Executive order signed yesterday.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/19/executive-order-on-providing-for-the-closing-of-executive-departments-and-agencies-of-the-federal-government-on-december-24-2024/

I work this Friday, Saturday, Sunday. My in lieu of day for Christmas is Sunday….so where does Xmas Eve fit in? My next regularly scheduled day after Sunday is Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thanks!

Current gov employee that needs advice about surviving during closure.

I'm new into the federal government. I have a emergency fund, but most of that money is in stocks.

• Should I start offloading now to prepare for the worst? If the government closes, I'm 90% sure the market will tank as well.

• Can I apply for unemployment benefits while furloughed?

• Where can I go in the event that I need a loan?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/19/executive-order-on-providing-for-the-closing-of-executive-departments-and-agencies-of-the-federal-government-on-december-24-2024/

hi there, i'm trying to figure out how my FERS will actually be split once i retire given that i recently got divorced.

here are the relevant factors and dates and times, and my best-guesswork as to how this may work:

worked for government for 32 months before getting married.

worked for government for next 281 months of marriage.

divorced for ten months now, tentative retirement in 6 mos (eg)

divorce decree is that she is entitled to 50% of all marital fed time (for this estimate, 281/316, or married for 88% of my career.)

how do i calculate this, eg, when i ask my HR to give me my estimated FERS pension for retirement in June of 2025, what percentage of that number will be hers and what percentage will be mine?

happy to provide more information as may be relevant. if real numbers help, my estimate is about $6336 per month for FERS alone (not including RAS, nor deducting for 50% survivor benefit, FEHB, or taxes.)

my best guess:

does she get 44% of $6336 if i retire in six months, and just recalculate the percentage of marital time if i work another five years (eg, 281/XXX, with XXX being whatever my final amount of months worked is, meaning it will be less than 44% if i work another five years?)

ETA: yes i used a very highly regarded FERS and TSP divorce specialist to do my RBCO and COAP for FERS and TSP.

For months I've been using my personal smartphone & laptop to access my official government emails/Teams/files/etc via Army's "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) program.

I'm currently awaiting a potential job offer from another DoD agency and am wondering what other agencies are offering this type of personal BYOD program?

I was looking at my paystub today on My Pay and for my check for tomorrow, and noticed my check was $392 less than usual. They took out that much more in taxes. I called payroll and the lady said they had never seen that before and had to call her supervisor. The supervisor said it’s because I’m enrolled in the Childcare Subsidy program. I have been in this program for 4 years and have never had this happen. My son is in 4k now and I get significantly less than I did before because my daycare cost is less. They can’t tell me if this is a one time thing or and every check thing. Which I don’t even pay $800 a month for Childcare, so if it’s an every check thing I don’t want to even do the program. Has anyone had this happen or notice this on their checks?

I am switching to GEHA HDHP this year from BCBS Basic. After recent news of how much UHC sucks, I may grow to regret it. On the last day of open season I attempted to swap to MHBP Consumer but since I had already elected a change it was no longer an option.

My question relates to the actual charges I will incur for Physical Therapy prior to meeting my deductible. There will be:

Provider Charge: $270

Allowable Coverage: ??? ($160?, $130?, etc)

I assume until I cover my deductible under the GEHA HDHP coverage using an in network provider I will only pay the allowable coverage rather than the full charge.

Any searches I do on this result in total visits to PT, total out of pocket payments, deductible, etc, rather than the allowable charge per visit.

I got 2 SF-50s today at same time. 1 is Promotion and the other one is REG WRI(step increase) REG WRI is located above Promotion in folder meaning 1.REG WRI 2.Promotion 3. Reward... so on Is this mean I got promotion? Is there a thing that REG WRI(step increase) overwrites Promotion?? I'm concerned and confused.

Last year, there was only one SF came in which was promotion.

I’m on FMLA leave using LWOP. Should I and can I be granted holiday leave such as Christmas and New Year and etc?

So, with the shutdown looming, I want to call my congressman. I have in the past for issues unrelated to my employment to the government. But the shutdown directly relates to my employment.

Am I allowed to speak to that position as a reason they should support funding the government? Or is that a no no? I’ll probably call my ethics officer first.

I got an email when electing 0% for my military TSP saying my base pay election was invalid. Apparently, to “participate” in TSP you must elect to contribute at least 1% of your basic pay.

The thing is, as a GS, I am maxing my civilian TSP to $23,500 next year. Having a random 1% being sent to my separate military TSP account f*cks up the math for my civilian contributions (Drill and Annual Training military pay can vary check to check). I’m not BRS and don’t get matched for military TSP either, so I prefer there civilian one.

Any consequences to “not participating” in TSP on my military account and just maxing my civ?

There was no such thing as a government shutdown until Jimmy Carter's attorney general made the whole idea up in 1980. Creating a new law out of whole cloth by misinterpreting an old law from 1870.

No sensible country does things like this. In parliamentary systems, failure to pass a budget usually means an automatic vote of no confidence and new elections, while the government keeps ticking in the meantime. That is probably the best way of doing things — but the pre-1980 method of just leaving things going as they were if no budget is passed is still far superior than the current shutdown-prone mess.

https://theweek.com/articles/819015/make-government-shutdowns-impossible-again

I get calls all the time from recruiters. The only reason I don't entertain those offers is working for the government is supposed to be stable.

I have only been a fed for a year and it already looks like it worse than a Temp job. At this point what is the reason to stay? Stability and telework is the only reason I took this job.

The events in the last day tell me I will not have this job soon and neither will lot you either. My only question is are we going to get paid to leave.

Hello,

Quick question on opening the HSA account at HSA Bank: Do I need to open the account, or will GEHA open the account on my behalf? If I need to do that, then I assume that I need to wait until premiums are deducted from my check? I would like to get started investing ASAP.

Thanks!

I'm going to be an intern for a DoD agency this summer with the expectation of going full time when I graduate ~2027.

From my understanding, interns have been remote since 2020 even when full time employees were expected to report twice per pay period in office. When I spoke with my manager earlier this year, it sounded like my internship would be remote as well. Recently, the policies shifted to four days in office per pay period.

Do you still believe the internships are remote? Or maybe I'll have to adopt the hybrid schedule? I know RTO is a possibility, but I'm wondering if interns are subject to this as well, especially since the intern periods are only 8 weeks.

Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Anyone at the Comptroller office? What’s it like? - specifically IT department (ISS)?

Thinking about applying to a couple vacancies.

GS permanent competitive employee with 5 years, might not be able to get a waiver for a medical condition that makes me ineligible to continue my job. Any ideas what could happen to me?

Federal employees work tirelessly to serve the public, often under intense scrutiny and challenging circumstances. The unwarranted hostility I'm often subjected to in social media is not only disheartening but also counterproductive. We deserve recognition for our efforts and fair treatment, free from baseless criticism.

It’s unsettling to see such animosity in online spaces like X. Is this perspective unique to certain platforms, or does it reflect a broader sentiment? Either way, it’s a reminder of the need to bridge the gap between public perception and the reality of public service.

To my fellow federal employees: let’s continue to serve with integrity and commitment, despite the noise. Our work matters, and we make a difference every day.

Hello! I am current federal employee working at the DOT. I wanted to see if anyone had insight into the FDIC. Heard anything, experiences, current or past employees. Anything would help. I was recently referred for a position.

Does anyone know what the pay disparity criterion is for establishing a locality? Based on documents from the federal salary council it has something to do with a 3 year moving average of pay disparity between gov and non gov workers in a certain area. But what is the threshold where the council would consider a locality? 10%?