GovExec Daily

Earlier this year, the Biden administration set a Nov. 22 deadline for federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with discipline to follow soon thereafter. But, late last month, OPM told agencies that they should wait until January to begin suspending noncompliant feds, citing the high number of vaccinated civilian feds and military service members.

GovExec senior reporter Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the podcast to discuss the discipline delay and other pay and benefits stories that he has been following.

Vaccine mandates have been controversial since the shots became widely available. Even though most federal employees have complied with the mandates, there's still a large number of employees and contractors that disagree with the rules. Some have even taken legal action against the federal mandate. What does the future hold for unvaccinated employees and their managers? John P. Mahoney is an award-winning Washington D.C.-based federal employment attorney. He joined the show to share his insight on how the mandate can impact both the public and private sectors.

The Biden-Harris administration released a preliminary Presidential Management Agenda Vision late last month, outlining a few specific topics it will tackle in its administration. The document commits to government administration as previous ones have, while also treading new ground on workforce and customer service.

Dr. Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland and former dean of its School of Public Policy. He is the author of many books, including Escaping Jurassic Government: How to Recover America's Lost Commitment to Competence, The Politics of the Administrative Process, System Under Stress and The Next Government of the United States. He has a post on GovExec.com headlined "Why Biden's Presidential Management Agenda Is a Big Deal." He joined the podcast to discuss the Biden-Harris Presidential Management Agenda Vision document.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made remote work the norm in many industries, but it's also made managing employees very different. While organizations nationwide have shown the work can be accomplished anywhere during the pandemic, communication, collaboration and team-building have been transformed.

Melodie Carlson is the Chief Operating Officer at Sunrise Banks. She joined the podcast to discuss how to manage a remote workforce, especially during a pandemic.

Late last month, the Office of Management and Budget, along with the President's Management Council launched the Biden-Harris administration's Management Agenda Vision, The document is part of the administration's larger strategy to improve how the federal government operates and earn citizen trust.

Terry Gerton is the President and CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration. She served for 12 years in the Senior Executive Service as a career member and as a political appointee. Robert Shea is a National Managing Principal, Public Policy at Grant Thornton, a National Academy of Public Administration fellow and one of the hosts of the Fed Heads podcast. He previously served for six years as the associate director for the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. They joined the podcast to discuss the Management Agenda Vision and how it fits into the administration's broader management strategy.

Government funding runs out December 3, Rep. Chip Roy this week told Political that he and Senate colleagues would look into "procedural tools to deny the continuing resolution passage Friday night," which would force a government shutdown this weekend.

GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz has been covering the shutdown threat and the spending bill negotiations. He joined the show to discuss the state of things in Congress as the deadline looms.

The Colonial Pipeline hack earlier this year showed the importance of defending critical infrastructure from cyber vulnerabilities. Congress and the national security community will have to examine emerging threats and cybersecurity partnerships across the federal government and defense communities.

As part of GovExec Media's Cyber Defenders event recently, Defense One Technology Editor Patrick Tucker spoke to Sen. Angus King of Maine. In this episode, they talk about current threats to critical infrastructure and how government can protect systems from cyber threats.

Last week, the Office of Management and Budget and the President's Management Council launched the Biden-Harris administration's Management Agenda Vision. The document is part of a government-wide effort to improve management and administration.

Courtney Bublé is a GovExec reporter covering the President's Management Agenda Vision. She joined the podcast to discuss the plan.

Over the summer, the Biden administration sent a memo on the return to workplaces process, including endorsing maximum telework flexibilities to all current telework eligible employees, pursuant to direction from agency heads. In the same memo, the administration suggested that agencies pursue hybrid work policies.

Dr. Karen Sobel Lojeski is the founder and CEO of Virtual Distance International an executive advisory firm specializing in Workplace Transformation. She has also studied virtual work for over 20 years and worked with agencies on remote work issues.She joined the podcast to discuss how feds are prepared for a remote and hybrid future.

Normally, federal employees have to heed the "use it or lose it" nature of most of their unused leave. But last year, OPM determined that the pandemic was considered an "exigency of the public business," thus allowing public servants to carry over more than the 30-day maximum at the end of the year.

GovExec senior reporter Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the podcast to discuss the annual leave exception and other stories that he has been covering.