Ahuja's to-do list at OPM
Kiran Ahuja, the recently installed director of the Office of Personnel Management, has a host of long-standing agency issues to deal with, along with helping implement governmentwide workforce policy to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Quick Hits
*** Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, died unexpectedly on Thursday.
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which is affiliated with AFL-CIO, remembered Trumka as a passionate and effective labor leader.
"Through every major fight our union has waged in recent decades, Richard Trumka was standing beside AFGE members, defiantly raising his fist in solidarity," Kelley said in a statement. "During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, he rallied all of labor to the steps of the White House to stand up for the 800,000 government workers who went weeks without a paycheck. And behind the scenes, he worked tirelessly to help us end a political standoff that was hurting working people."
*** To help systems administrators better secure Kubernetes, the open-source container orchestration tool, the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have released a new report, Kubernetes Hardening Guidance, that details threats to Kubernetes environments and provides configuration guidance to minimize risk. Read more on this story in GCN.
*** The Professional Services Council, a trade group representing government contractors, wants some of the pandemic compensation flexibilities contained in Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to be extended and be permanently available in case of a new emergency. The renewed request from the group was made in the wake of a report from the Government Accountability Office on the use of 3610 at several agencies including the Department of Defense.