deliberation by the full House and Senate.
RECOVER ACT
In the House, Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, and Dutch Ruppersberger, D-MD, introduced the RECOVER Act, H.R. 7657, on May 3. H.R. 7657 would provide extended availability of identity protection to individuals affected by the 2015 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breach. Norton and Ruppersberger argued that the personal information stolen through the breach has “no shelf life,” so neither should the identity protection from Congress. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ACT
Rep. Connolly also introduced the Building the Next Generation of Federal Employees Act, H.R. 6104. This bill seeks to bolster federal internships by creating a Federal Fellowship and Scholarship Center, codifying the Pathways Internship Program,
building an online internship platform directed toward new generations of federal workers, and connecting highly qualified individuals with federal agencies. The bill would provide individuals who successfully complete a qualified federal internship program with five additional points in the competitive service examination. Rep. Connolly believes that the bill would “broaden the talent pool and broaden the opportunity, especially for those with disadvantaged backgrounds.” COR advanced the bill with a 20-15 vote on May 11.
FIRST RESPONDER FAIR RETIRE ACT
COR also advanced another Connolly bill, the First Responder Fair RETIRE Act, H.R. 521, in May. H.R. 521 would provide federal law enforcement and other public safety officers who are disabled during their time of service with the same special category retirement benefits when reassigned to a different civil service position that is not within their retirement category. Connolly noted that
this “technical correction” would provide first responders with the “retirement promise” the federal government made to them.
FEDERAL FIREFIGHTERS FAIRNESS ACT
In a 288-131 vote, the House passed the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, H.R. 2499, on May 11. This bill would create a presumption of occupational illness for federal firefighters suffering from lung cancer, heart disease, and other specified cancers and infectious diseases. Currently, 49 states recognize certain cancers and illnesses to be work-related for their state and local firefighters. Thus, the bill aims to bring federal law in line with state guidelines. This presumption applies to workers with at least five years of service who become sick within 10 years of their work. The coverage extends to federal firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, rescue workers, ambulance personnel and hazardous material workers. —BY HANNAH MCLAIN, GRASSROOTS AND PROGRAMS ASSISTANT
OPM Releases Results of 2021 Federal Employee Survey
T
he Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released the results of the 2021 OPM Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) on April 28. FEVS is “an organizational climate survey administered to the federal workforce to provide agencies a snapshot of how their employees view their current work environment and help inform future agency actions.”
The 2021 survey was sent to more than 800,000 employees across the 10 largest agencies—a break from previous survey methodology. Overall, scores for employee engagement and global satisfaction were down from 2020, but OPM cited unique factors that could explain the drop, including a reduction in popular telework opportunities and the continuation of the pandemic. OPM also noted
that the survey was conducted later than usual and for a shorter period due to the endof-year holidays. Two statements receiving some of the highest level of agreement included “Employees in my work unit meet the needs of our customers” and “My supervisor treats me with respect.” However, the prompt “I believe the results of this survey will be used to make my agency a SEE OPM ON P. 16 NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org
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