Recently passed legislation, the Safeguarding America’s First Responders Act of 2020, would improve financial assistance to families of first responders and public safety officers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A press release announcing the passage of this new law reported that the International Association of Fire Chiefs estimated that more than 13,000 firefighters and other first responders have been exposed to COVID-19 while on the job and, according to the Fraternal Order of Police, 164 police officers have died in the line of duty due to COVID-19 as of July 27, 2020.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will nominate Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chad Wolf to permanently assume the role. Wolf has been acting secretary since November of 2019, and the department has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April of 2019.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was planning on furloughing at least 13,000 employees at the end of this month due to budgetary shortfalls. On Tuesday, Joseph Edlow, the agency’s Deputy Director for Policy, announced the agency will have enough funding to maintain operations through the end of the year following Congressional pressure.

A bipartisan group of around 100 homeland and national security experts contributed to a report calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restructure and refocus its priorities. They are calling for a shift in focus to nonmilitary threats such as the global pandemic, climate change, and cyber-attacks.

Congressman Fred Keller (R-PA) recently announced the creation of the bipartisan Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Reform Caucus. The BOP Caucus is meant to improve accountability and transparency, address systemic issues within the BOP system, and ensure the health and safety of corrections officers, staff, inmates, and the communities surrounding the prisons.

On July 8, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a law enforcement initiative that combines efforts of local and federal law enforcement to combat surges of violence across America. It began in Kansas City, MO and has now expanded to several other states that have seen a recent increase of violence.

A new interim final rule by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) explains how agencies can restore annual leave for employees who are deemed essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, most federal employees can carry over 30 days of leave to the following year even if they accrue more. However, agencies can restore “use or lose” privileges in extenuating circumstances.

The Office of Personnel Management issued an interim final rule to implement the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA) amendment to the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave to certain federal employees who are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The act covers parents who recently gave birth as well as those who are adopting or fostering a child.

In an event on August 6, the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) outlined mass public attack trends and prevention strategies from their Mass Attacks in Public Spaces-2019 report. The events highlighted changes in mass public attacks from 2018 and advised law enforcement personnel on strategies for responding to and preventing future mass public attacks.

For the first time since the scorecard’s creation, none of the 24 federal agencies reviewed through the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard received a failing grade. The scorecard requires an agency’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) to report to agency leadership and Congress on the agency’s IT modernization efforts.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released a memo to agency leaders regarding the implementation of the Trump Administration’s June executive order (EO) on reforming the federal hiring process to increase use of skills assessments and interviews with subject matter experts.

U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has received $15 million from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to update its systems relating to tracking and processing imported goods. The fund was created in 2018 through the Modernizing Government Technology Act and allows agencies to apply for funds that are to be repaid over three to five years.

In a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Financial Services and General Government, the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of the Inspector General (OPM OIG) outlined how the central management agency has failed to comply with the laws requiring OPM to provide the OIG with “timely access to agency records.”

In an announcement Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) outlined plans to resume hearings for asylum seekers under Migration Protection Protocols (MPP). Court dates have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will resume based on a combination of state and federal guidelines.

In a proposed rule submitted to the Federal Register on July 20, the Office of Personnel Management implements provisions within the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2020 NDAA) that ensure the continuation of certain federal benefits and services in the event of a lapse in appropriations. The FY 2020 NDAA names certain Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) services as emergency services under the Antideficiency Act.

Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY) sent a letter to Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Operating Officer and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Mark Morgan this week urging the DHS to halt deployments to the southwest border as the region experiences a spike in coronavirus cases. The lawmakers warned that further deployments may place a strain on “already overwhelmed” local health resources.

In guidance issued on Tuesday, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) clarified questions relating to use and displays of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) while on duty or in the federal workplace. The guidance addresses two central questions: whether BLM terminology is inherently political activity and whether the Black Lives Matter Global Network (BLMGN) is a partisan political group. OSC found the answer to both questions to be no, which under the Hatch Act generally allows employees to engage in BLM-related activity while on duty or in the workplace.

As millions of federal workers conduct their business remotely due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council has released their views on best practices for working remotely. The guidance acknowledges that the expansion of telecommuting activities has increased the potential for sensitive government projects and information to be exposed to unauthorized individuals.

The Census Bureau has made adjustments to its 2020 Decennial Census operations in order to ensure the count occurs without risking the safety and wellbeing of the employees enumerating the American public. To get the count started, the Census Bureau announced this week that the agency has hired some 900,000 temporary employees to conduct in person confirmations of addresses.

On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order on Modernizing and Reforming the Assessment and Hiring of Federal Job Candidates. The order calls upon agencies to increase use of skills assessments and interviews with subject matter experts in the hiring process, with less of an emphasis placed on degree requirements. The goal, according to the Trump Administration, is to broaden the pool of potential candidates and create a more equitable hiring process.