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Less than half of feds think they will be promoted – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 Stories

Emily Jarvis

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

  1. Less than half of federal employees believe they will be rewarded or promoted for doing a good job, according to a new analysis. Government Executive reports, forty-three percent, or four out of every 10 federal workers, said they thought they would receive performance-based awards or better job opportunities at their agencies.
  2. The U.S. Postal Service should consider suspending or debarring one of its largest contractors, information technology firm Accenture, from future work because of the risk of fraud, the agency’s inspector general said in a newly released audit. The audit, cited Accenture’s $64 million settlement two years ago with the Justice Department to resolve kickback allegations stemming from its hardware and software recommendations to other agencies. Besides potentially cutting off future business to Accenture, the Postal Service should consider ending existing contracts, the IG said, reports Federal Times.
  3. Since last year’s Benghazi, Libya, attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stephens and three others, the State Department’s watchdog office has deployed auditors to make sure diplomatic posts are safe in high-threat areas around the world. But due to the sequester, the State Department’s Office of Inspector General can’t fully cover the travel costs of its auditors. What’s more, even before the sequester, more than 100 diplomatic outposts hadn’t been inspected by the IG’s inspections office during the past five years, reports Federal Times.
  4. The union representing Internal Revenue Service employees said the agency has to award bonuses to top performers. The National Treasury Employees Union says it would be illegal for the IRS to cancel the bonuses and it would violate their collective bargaining agreement. The contract authorizes merit-based awards of up to $3,500 a year. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has criticized the IRS for its plan to award $70 million in employee bonuses. Grassley said the agency is ignoring a guidance by the White House to cancel bonuses due to budget constraints. The IRS is in the process of negotiating with the union over the matter, reports Federal News Radio.
  5. The FBI is looking to step up its use of surveillance drones. However, Federal News Radio reports the agency is still developing policies for the unmanned aircraft. FBI Director Robert Mueller told a Senate panel that the chief issues are privacy and safely operating drones in densely populated areas. Drones have been used to look at stationary subjects to date and they were used at night during a hostage standoff earlier this year in Alabama, Mueller said. Each deployment requires permission from the FAA.
  6. OMB is looking to improve the accuracy and utility of the financial data on the USASpending.gov website. The change requires agencies to establish unique identification numbers for financial awards and to check the accuracy of spending information against an official record of agency accounts. The policy update was announced in a June 12 memorandum from deputy controller Norman Dong to agency chief financial officers, reports FCW.
  7. And on GovLoop: Here is a staggering stat: 130 millions Americans own a smartphone, including roughly 1 out of 2 adults. That’s a technology that wasn’t even around 5 years ago. So how can government leverage this technology to connect, engage and empower government employees and the general public? Tune in to find out with the DorobekINISDER LIVE panel on June 26th at noon ET. Register for the free online webinar now.

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