The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently announced that federal employees can enroll in flexible spending accounts from now through June 30, implementing provisions of the FY 2021 spending package and the COVID-19 relief bill passed in March 2021.

The House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government advanced a draft bill that makes no mention of a federal pay raise for General Schedule employees. Thus, the legislation effectively endorses President Biden’s proposed 2.7 percent average federal civilian pay raise.

Yesterday, in an opinion authored by Justice Kagan, the Supreme Court issued an order on United States v. Lange, and held that the flight of a suspected misdemeanant does not always justify the warrantless entry of a police officer into a home. FEDagent previously reported on this case when the Court granted certiorari.

Representatives Ted Lieu (D-CA), Mondaire Jones (D-NY), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz on June 17, 2021 urging an investigation into alleged misconduct by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of the China Initiative.

Last week, FEDtalk hosted a roundtable discussion on the importance of mental fitness for law enforcement. Panelists discussed the importance of both preventative and reactive mental health for law enforcement professionals.

DOWN TO EARTH AND ENGAGING! That describes Cheri Oz, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Phoenix Field Division.

According to a Department of Justice press release from June 23, 2021, a Defense Department linguist was sentenced to 23 years in prison for delivering classified U.S. national security information to a foreign actor. She had pleaded guilty on March 26, 2021.

ICYMI: Attorney General Merrick B. Garland speaks on the voting rights of Americans.

The Biden administration recently released its National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, which includes plans to combat domestic terrorism in the United States through interagency collaboration, hiring new personnel, and updating the screening process to remove extremism from government.

Congress passed legislation this week making June 19 a federal holiday in observance of Juneteenth. The date celebrates the arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas following the end of the Civil War. While two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, the date is viewed as the effective end of slavery in the United States.

On August 1, 2013, FBI Special Agent Bryan Acee was undercover and observed Matthew Maley engage in a drug deal out of his travel trailer in an RV park in Las Cruces, NM. Acee also observed a green Range Rover and a black Dodge pickup truck nearby. Officers performed a background check on Maley and found that he was a convicted felon on probation.

The Biden administration released a memo on June 10, 2021 to facilitate the safe, effective, and efficient return of federal employees to the physical workplace given the declining threat of COVID-19. The administration lifted the 25 percent occupancy rule for federal buildings, but continues to require detailed plans from agencies regarding return-to-work initiatives prior to increasing occupancy.

The Senior Executives Association (SEA) and BGRS Relocation, a global leader in employee relocation solutions for public and private sector organizations, presented data from a global relocation trends survey indicating areas for improvement for American public sector organizations seeking to attract top talent from across the country following the pandemic.

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated June 3, 2021, Daniel Jenkins, 22, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime and two related charges for plans to target gay men with violent crimes.

Watch a one-on-one conversation between Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, the first female to hold the title since FEMA's inception. This is the first conversation in the new series “S1-on-1" where Secretary Mayorkas will interview leaders from across DHS.

The Biden administration recently announced that it would extend Title 5 federal employee protections to workers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). This includes granting them collective bargaining rights, access to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and aligning their wages with the General Schedule.

When President Biden issued a solicitation back in March requesting help from the federal workforce to handle the influx of unaccompanied children at the Southern border of the U.S., hundreds of employees from several agencies volunteered.

In a memo released June 7, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced that it will be a requirement for federal agents in the Department of Justice (DOJ) to wear body cameras when they are executing search warrants or making pre-planned arrests.

A final rule released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on June 8, 2021 would make it easier for federal agencies to bring back former employees at a higher pay scale. Prior to the release of this rule, agencies could bring back ex-employees, but at the same pay grade they were receiving before they left federal service.

In a news release from June 8, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the successful completion of Operation Trojan Shield, a global effort targeting encrypted platforms used by criminal groups.