GovExec Daily

The relationship between employees and employers is constantly shifting and the COVID-19 crisis has amplified some of the changes of recent years. According to new research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research, employees increasingly feel that their employers are not making enough effort in caring for workforce wellness needs.

Dr. Paul Fronstin is Director of Health Benefits Research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, where he also oversees the Center for Research on Health Benefits Innovation. As part of our #MoneyMonday series, he joined the podcast to discuss the results of the EBRI/Greenwald 2022 Workplace Wellness Survey.

Talent acquisition is one of the most important aspects of any organization and finding the right people is far more than just getting the same type of people over and over. Creating a successful and inclusive culture requires finding the best people possible, casting the widest net.

Donald Thompson is a Certified Diversity Executive and the CEO of The Diversity Movement, a firm that helps organizations deliver real-world business outcomes through diversity, equity, and inclusion. He's also the author of the book Underestimated: A CEO's Unlikely Path to Success. He joined the podcast to discuss diversity and inclusion in organizations.

Late in the Trump administration, the Schedule F executive order sent shockwaves through the public administration community, as the action struck at the heart of the professional civil service. This week, Senator Tim Kaine said that he is "optimistic" he'll get a floor vote on the Preventing a Patronage System Act, a law that would codify bedrock merit-based civil service protections and prevent a future Schedule F-type executive action from future presidential administrations.

Dr. Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland and former dean of its School of Public Policy. He is also one of the experts who signed onto a recent letter to Congressional leaders urging Congress to enact legislation that would prevent Schedule F-like actions. He joined the podcast to talk about the civil service system and the future of anti-Schedule F policy.

Last year, the Justice Department inspector general's office noted that "maintaining a safe, secure and humane prison system" was a top management and performance challenge for the Bureau of Of Prisons because of its issues with staffing, security and infrastructure. In August, Colette Peters was sworn in as the agency's director and swore to "address these deficiencies" in the interest of those who work and live within the Bureau of Prisons environment.

Recently, GovExec correspondent and frequent GovExec Daily guest Courtney Bublé interviewed Peters about her plans for the Bureau of Prisons. In this episode, you'll hear Courtney's interview with Peters about keeping staff and incarcerated people safe during the pandemic, the agency workforce and managing the bureau of prisons.

The Education Department unveiled its online student loan forgiveness application recently and users found the process to be shockingly simple. With customer service an issue in government, the loan forgiveness application perhaps can lead the way to fewer administrative burdens for citizens to get benefits to which they're entitled.

Dr. Donald Moynihan is McCourt Chair and Dr. Pamela Herd is a professor, both at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy. They are also co-authors of a piece recently published in the New York Times headlined "Turns Out Sometimes the Government Can Get Things Right" and the 2018 book Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means. They joined the podcast to discuss the student loan forgiveness process and administrative burdens.

Recently, OPM announced that federal employees and annuitants will, on average, pay 8.7% more in FEHB premiums next year. With Open Season nearing in a few weeks, feds and annuitants need to be prepared and do their homework to make the right insurance choices.

Kevin Moss is a senior editor with Consumers' Checkbook. Checkbook's 2023 Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees will be available on the first day of Open Season, Nov. 14. As part of our #MoneyMonday series, he joined the podcast to discuss health care options for federal employees.

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The space industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, employing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. With projects spanning the United States and emerging markets, the global space business ecosystem will likely continue to grow.

Richard Cooper is Vice President, Strategic Communications & Outreach at the Space Foundation. He joins me now to discuss his organization's third quarter 2022 Space Report.

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In a 2021 executive order, the Biden administration issued a vaccine mandate for federal contractors. Since then, the mandate has been the subject of various court cases. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit lifted the nationwide injunction on the contractors vaccine mandate, but the federal government told agencies not to enforce it just yet, pending further guidance.

GovExec correspondent Courtney Bublé writes the Coronavirus Roundup. She joined the podcast now to talk about the status of contractors, the vaccine mandate and other coronavirus stories.

You may not know it, but artificial intelligence applications are all around us. From search algorithms to speech recognition, we are surrounded by AI and machine learning. The federal government uses AI, of course, in its initiatives in various agencies. Dr. Lynne Parker serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor and director of the AI Tennessee Initiative at the University of Tennessee. Previously, she filled various roles in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, including as founding director of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative office.

As part of Defense One's and Nextgov's Genius Machines event series recently, Nextgov editor Aaron Boyd spoke to Parker about AI policy and her roles in government. In this episode, you'll hear part of their conversation about machine learning and artificial intelligence.

There are many factors that can determine anyone's retirement plans. Family, employment, economics and many other things can change a person's plans for when and how they're going to retire. Many federal workers certainly are in line to retire this coming year and No one wants to retire at a bad time, either for their personal life or finances.

Tammy Flanagan writes the weekly Retirement Planning column for us here at GovExec. She runs her own consulting business and also provides individual counseling as well as online training for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. Her annual Best Dates to Retire column is online now and, as part of our #MoneyMonday series, she joined the podcast to discuss the best 2023 dates to retire.