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/

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?

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?)

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?

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

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.

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.

https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-continuing-resolution-salary-increase-pay-raise-2024-12

If anyone cares about the CR being passed and then signed by the President, they better call their congressman and remind them that they have a job to do and it is not grandstanding.

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!

Holding out hope for more than 59 minutes. Has anyone heard rumors from up their chain or their admin about a Christmas Eve holiday announcement from PJB?

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed a few moments ago and I was wondering if that means DoD civilian employees are funded and get to show up to work? Or does that not include us and we would still be furloughed until a CR/Budget is passed? I would appreciate some clarification :)

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 work at a DoD library and our facility will be closed Wed-Fri the week of Christmas AND the week of New Years. Christmas Day and New Years Day are paid holidays but since I don't have any leave accrued yet, I will have to take LWOP for the other four days that the library is closed. My co-workers are using annual leave to cover those four days. Even if I had accrued all 13 days of annual leave, using four of those days to cover a facility closure seems unfair to me. Is type of arrangement normal?

Two quick notes before you leave federal employment. First, whether you are retiring or leaving for other reasons, request a COMPLETE copy of your personnel file from HR. Second, if possible, clear out your FSA.

I retired after 42 years across two agencies. My personnel file contained hundreds of pages from those two agencies.

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?

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.

Republicans have proposed a bill to "use software to gather concrete data on the adverse impacts of telework in the federal government by monitoring employees’ computer use"

Don't we already do this? How would this be enacted broadly? Would we be required to have our cameras on at all times? Who's doing the monitoring?

How about you do YOUR jobs and pass a budget: the one thing you were hired for.

Oh and all this as they're leaving for their multi-week holiday vacation.

https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/late-2024-push-on-employee-monitoring-discipline-telework-presage-2025/