Investigations and prosecutions should never be influenced by politics. While politics may have a role in big picture policy setting and resource prioritization, it should never have a role on the front line.

The Public Servant Protection Act is a bill designed to protect government workers, officials, and appointees from being targeted at their homes. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and five Republican colleagues, introduced the legislative proposal last week.

The White House recently announced an executive order that authorizes employers to defer the Social Security payroll tax from September 1, 2020 through the end of the year for employees who make less than $3,999 per biweekly pay period, known as a payroll tax deferral. This new order has left many agencies and employees with various questions like whether employees can opt-in or out of the program and what happens to federal employees who leave their agencies before or during the window of repayment.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last month in which they investigated the prevalence of time and attendance misconduct and fraud within federal agencies. The report describes what is known about the extent of time and attendance misconduct and potential fraud across the 24 agencies using reporting controls and technologies under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act) to monitor employee time and attendance.

The National Security Agency (NSA) has provided guidance for agencies on determining which video conferencing tools should be using during telework periods. The guidance provides nine factors for consideration to determine which platform should be used. The guidance only applies to commercial applications such as Zoom, which have become increasingly popular for office communications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Wednesday released guidance to agencies on implementing the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The guidance includes a summary of the statutory and regulatory requirements for federal employees to access their paid leave.

The White House has rolled out its plan to begin reopening the country following the shutdown of non-essential businesses in nearly every state due to the coronavirus pandemic. To go along with guidelines for state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector for reopening the country, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has released guidance for agencies on actions they may take to return to normal operations while still prioritizing adherence to local advisories.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has appointed Shanna Devine to serve as the first Director of the Whistleblower Ombudsman Office of the House of Representatives. The office was created in the House Rules package passed at the outset of the 116th Congress to assist the House in developing best practices for whistleblower intake and to provide trainings to House offices on how to safely and confidentially receive information from whistleblowers.

The White House has released the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget request complete with sweeping agency cuts and some new reorganization proposals. While the budget request rarely translates into law due to compromises in Congress, it does signal the president’s priorities for the year.

As states such as New York attempt to pass laws which allow individuals living in the country illegally to obtain drivers licenses and limit department of motor vehicle (DMV) cooperation with federal immigration services, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolfe, is responding by limiting the state’s access to certain DHS programs.

Following a closed-door hearing on security clearance reforms, Senators on the Senate Intelligence Committee announced that the security clearance backlog has reached the long –awaited “steady state.”

The President’s Pay Agent has approved of a series of recommendations from the Federal Salary Council in a report released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) last month. Among these recommendations is the creation of a new locality pay area. The report also called upon Congress to reform the federal compensation process to be more reflective of how the total compensation federal employees receive compares to the private sector.

After serving in the position for a mere nine months, John “Jay” Gibson has announced that he will step aside as the Department of Defense’s chief management officer, the third-highest ranking official within the Pentagon, according to Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu.