Who’s The Highest-Paid Public Employee In Your State? + 7 gov stories that matter

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• Are you happy in your job? What do you think about government? How do you view your job? Is the government working as effectively as it could? These are just a few of the questions that the Office of Personnel Management asks in its annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Taking a cue from Pharrell William’s catchy song “Happy,” OPM is looking to improve feds’ job satisfaction. But in order to improve, they first have to get a gauge on what people are currently feeling. Insights from Tom Fox at the Partnership for Public Service.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. New York Times: U.S. Halts Efforts to Collect Old Social Security Debts – “The statement came after a Washington Post article revealed that the Treasury had started intercepting the federal and state tax refunds of debtors’ children — even if the debts were decades old. The debts stem from overpayments by Social Security that the agency had been trying to recoup even if the original recipients had died.”

2. GovExec: Lawmaker Looks to Reform Agencies Without Hurting Their Employees – “A Democratic lawmaker is pushing two pieces of legislation designed to improve agency management without hurting federal employees along the way – or at least not to the extent of alternative bills.”

3. Federal Times: Government Says Cyber Sharing Won’t Violate Antitrust Laws – “Companies should not be concerned about violating antitrust laws when sharing cybersecurity information, according to a formal policy statement by the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department.”

4. Federal Times: DHS Plans for Single Awards Under $6B Cyber Contract – “Competition under the Homeland Security Department’s $6 billion cyber contract will be especially fierce over the coming months, with fewer than expected awards for continuous monitoring products and services.”

5. New York Times: Ohio: Federal Judge Favors Same-Sex Couples Wed Outside of State – “Ohio must recognize the marriages of same-sex couples wed legally outside the state, a federal district judge in Cincinnati ruled Monday. The judge, Timothy Black, stayed his decision to give the sides time to argue whether it should be delayed until the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit hears an appeal.”

6. NextGov: Google Knew About Hearbleed and Didn’t Tell the Government: “The researchers also notified a handful of other companies about the bug before going public… But the White House said Friday that no one in the federal government knew about the problem until April. The administration made the statement to deny an earlier Bloomberg report that the National Security Agency had been exploiting Heartbleed for years.”

7. Washington Post: Feds Critical of New Federal Giving Rules – “The Obama administration will issue new federal employee charitable giving regulations that it says “will mean that more of a Federal worker’s contribution to the CFC will go directly to the charities they want to help. Charitable leaders, however, fear the new rules will result in fewer donors and lower contributions to the Combined Federal Campaign.”

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder… yes, we’re trying to help you make your water-cooler time better too

• Infographic: Who’s The Highest-Paid Public Employee In Your State? [FastCompanyDesign] Governor maybe? In most cases, it just may be a football coach. The list of highest-paid active employees counts 27 football coaches, 13 basketball coaches, and 1 hockey coach. The leftover ten include five college presidents, a medical school chancellor, a medical school department chair, a medical school plastic surgeon, and a law school dean. (The math gets you to 51 positions because Minnesota’s football and basketball coach are each earning $1.2 million.) The map imparts at least two inescapable, jarring insights. One: These upper echelon salaries beat out those for all public employees, including state governors. Two: That’s a lot of yellow.
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• March Madness Might Be Over, But Workplace Competition Is Not [TLNT]: The annual NCAA basketball tournament that just ended this week is an exciting time for sports enthusiasts, and March Madness pools have become an integral part of office culture for many companies today. Even for non-sports fans, the hype around the games can be a great way to build energy in the office and motivate employees during the lull that often settles in at the end of winter. It would be great if there were events like March Madness all throughout the year to keep energy up in the workplace.