Federal Daily - March 13, 2009

Report Says Women Still Underrepresented in Federal Workforce

Despite gains in senior federal positions, women are still underrepresented in the federal workforce, lagging behind the proportion of women employed in the civilian labor force, said a new Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP) report released March 11. The Fiscal Year 2008 FEORP report, issued by the Office of Personnel Management, showed that women represent 44.2 percent of the federal workforce compared to 45.6 percent in the civilian labor force. The report, which contains statistical data on employment in the federal workforce, did offer some good news. Certain groups of federally employed women—black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American—exceeded their representation in the civilian labor force in 2008, the report said. And, overall, minorities are represented in the federal workforce in numbers that exceed their civilian counterparts, 33.4 percent compared to 29.3, respectively, the report said. Also, the number of women at senior pay levels increased by 417, from 5,513 in 2007, to 5,930 in 2008. The representation of minorities and women at senior pay levels also increased, to 17 percent in 2008, from 16.6 percent in 2007, the report said. On the downside, Hispanics as a group are still underrepresented in the federal government, despite a trend of increasing Hispanic employment and retention. Hispanics represent 7.9 percent of the federal workforce, compared to 13.2 percent of the civilian labor force. In addition, the FEORP report highlighted human capital practices federal agencies are using to recruit, develop and retain employees. To see more, go to: www.opm.gov/About_opm/reports/feorp/2008/feorp2008.pdf.

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GSA Posts 2009 Relocation Tax Tables on Web Site

The General Services Administration (GSA) on March 11 announced it had posted on its Web site the annual tax tables for calculating the Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) used by federal agencies and federal workers seeking reimbursement for moving expenses. The RITA tables serve as the main tool in calculating the tax allowance for relocated federal employees when they file reimbursement vouchers with their agencies for moving expenses. Taxes are withheld from the reimbursement funds since the money is treated as income, GSA said. To get the withheld money back, employees must file claims with their agencies, and the agencies in turn calculate the tax allowance using the RITA tables, GSA said. GSA said it published the tables about two months earlier than in previous years. To see more, go to: www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?pageTypeId=8199&
channelId=-24825&P=XAP&contentId=25896&content
Type=GSA_BASIC or www.gsa.gov/ftrbulletins to see the 2009 RITA tables.

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Lawmakers Urge Resumption of Guard Deployment at Border

A coalition of House lawmakers urged President Obama to revive a Bush administration program that once deployed National Guard troops along the U.S-Mexico border. In a March 11 letter to Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the group—led by Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif.—asked them to reinstate Operation Jump Start, which ended in July 2008. During Operation Jump Start, National Guard troops aided in surveillance and other efforts along the Southwest border. The letter notes that drug-related violence in Mexico has reached unprecedented levels, and that the State Department just issued a travel alert for Mexico because of increasing instability in the region. “Due to the current situation in Mexico, we believe that more resources are needed to ensure additional border security,” the letter said. “At a time when drug violence from Mexico threatens to spill over the border and expose our communities and families to the consequences, we strongly encourage you to resume Operation Jump Start.” To see more, go to: www.royce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?
DocumentID=114256.

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