The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently released a guide to help current and prospective cyber professionals chart their careers. This guide comes out in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s announcement of the launch of the Cyber Talent Management System. This system is meant to give hiring managers more pay flexibility to bring skilled cyber employees into the federal government while bypassing USAjobs.

The DOJ Gender Equality Network (DOJ GEN) recently called on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to stop permitting hiring managers to ask for an applicant’s salary history when hiring. Last year, six Department of Justice (DOJ) employee associations wrote a letter to DOJ component leaders calling for an end to this practice, but the Justice Management Division responded, saying that the practice was justified under federal hiring regulations.

The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, launched by President Biden to guide federal agencies on safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced in updated guidance that agencies need to ask about the vaccination status of federal workers, who could face consequences for providing false information but may decline to answer.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a management advisory memorandum to leaders at the Justice Management Division (JMD) identifying a number of concerns with human resources policies and data. The memo notes several continued deficiencies initially identified in DOJ OIG’s October 2020 report on enhancing human capital titled “Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Department of Justice 2020.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in a press release last week that it is launching an initial body worn camera program. CBP has begun outfitting an initial group of officers and agents with body worn cameras to enhance accountability and transparency in its policing.

On the morning of August 3, 2021, Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) Officer George Gonzalez was killed during an attack while stationed at the Metrobus platform outside the Pentagon.

An August 2021 report released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs found that out of the eight agencies audited, only the Department of Homeland Security showed improvements in its cybersecurity program since a 2019 Senate report which “highlighted systemic failures of eight key federal agencies to comply with federal cybersecurity standards.”

President Biden’s nominees to fill key roles within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are advancing in the Senate. The Senate confirmed Ur Jaddou as the new director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on July 30 on a 47-34 party-line vote.

On Thursday afternoon, the Biden administration announced a requirement that all federal employees and contractors show proof of vaccination or submit to regular COVID-19 tests, wear masks, and physically distance from others while at work.

According to a Department of Justice press release dated July 22, 2021, the DOJ has launched five cross-jurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces to address violent crime and crack down on sources of crime guns.

In a July 13, 2021 press release, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Dr. Rahul Gupta to be Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a position also known as drug czar.

Harris County, TX Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, President Biden’s pick to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in a July 15, 2021 hearing to field questions about his suitability for the role.

The Judicial Conference of the United States is requesting $1.54 billion from Congress to be put towards information technology and cybersecurity updates, stronger security measures, and courthouse construction. This funding could be part of either an infrastructure package to be released by lawmakers or a budget plan that is still being negotiated.

Last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Sex Trafficking: Online Platforms and Federal Prosecutions. The report examines Department of Justice (DOJ) enforcement actions against online platforms that promote sex trafficking from 2014 to 2020. Two events in 2018 shifted the landscape of the online sex market and therefore the landscape of online sex trafficking.

Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) Deb Haaland signed a memo last week creating a task force to review law enforcement policies and procedures across the department. The memo cites the June 2021 Office of Inspector General (OIG) report “Review of U.S. Park Police Actions at Lafayette Park" as an impetus for the task force creation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a new policy directive regarding the identification, detention, monitoring, and use of restraints against persons who are pregnant, postpartum, or nursing. Generally, the directive notes that ICE should not detain, arrest, or take into custody individuals who are pregnant, postpartum, or nursing for administrative immigration violations “unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist.”

According to a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) press release from June 29, 2021, Anne Milgram was sworn in on June 28 as the Administrator of the DEA, where she will oversee an agency of more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 5,000 Special Agents and 800 Intelligence Analysts, in 239 domestic offices in 23 divisions throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, and in 91 foreign offices in 69 countries.

July 6, 2021 marked six months since the U.S. Capitol riot where the Capitol was attacked by individuals who attempted to undermine the peaceful transition of power between presidents.

Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Tom Cole (R-OK) recently introduced a bipartisan piece of legislation titled the Federal Retirement Fairness Act. This legislation would allow employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) who initially entered government as temporary workers to make catch-up retirement contributions to cover for the years when they were temps.

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) released an audit in June 2021 that reviewed DOJ policy on body worn cameras for federal law enforcement officers. The review period covered October 2019 through January 2021.